Sardinia; Week One

 

A bay in the Parco Natuale Regionale di Porto Conte on Sardinia's north-west coast.

The summer has ended. Or so the calendar says: 21 September is the first day of autumn. The summer is surely past here in Montpellier… and we are not entirely displeased to see it go! The days are shorter, and cooler and dryer; the sun is lower in the sky. The vegetation is still green, but looking a bit tired. Autumn is on its way... 

Sardinia

Another island in the Mediterranean! This was our first trip there, and would be an exploration. We had no definite goals; the beaches were of particular interest, but we were open to whatever we would find. Our American friend Debra came with us.

Our visit to Sardinia, though, actually started in France, in the town of Antibes. A lovely place, right on the sea, just this side of Nice. By a fortuitous circumstance friends from San Luis (our town in California) were visiting there, and Antibes was only a bit of a detour from the ferry dock in the city of Toulon.

After lunch in Antibes.

We managed to arrive just in time for lunch. It was fun, seeing familiar people in a different, unfamiliar place. We got all caught up on what we'd all been doing since we last met in California.

After lunch we drove to Toulon and spent the night in an Airbnb apartment overlooking the port. We were out early the next morning for the 8 o’clock departure.

Loaded on the ferry!

We’d been on a ferry before, going to (and coming from!) Corsica. But this was a longer voyage, 12 hours. We took a cabin to have a place to chill (which is to say, nap); the cars were not accessible during the trip. The cabin was simple, but did have a shower and toilet… and a locked door, so we could safely leave our things as we explored the ship.

Sunset on Sardinia, leaving Porto Torres.

It was just sunset when we arrived at the port in Porto Torres, Sardinia; we didn't have far to go, but arrived at our lodgings in the dark. Parking on the street was a bit of a hassle (no spaces!), but thanks to some friendly natives, we got the car tucked away.

Our apartment was lovely: spacious, well equipped, and very livable. There wasn’t much to the town of Alghero, though. Pleasant, but not extraordinary.

Alghero and its waterfront at dusk.

It was the weather that was unpleasant: hot and humid! And overcast. The AC in every room of our apartment was great, but the whole point of being there was to get out and explore!

Alghero at sunset and an hour later.

The Escala del Cabirol, the Cabirol Stairway. We opted not to climb the 650 steps down to the water
 (and it wasn't because of the 3€ fee!)

I finally got serious in researching the island (nothing like being there to get motivated!). (Highly recommend this website: https://strictlysardinia.com/ written by a native whose done a lot of world travel, but finds home best!) The island tours sounded great, the beaches truly incomparable, but what grabbed us were the Bronze-Age stone towers called nuraghe. Although some 7,000 have been identified on the island, nothing is known about what they were for or how they were used. Defense? Worship? The head-man’s hut? Yes, maybe! But they are quite exquisitely made… and still standing after 4,000 years!

Then there are the churches, mostly from the 11^th - 15^th centuries; also quite special. We made specific trips to several (some located next to a nuraghe—a two-for-one!).

The twin towers of Nuraghe di Palmavera.

        Nuraghe di Palmavera

One of the most extensive nuraghe was located not far from Alghero. We had lunch at the café on site, which put us in the right spot to be the first afternoon visitors. It cost a few Euros to enter, but had panels explaining the construction… although not the use! That’s still a mystery.

The site seen from the top of the tower.

Inside the tower; the light is from its curious triangular window.

Looking straight up inside the tower.

We were the only ones there, which was great. We had a chance to climb around and explore this small but interesting site. It has a dual main tower, mostly intact; Paula found intriguing, soothing music playing through speakers in the interior. I found stairs going to the top. We took pictures and puzzled over what and who and why. This was not the only nuraghe we visited, but was certainly the most extensive and provocative.

Debra explores one of the circular walls.

One of the 109 lookout towers along the coast of Sardinia, built in the 15-16th Centuries.

        Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

In addition to the ancient Nuraghe there are also many defensive towers (some 109 of them) all along the coast. These were built in the 16^th - 17^th centuries as watch towers to defend the island against attack. Most of them are now abandoned, although one (at least) is used as a museum.

This lookout tower now houses the Saint-Exupéry Museum.

Situated on a well-protected bay that was used as a sea plane base in the 1930s and 40s, this tower contains a museum to honor the French pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who was flew out of here. Saint-Exupéry was an author as well as an aviator, and is most well known for his beloved Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince).

Some WWII aviation stuff and the Little Prince in the museum.

Life of an aviator during WWII (and no, that's not Saint-Exupéry).

Our next stop, after exploring the area around Alghero, was the town of Orosei, on the east coast of the island. Driving directly there would take about 3-1/2 hrs, but we made a few stops along the way.

Bosa from a distance. Colorful town with an impressive 13th C. hilltop castle.

        Bosa

A pleasant town on a river. We spent an hour or so here, had second breakfast. We didn't find it particularly noteworthy, but it is pretty, one of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

The "New Bridge" (Ponte Nuovo) crossing the Temo River. 

The "Old Bridge" crossing the same river a little further up; note the Castello di Serravalle on the hilltop.

An intriguing street in Bosa.

The Nuraghe Orosai, passed on the roadside. There are very many nuraghe ruins like this on Sardinia.

The Castle of Burgos dominates the town and the surrounding countryside.

        Burgos

The photos of this town were remarkable, with its castle ruins high on a steep peak. The drive up was… well, up! And up. We finally arrived to find the place deserted—nobody around! We were looking for lunch by now, but the cafe we found had but one server, and was only providing drinks, not food. The nice lady there did give us a recommendation for a restaurant a few kilometers away—in Italian. But Paula found it on Google maps, and we were off, winding our way down and down.

Navigating the town was tricky because of the high and low roads (still in the mountains!), but we found it, although from the outside the place looked deserted. But inside, things were lively but not crowded, with a local family and half-a-dozen guys from work ordering steaks and red wine. And we had what must have been the best meal of the trip; certainly the most unexpected! We were in the mountains; seafood was nowhere on our minds. But on this island, you can't get more than a couple of hours from the coast, and seafood is everywhere.

Paula had a wonderful ravioli with a black squid ink sauce; I had the finest tuna steak I can remember. Debra? Well, she was pretty happy with her meal, too!

We left impressed, surprised, and very very satisfied.

Chiesa di Santa Sabina and the nearby nuraghe, looking rather desolate on this overcast day.

        Chiesa di Santa Sabina

This was our “two-for-one,” a nuraghe from the Bronze Age near a church from the Middle Ages. It’s a cute, very small church; the website refers to it as having a "Byzantine layout, modified in the 11th century." OK!

View of the church from the top of the nuraghe.

Paul atop the nuraghe.

Santa Sabina, both sides now.

Inside the tiny church.

We spent a bit of time there, examining the two structures built perhaps 5,000 years apart, and their place in the landscape. It is simple. But quite extraordinary.

In addition to our photos, here’s a link to a quick YouTube video taken by someone else a few years ago: 

(And if that link doesn't work, try this:   Nuraghe e chiesa di santa sabina.  )

Well, that was our first week. In our next blog we’ll go over the second week: the weather got better, we saw more beaches, and we took a short ferry ride. And, of course, returned to France!

A final view of Santa Sabina.