Cala Lunga in Isola di Razzoli, Sardegna: May 10 - 12

As I continue to catch up on my blogs to bring us to present time, I am going to share with you our journey in Sardegna as we continued to explore the northeast of the island with Tama and Roger.

Cala Lungo, Isola di Razzoli:

Our first experience in the area of La Maddalena Islands was in an anchorage called Cala Lunga on Isola di Razzoli. This island is part of Italy, but is the closest one to Corsica. It was so gorgeous and peaceful that we decided to stay for two nights. On the first night we were alone and on the second night we only saw one or two other boats in the anchorage. During the day an occasional dinghy or two with a few people would arrive, spend some time on the beach or swimming and then leave. Tama and I were kept entertained while we hung out on the foredeck enjoying the sun. A group of two couples (probably late 20's or early 30's) put on quite a show for us as they played their music, sang aloud with their British accents, and danced and gyrated to Abba, recording their own performances (for posting later, I'm sure). It was quite funny. The guys then climbed one of the rock faces in bare feet and their Speedos, continuing to dance while at the top. Unfortunately for Roger and Neil, they missed the entire show as they were off doing their own hike to the top of one of the peaks for some spectacular views of a different type.

In the afternoon we decided a hike was in order. We followed a small road-like path that started at a dinghy dock off to the side of the anchorage. We weren't sure where it would lead, but we wanted to exercise our legs and were curious. It would also give us great views of the surrounding area.

The path let us up to a lighthouse. It was a three-storey structure that was surrounded by rusty scaffolding that had seen better days. At some point a major renovation project had been underway as there were solar panels, electric cables and a water supply pipe. It was obvious, though, that no work had been done for a very long time. Large bags of concrete were in piles exposed to the elements. Neil and Roger were brave (Finnegan too, until I called him back to safety with me) and walked around to look out over the water. Tama and I opted to stay put! The guys discovered that the inside had suffered damage from the elements because not all of the new windows had been installed (yet were inside the building) and part of the roof had caved in. They both felt that it would cost a small fortune to bring it back to a useable state. 

We walked back down the path speculating as to who would have embarked on such a project and then abandon it. The possibilities included a very wealthy individual who was turning it into a vacation property (and then had run out of money, possibly during COVID) or a hotel that had given up (but we decided this wasn't really feasible because of the logistics of bringing in supplies, staff etc.). Anyway, we had many ideas, but we all agreed that the expense of running the place or continuing the renovation would be immense.

Back at the dinghy, another boat had pulled in with two couples on board who spoke some English. We asked them if they could share with us any information about the story of the lighthouse. Apparently, in the past three families lived there to run the lighthouse before it was automated. Now a hotel owns it and had been renovating it (there's another one like it in the area that is run as a hotel), but "you know, problems with the government". An online search suggests the lighthouse has been abandoned since 1969.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of swimming (the guys, it was too cold for the gals!), dinghy rides, good food, good wine, lots of laughs, and a sunset cruise to finish the day. Life in paradise!