Living in the Zone

What I thought would be an uneventful and somewhat relaxing two-hour ride north ended up being an interesting learning experience, to say the least. I knew I would be sharing the shuttle with other travelers, but I didn’t realize just how packed this shuttle would be and how many stops we would make before arriving at my destination. The driver, Andrea, opened the back doors so he could put my luggage inside. I had only brought one small carry-on and a backpack for my five weeks in Italy. Thank goodness I travel light! This shuttle van was jam-packed with people, luggage, bags, and packages.

When the driver finally opened the passenger door, I climbed inside, and I saw that there were only three empty seats. I walked to the back to claim my seat. I looked to the left and right window seats and noticed that there was no legroom for either of them. I mean, absolutely none…not one centimeter of space. Andrea had moved the back seats forward in order to make room for all the luggage and packages so I was left to sit in the only space left in the van. It was the seat in the middle of the aisle with nothing but the aisle in front of me. It would be fine, I thought, so I sat down and buckled up. The seat was elevated above the floor (like a baby’s highchair) and there was nothing on which to rest my feet. I felt like I was on one of those carnival rides where you’re suspended in the air and your feet dangle off the end of the ride. Well, it was going to be a quick trip, and I would be able to rest once I got to the hotel so I could deal with it for a couple of hours. I mean, I was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, right?

Evidently, airport shuttles in Sardinia serve as more than just people-movers. In addition to stopping in every small commune on the way to Cala Gonone to pick up or drop off clients, our driver also stopped to pick up and deliver packages and boxes. I felt like I was riding shotgun in a FedEx truck! After the first stop, I thought he was just delivering one package as a courtesy to a friend or something like that.

However, in town after town, we stopped at all kinds of places to deliver packages. We stopped at businesses, truck stops, convenience stores, and homes. Believe it or not, we even stopped in the median of a major highway! There was another car stopped in the median about 25 meters away facing us, and our driver hopped out and met the other driver to pick up a cooler! I felt like I was a part of some kind of illegal activity going on at that moment, but everyone else in the van (including an elderly nun) seemed calm as if this was an everyday occurrence around these parts.

After a couple of hours of these stops, the shuttle was nearly empty…of packages and people. There were only four of us left including the driver. He pulled over to the curb and asked us to step out so we could switch vehicles. He removed our luggage from the shuttle and left us standing on the sidewalk while he opened a garage across the street and parked the shuttle inside. The garage door closed, and a second door opened. Our driver emerged in a smaller van and drove back over to the sidewalk where we were standing. Again, he loaded our luggage into the back of the van. Only then did I realize I had dropped the cash I was going to use to pay him, and I was forced to ask him to let me go back to the shuttle to search for it. So…here we go again…cross the street, reopen the garage, get the key to the shuttle from the house, search the shuttle, find the money, and we were on our way once again. Our driver said we would be at our hotel in just ten more minutes…

Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at the hotel! Apparently, the ten miles was lost in translation, and ten miles in Sardinia takes forty-five minutes when you’re driving around steep, mountainous, curvy roads. What a day! By the time I checked in and made it up to my hotel room, my feet and legs were swollen. I had developed cankles from sitting so long! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring.