I got up at 8 and went and did my laundry. My biking outfit was filthy. My towel and other clothes needed a good washing as well. After some initial problems getting the machine to work, I headed down to my rock for breakfast. The watermelon I had hauled here turned out to be not so good. But I enjoyed the pecorino and olives. I went for a swim and then headed back to hang my laundry. I returned to my rock and finished my book, 'Indecision', by Benjamin Kunkel. The first book I read, 'Me Talk Pretty One Day', by David Sedaris was better. I did some snorkeling and some cliff jumping, and then I folded my laundry and headed off towards Isola San Pietro.
San Antioco is large. It's about the same size as Staten island. It took awhile to get to the ferry terminal, and the ferry was pulling out just as I arrived. I had an hour and a half to kill until the next one, so I rode around the charming little town of Calasetta and had a couple of beers. The island of St Pietro was so much nicer than San Antioco, just like the guidebook had said. The terrain is more mountainous with cliffs and rock formations wrapping all around the coast. And finally the fig trees were ripe, which completely made up for the bad watermelon. Oh how I love eating figs straight from the tree!
After touring St Pietro I returned to the port of Carloforte, a beautiful little town. I wavered in indecision whether to stay there for dinner or not. The tuna was supposed to be excellent here. The restaurants weren't open yet, and a ferry was just about to depart. The next ferry wasn't scheduled to leave until 10. I would still have ground to cover back on San Antioco. I bought a ticket and quickly jumped aboard - the wrong boat. I watched in horror as the boat veered toward Sardinia instead of San Antioco. The ticket taker found me onboard, having realized his part in the mistake. He suggested that I take the ferry back to San Pietro and then take the next boat to San Antioco. I opted to get off in Sardinia and then bike the 25Km as penance for not asking the obvious when I boarded. When I disembarked I rode through some of the ugliest most industrial areas I had seen on my trip. I hate riding when I've made a mistake, especially on my day off. It got dark and all I had was my tail light. My front light was tied to the dome of my tent. It took what seemed forever to get back to San Antioco. I was so hungry. All I could think about was the tuna on San Pietro. Once I hit the island it was another 12Km to the campground. I was now cycling in complete darkness. I hadn't seen the moon since I left Alghero. When the road markings ended I had to pull out my flashlight for the last 3Km or surely loose the road entirely. I was brushed by a motorcycle passing a car. The silver lining was the shooting star, a big one I witnessed, sailing to the ground not far from me.
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