Night location: Arzachena, Italy

This morning we woke to the sound of a rooster and rain on the roof. The rain in particular was not ideal given our plan for swimming on the coast but it wasn't entirely unexpected. We had originally booked our boat tour of the La Maddelena for today but David had seen the forecast and wisely rescheduled for tomorrow.

By the time we got going after enjoying another outstanding Sardinian breakfast the rain had stopped so we set off for the inland town of San Pantaleo feeling optimistic. Driving through this region is fascinating due to the rugged granite cliffs that tower over the landscape. We wound our way up to the rural village but were soon alarmed by the sheer volume of people abandoning their vehicles and walking up the hill, often on the road. With very few options, we persevered. We drove through the town and avoided large tour groups disembarking from their coaches that simply stopped on the road, and navigated to the other side with not one available space to park. Stunned at the crowds but determined, we looped back to see if our luck was in. Alas, it was not. 50 minutes of circumnavigating San Pantaleo later, we parked outside the town, perched on the shoulder of the road, Italian style.

Today was market day in San Pantaleo which meant that stalls were packed in to what we imagine would ordinarily be a reasonably quiet town centre. This is one of the few towns in Sardinia that is set around a piazza in the traditional Italian style and the original stone buildings are really very beautiful. After working our way through the stalls and visiting a number of nice shops we made our way back to the car. Impossibly, the driving situation had gotten worse as buses and cars continued to roll in. Walking beside the road was hazardous due to there being no footpath and cars were parked into the road so we resorted to balancing on the high kerb to make it up the hill alive.

The rest of the day was reasonably relaxed in comparison as we cruised around the Costa Smeralda. Due to it being an overcast day the water was not as vibrant as normal but it was still beautiful. The first beach we visited was Capriccioli which was our favourite. Sadly, while we were swimming it started to rain so we had to make a dash back to the car. We assessed our options and decided that the rain wasn't set in so we visited Piccolo Pevero (which was a bit average) and then the famous Spiaggia del Principe. It was raining lightly when we arrived at Spiaggia del Principe but we figured that we were already wet so we may as well see the cove that is apparently the Aga Khan's favourite. The walk down to the beach was a bit precipitous but it opened out into a lovely little bay framed with tooth-like rocks. We went for a quick swim before returning to the car as the rain eased.

San Pantaleo is only a 15 minute drive from our accommodation so we decided to return in the late afternoon, hopeful that we would see it in a more authentic light. The transformation was remarkable! We parked with ease, wandered the quaint streets and sat in the Piazza as the shadows lengthened across the stone buildings.