Sardinia

It’s only an hours ferry ride from Bonifacio in Corsica to Santa Teresa Gallura in Sardinia. The islands are visible to each other.

The skipper does a mighty job of backing th ferry into the narrow port at Santa Teresa Gallura.

As it was late afternoon it was off the ferry and on the road to the little mountain village of Telti.

That night the harvest festival was being celebrated and the town plaza was full of people music and dancing. Amazing given it was quite hot.

A pretty little village near the wine and cheese making centre of Monti.

I love the murals that adorn these little villages.

But the next heat wave was about to hit Sardinia so it was time to seek the cooler coastal climates. On the road to The coastal city of Alghero it hit 43c before miid day. Telti was hit with a reported 47c.

We were lucky there were air conditioned rooms at the local rugby club in Alghero. Just across the road from the beach.

The sun was so hot I pulled out the cover for the mighty Breva.

But after a swim, a cold beer and the cool evening breeze blowing it was time to catch the bus into the old Spanish town. For the evening.

That’s the next blog!

Cherbourg Scenes

Just on the edge of the old part of Cherbourg is a graving dock emblematic of the cities maritime history.

I’ve come and gone on ferries from Cherbourg on a number of times to Ireland and to ports in England.

The street markets are full of colour.

The maritime scenes touch the imagination of an old Sailor like me.

From the marina of modern yachts to old classics.

The historic theatre a tribute to French great playwrights such as Moliere, my favourite.

In every town I find there is something a little quirky. In Cherbourg it’s the parasol factory and boutique.

And of course the great European moto culture is evident at the hotel with dedicated garage for motorbikes!

A short trip in North West Victoria – Sea Lake

Sea Lake is a small village in the Mallee Country in the North West of Victoria. It gains its name from the salt lake next to it.

It was a great opportunity to take my faithful old mighty Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 for a run.

Lake Tyrrell whose name is derived from the aboriginal word Deril which means open to the sky. It is Victoria’s largest salt lake that is believed to be formed 120,000 years ago.

The lake is a a light pink colour.

The thin film of water over the lake provides a mirror like finish and perfect reflections.

The outback sunset was just an amazing sight reflected on the lake.

The Lake is also a great place for star gazing and practising astronomy watching the endless sky of the outback.

Unfortunately the building cloud cover that added drama to the sunset made star shots not possible. But what a view this beautiful lake provided.

In and around Lake Como

I arrived at one of northern Italy’s nicest camp grounds Rivabella in Lecco a couple of days before the start of the Moto Guzzi 100+1 anniversary.

What a view to have every morning.

And every night.

The Moto Guzzi factory is in Mandello del Lario on the shores of Lake Como. The 100th festival ran from 8-11 September. But that’s for the next blog. This one is about the setting.

Lake Como and Mandello del Lario are just beautiful. This was my fourth visit here 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022 and each time I’m taken by the beauty.

The Lake is surrounded by high mountains. Mount Muggio is just under 1800 metres high and provides spectacular views of the Lake of Dreams.

It’s a bit of a climb from the carpark. 4.4km return trip and 260 metre elevation climb. But as the video shows worth every step.

My dream to come to the 100th anniversary in Mandello del Lario was the impetuous of 5 years of motorcycle touring adventure in Europe and Morocco.

On my last morning at the camp site it was grey and still and the reflections were sharp on the still water. It’s my last time here. So goodbye Lake of Dreams, dreams can come true!

Tetuan to Chefchouan along the Mediterranean coast and in the Riff Mountains

Tetuan is just inland from the Mediterranean coast and invites the rider to take the long ride route Chefchouan along the coast any over the Riff Mountains.

In the centre of Tetuan is the Royal Palace on the edge of the old Medina. The Palace was a centre of authority the then Morocco Spanish protectorate.

There is a door into the old Medina on each side of the Palace and one of those doors led to a riad and a room for the night.

GPS is great but some times it’s not totally accurate and does not have any social sensitivity function.

This is where a saviour tout comes into there own. This is a local tout who you have ignored as one rides blithely on toward the pedestrian area. Who chases you up the pedestrian mall. And when you finally stop wondering why the military guys up ahead are looking quite quizzically at you.

The saviour tout appears in front of the bike and says ‘you can’t be here. That is the Kings Palace. You will be fined if you go further. Please follow me’

It’s only with the bike safely parked in secure parking and sipping tea in the comfortable Riad that one realises that all touts aren’t bad and shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand.

I have to admit my love for the services of touts was soon tempered in the Medina where every little twist and turn revealed a new tout trying to guide, sell, or befriend the unwary tourist.

By Chefchouan it had dawned on me that while whipping through the narrow streets of old towns on a scooter was a very different thing to navigating them on a fully loaded Moto Guzzi Breva 1100.

Ah the simplicity of a parking bay in a modern hotel!

Chefchouan is a relatively small city in the high lands of the Riff Mountains. It’s known as the blue city as this is the predominant colour in the Medina.

Chefchouan was far more relaxed the either Tanger or Tetuan. I guess a change of pace that is a difference between city and rural life in all parts of the world.

Also the desire to get to the desert in the south east meant it was just overnight stops along the way so maybe not doing these cities justice.

Travel is always full of compromise.