This is a summary of a visit to Carlo Forte, Sardinia via Explorer II. We hiked, shopped and had two great meals. Check out our Explora II Cruise post.
Carlo Forte, Sardinia
Carlo Forte is a fishing town located on the island of San Peter off the southwest coast of Sardinia. We happened to be the first cruise ship in history to stop there! It turns out that San Pietro is known for its tuna, fishing and wooden boating. Carloforte is translated into “Red Tuna!” I took home some handmade wallets with the fish as a gift.
It was the cutest downtown area. It reminded me of the coastal California town with yachts and palm trees, but with the historic charm of European cities. We also had the best food of our trip at this stop!
Hiking + Swimming
The main goal of the stop here was to swim in Crystal Clearwater. So they booked a destination experience through the Explorer and took me on a short hike to the swimming cove. We thought the hike would be on the cliff side, but our guide said the storm had washed away the mountain path, so instead we routed the valley more easily.
When I arrived at the water it was quite hot so I wanted to go in!
It was difficult to grasp how clear the water was, but it lived according to its reputation! We swam as much as your eyes could see there. The water was very salty so swimming was very easy. It was probably the farthest thing I’ve ever swam in open water! (And if the water was brown and cloudy, I wouldn’t have swam at all – eek!)
Shopping and lunch
I loved this meal! It was like a cheese board, but there is lunch food. Roasted eggplant, zucchini and pepper. Caprese salad; Meat; 2 kits from Focaccia Pizza. Why doesn’t Aperol Splitz do that? !
Naturally, I had the lemon gelato for dessert. Normally I would choose more dessert flavors like vanilla or coffee, but this trip didn’t get enough lemon! (It was probably because it was hot.)
We were quite tired at this point so we returned the soft boat back to the boat and rested for a while before dinner.
Cabana’s nap!
Carlo Forted Dinner
After resting and taking a shower, we put on dinner clothes and brought our soft boat back to the shore!
On the recommendation of the Explora staff, we went to Pomata Bistro for dinner.
We loved the atmosphere!
We also loved the food. We started with Focaccia, which was topped with smoked bluefish and brusta. We both agreed that this was a very good thing!
I also loved the pasta with tuna (of course!), mint, lemon, eggplant and pecorino. I want to recreate this dish at home!!
Thomas also had tuna (to Tuna Island!), but he was baked and came with tomato salad.
Gelato twice a day!!
