Oliena mountain in the early morning.

 October 2020

 Back in September we decided to book our trip back to Sardinia and having obtained vouchers from Easyjet following a previously abandoned journey in May, we planned to book a short visit for October. Soon after we booked the flights, the governor of Sardinia decided that anyone arriving to the island should undergo a Coronavirus test before arrival, and should show negative to the virus.

 It was impossible to have a test done here by the normal authorities; and it was also not feasible for us to do a private test at a cost of £150+ within 72 hours of departure as well as get the result. So, we decided to cancel the trip. The day after we cancelled, however, the High Court in Italy overturned the governor’s decision, but it seemed there was still a test to be done upon arrival in Italy. 

 Not knowing what to do we decided that I would re-book the trip just for myself and just see what transpired. Organising all the documentation that was required for travel was a bit tiresome, but in the end I managed to land in Sardinia arriving on Saturday 10th. On the following Monday I had to travel to the village where my brother lives and get a fast test done just to make sure I was fine. Test was negative and everyone was relieved. In the afternoon I was taken to Locoe where I was going to stay until my return to Scotland.

the last time we harvest the grapes.

      The weather was good with a temperature still above 24 degrees. The harvest of the grapes was already finished and the grapes had been crushed and pressed producing 650 litres of must which is still fermenting in the barrels. As planned, the old vines had been removed from the ground soon after the harvest was completed. Or to be precise, the top part of the plant was cut off with a chain saw. The remains of the plants will be uprooted with heavy machinery possibly at the end of November after the harvesting of the olives.

no more vines.

    So the first part of the process of planting the new vines had already started before my arrival. My job there consisted of looking after the many vegetables still growing such as tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines and cabbages. There was little need for watering so, having more time at my disposal, I started to clear the suckers that grow at the base of the olive trees. This was in preparation of the harvest in November.

some vegetables still growing well.

      It took me 5 days and everything that was cut was burned straight away after we had obtained permission from the forestry rangers. In theory, we could not burn anything till the end of October but as the temperature cooled down and after a couple of rainy days it was ok and safe to burn the cuttings in a controlled manner. The water in the river returned after a very hot and dry summer. 

One day was dedicated to start cutting bamboo from the river in order to make support sticks for the new vines. This decision was taken after  my brother priced the metal supports and the prices given for it was over 1800 euros. So we decided to make the supports ourselves and save that money for a better use. Bamboo is now growing well and is very abundant. Olives this year seem to be of good quality and harvest should be better than the previous year. I will not be there for it though. As for the new vines, the soil will be analysed to see if there is any deficiency in nutients needed for the new vines. If this is the case then the new plants will not be planted until spring 2022, but if results are good then it will next spring.

old vines to be use as fire fuel.

   Before I left the land we planted some oak trees (25) on the river side. This area of the land was flooded years back. We decided to leave this part of the land uncultivated but we will try to establish some woodland which will be beneficial to wildlife and improve the biodiversity in the area. More trees

will be planted in the future.

Planting the oak trees

Drying Gojii berries

work on the land in preparation for the new vines

Something a little different

05 March 2020

Even as we wait for the local bus to take us from outside our home in Scotland to start the now more familiar journey to our ‘other’ home in Sardinia, we have grave reservations, knowing the impending pandemic situation, as yet undeclared, but imminent.  In northern Italy there is already a crisis, but as yet no cases of Covid-19 discovered in Sardinia, so we take a deep breath, and board the bus, armed with sanitising gel, disposable gloves, face masks, as well as scarves and gloves to protect against the cold.

Our route takes us, as on previous occasions, via Caledonian Sleeper to London, then with Eurostar to Paris.  So far, so good.  There is an air of caution, nervousness developing amongst fellow passengers, but everyone taking their own decisions on sanitation and what is now called ‘social distancing’.  No regulations in place yet, either in UK or in France.  We opt to take the one hour walk from Gare du Nord, to Gare de Lyon – easy-peasy – and much preferable to the scary Metro.  OUiGO train takes us to Lyon where we had planned to stay two nights so as to enjoy a different town on the way.  By this time, of course, we are wishing we hadn’t planned the trip so long ago.  Dodging about on foot, sitting at lonesome-looking café tables and avoiding the Saturday afternoon demo in the centre of town gave us a satisfactory impression of the city.  Negotiating - or indeed even locating – a food shop close to our hotel proved tricky, but we managed to provide a picnic takeaway in the evening, and even had a pub lunch on Saturday.

Stroll around Lyon

Onwards to Toulon and the ferry to Porto Torres, where alongside a sense of relief at arrival, we realize that we are now at the mercy of the constantly changing, often ambiguous, decrees of the Italian and Sardinian authorities. 

Although our intention, as usual, is to work in Locoe, on this occasion we have planned to go first to Marazzino to check on our house there.

All goes well for a couple of days.  With no car at our disposal we walk 4 km to the local town and carry our food back home.  Then we are stopped by one of the civil defence groups deployed to police the crisis, in this case the Guardia di Finanze (tax police), and questioned.  Turns out we arrived on the very day that travel restrictions into the country were introduced, and we would need to spend 2 weeks in isolation in our house.  Fine.  How do we survive without food? Well, never mind Tesco deliveries, the local Civil Protection volunteers are prepared to do your shopping for you, taking your list and money/bank card (!) and delivering to your door.  No charge.  Brilliant.  After a while,  our only neighbours, a couple with a school age son and elderly uncle living at home volunteer to  take over the shopping duties and we begin what turns out to be a two month stay, in which, in common with all other house-bound citizens in Italy, and eventually in the UK, we invent our own daily routines, devise and execute projects we would probably never have undertaken before, and form friendships with the neighbours that we have had only occasional contact with over the 17 years of our holidaying there.

Breakfast delivered to our door; painting by numbers; new colour scheme; BBQs; Easter lamb; water tank maintenance

It’s March, it’s still cold and dark in the evenings.  The house has only an open fire for heating.  We have supplies for about a week.  Under the public movement restrictions we are not allowed to go more than 200 metres from our home, so no chance of scavenging driftwood from the beach as we usually do.  So we start pruning the garden trees…. and our neighbours let us prune theirs, plus they are delighted to encourage us to remove their pile of well-seasoned tree cuttings, since they don’t operate an open fire.  Plenty of exercise for Battistino involved there.
 

On the local council website we find a list of local businesses who are prepared to deliver goods to your home.  As well as deciding to reward these enterprising and courageous souls by checking out their pizzas on a Sunday night, we boldly order huge tubs of white paint, along with a variety of possible DIY dyes, and set about painting the house, first of all the outside,…… then the inside.  Whether this will improve the house’s chances of attracting a buyer in the near future remains to be seen. It’s certainly never looked smarter than it does right now.  The weather is warm and sunny, allowing a little sunbathing in the yard and clocking up plenty of solar panel power units.

Towards the end of April the central and regional governments start ruminating on how to start allowing movement.  The measures have been very strict and thoroughly policed – Carabinieri, Polizia, Guardia di Finanze, Guardia Costiera, Guardia Forestale all being involved in checking self-certification etc.  We haven’t been out at all, and are not at all sure what will happen if we do.  It must have been like that in the air raid shelters in WW2.

A decision is taken between the brothers, one of whom is himself a Forester and who should theoretically know whether we can move away or not, to risk it.  A dawn break-out is planned on May 4^th on which day, it seems people can pay a visit to relatives, even if they live in a different province.  Maybe because the police forces are themselves unsure who is allowed to do what, when or where, we make it to Oliena in the brothers’ cars (2 of them because we can only have one person in the front and one in the back) in time for lunch.  And since then we have been in Locoe! 

Little Owl visit; shiny beetle on wild carrot; thistle head; pomegranate blossom

 

The first thing that strikes us is the significant improvements to the accommodation, undertaken by the brothers during Lockdown.  Unable to work elsewhere, and Locoe providing the isolation and therefore the freedom to do as they please, they have partially enclosed the outside front of the kitchen/storeroom using concrete bricks and recycled windows from their aunts’ house.  It works well, keeping out the wind and rain from the area they use for family get-togethers, celebrations and picnics in the countryside.

Battistino sets about putting into place his ‘final solution’ for the leaking roof problem.  This time the weather cooperates and the boys manage to apply ridged metal roofing sheets, using adhesive instead of inserting screws into the very dodgy roof material.  To date, nothing has dared penetrate the bedroom ceiling!

Another improvement is painting.  Yes, we have continued the lockdown theme and introduced a colour scheme to the outside walls, not only of our little stable and the main building with its covered extension, but even to the toilet/shower room.  It’s all beginning to look a little like a ranch.

The existing greenhouse has also been improved during the winter season, with new mesh netting to provide both shade from the hot sun and to allow some rain to penetrate as the occasion allows.

We missed the early spring soil preparation and planting work, but arrived in time to look after the last crops of broad beans and peas, the first delicious staple vegetable at this time of year.  At the same time we have been fully occupied with planting and constructing bamboo supports for rows of tomatoes (194), runner beans (50)and French beans (10). The first potatoes (of 290 plants) have just been collected, and another crop may be planted later in the summer.  We spend a considerable time each evening irrigating the developing white cabbage (54), red cabbage (18), cauliflower (5) Romana lettuce (15), green lettuce (22), red lettuce (34), courgette (17), cucumber(18), aubergine(36), onion(475), fennel (7), garlic (14), beet and basil (16) plants in their various locations, as well as giving a drink to the young fruit trees.  So far only the strawberries and loquats have been ready to eat, but the fig, plum, apricot, peach, cherry, apple, quince and pear have all been well visited by the bees and butterflies, promising an interesting follow-on in due course.  I like the native trees best: the almond, fig, pomegranate, and not forgetting the olive and grape of course.

Lots to water

 

Battistino has calculated that at the current rate the watering is using 24,000 litres per month.  Over the main 3 month period of the summer, therefore, 72, 000 litres.  The 1327 plants being watered take 6000 litres per week, or 4.2 litres per plant per week.

We’ve also done what will be almost the last work on the current main vineyard, removing superfluous leaves and shoots in order to maximise the growth of the young grape crop.  Battistino has calculated the number of squats he practised while doing this job over a number of days (200 per day).  It gets pretty hot so it’s a job best done in the early morning.

Roof maintenance; Corrasi; dinner; first spuds; painting new extension; Cala Gonone

 

So, here we are 18th June, keeping our fingers crossed that all goes to plan in a few days' time when we make what will be our 4th attempt to head home...now 4 weeks later than scheduled.  Sadly, flying seems the only option at the moment.  But we are pleased to be leaving Locoe (and Marazzino) in good order, plants flourishing, buildings freshly painted and maintenance up to date.  We have been extremely fortunate, spending so much time in this paradise, appreciating the fascination and abundance of nature.