20 Apr 2013

Winter in Sardinia - touring the island


We had a great time exploring this beautiful island by car on a couple of occasions. Initially we drove south to the heart of Sardinia’s bandit country in the limestone massif of the Supramonte mountains. We stopped in Oliena to pick up a walking map on our way up to Orgosolo, Sardinia’s most notorious town lying in the tough mountainous area known as the Barbagia. The whole village has become an outdoor gallery of street art with around 200 social and political murals adorning the buildings. The mural painting started in the 1970’s when teachers and students at the local high school decided to commemorate the liberation of Italy and the resistance movement. Many of the murals are by the artist Francesco del Casino who was a teacher at the local high school. The styles vary wildly, from naturalistic to Picasso like figures, depicting the big political events of the 20th and 21st centuries.
                                                                                              Orgosolo murals

We took a scenic winding road down from the mountains  to the tomba di gigante  of S’Ena ‘e Thomes. We parked the car and enjoyed a 10 minute walk across fields laden with spring flowers. The ancient mass grave was built in the Nuraghic period starting from around 1800 BC. We returned to our hotel in Orosei via the pretty old stone village of Galitelli and a quick peek at the nearby stunning swathe of pine backed beach.
                                                      S'Ena 'e Thomes                                                          
The next day was going to be a long one. We rose early and drove towards the Supramonte mountains  to the Sa Barva bridge from where we were going to walk the Gola su Gorropu gorge often known as the Grand Canyon of Europe.  It was a scenic two hour hike along the Rio Flumineddu river to the mouth of the gorge.  At the entrance we paid 5 euros and were offered safety helmets. We ventured a further 1 km scrambling over huge rocks and boulders before the use of specialist climbing equipment became necessary. It was a spectacular sight with its steep walls topping 400 mts. We retraced our weary steps and returned to the car some six hours later.

Asphodel and the Supramonte mountains
  
The following day we drove south through the mountain tops and west across country avoiding the odd wild pig to Sardinia’s most famous  bronze age fortified settlement and Unesco listed site the Nuraghe Su Nuraxi near Barumini. The Nuraxi tower was the main focal point dating from around 1500 BC and subsequently four further towers were added and village buildings between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. We then drove up to the La Giara di Gesturi, a high basalt 45 sq km plateau in search of the wild mini horses the area is famous for. Sadly we only spotted the odd wild pig. We continued west to the Costa Verde and spent the night in Arbus.

Bosa
The next morning we popped into the Museo del Coltello Sardo a fascinating Sardinian knife museum. The museum was founded by Paolo Pusceddu whose knives are among the most prized in Sardinia. We then made our way through a valley lined with the abandoned buildings and machinery of a crumbling 19th century mining settlement to the stunning Spaggia della Piscinas beach. We continued north along the coast to the picturesque town of Bosa situated along the palm tree lined banks of the river Temo with its pastel coloured houses stacked on the hillside above. Our last stop was Alghero. We wandered past the marina and explored the cobbled lanes of the beautiful old town once a Catalan colony and admired the Spanish Gothic palazzi.

Bosa

Our second tour took us north to the unspoilt and laid back seaside town of Santa Teresa de Gallura with its beautiful Rena Bianca beach and 16th century tower which overlooks the deep port. We went on a day trip to Bonifacio and marvelled at the medieval houses precariously teetering on the edge of the imposing limestone cliffs. Back down in the natural harbour lined with chic bars and restaurants we had a coffee and enjoyed people and yacht watching before it was time to board our ferry back. Back in Olbia we took day trips out to visit some of the beautiful local beaches including La Cinta which is a stunning swathe of white sand backing onto a lagoon where we finally spotted some pink flamingos.
   
               Rena Bianca                               Santa Teresa                                   La Cinta

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