Sardinia

After Mrs Y’s recent retirement, we are no longer trapped in to travelling inside expensive school holiday dates. A year ago we took full advantage of this and booked flights to Cagliari to celebrate Mrs Y’s first non-teaching birthday. This was just a short break and we had no idea what to expect, however, our recent India trip had left us feeling that no plan would be hugely beneficial to us.

We booked the early morning flight from Gatwick that would see us arriving in to Cagliari before 11:00am – staying the night before at the very convenient Bloc Hotel. With some efficient boarding we were ready to depart exactly on time, although we then sat on the tarmac for 1hr 40 minutes with some technical issues!! Finally, after a smooth flight, we touched down just over an hour late. Our recent experience of passport control in Italy has not been great, but Cagliari was incredibly efficient and the staff were so helpful and friendly. Within minutes we were through formalities and anticipating chaos with the car hire, but again it was perfect. The only plan we had made was to go straight to Cagliari for lunch so we wouldn’t feel we had to set a day aside later in our stay. With an hour of our day lost we were worried that this plan would have to be aborted so we could check-in on time, however, within an hour we were in the centre of Cagliari, parked up and sat in a restaurant, Taccas, waiting for our lunch.

After sharing a bruschetta platter and a vegetarian platter we sauntered back uphill to the car park – this was our introduction to the steep terrain of Sardinia!! Our accommodation, Sa Cruxitta, had been booked through an Italian B&B company which we had used for our stay in Sicily last year. We knew the drive was about an hour and that the area we were staying in was not popular with tourists so we anticipated it being somewhere quiet. Situated right across the road from the marina our B&B had an unimpeded view of the sea.

We were welcomed with ice cold drinks and local information before being shown to our room. There were only 3 rooms in the B&B and we had booked the only one with a sea view, the rest of the house was open to all guests as the owners didn’t actually live on site. We were encouraged to use the kitchen as our own, along with the grounds – we had a small shaded patio right outside of our room which we had to ourselves every day of our stay. The biggest surprise to us was that the doors were never locked so we could come an go as we pleased. Breakfast was provided by two wonderful ladies who arrived early morning and set up tables in the garden ready for 8:30. No English was spoken at all but this made things more perfect. They departed by mid-morning and no room cleaning took place although we had clean towels mid-way through our stay; this enabled us to really feel at home and also enjoy the peace during the day.

Arriving mid afternoon meant the town was shuttered up and silent to avoid the intense heat so we unpacked and rested along with everybody else! Along with, what seemed like the entire town, we ventured out early evening for the obligatory stroll around town with a view to familiarising ourselves with our surroundings. Portoscuso is a small fishing port specialising in tuna, totally uncommercialised and attracting mainly Italian visitors. Ancient sites related to the tuna fishing industry are scattered along the coast with a coastal path running along the rocks and the crystal clear water to a small sheltered bay and beach. We spent our evening exploring the web of roads, that all inevitably lead to the sea, before finding a bar to grab a beer and watch the locals in the main square. We had been told the Festival of St Antoni was taking place with a food festival, parade and fireworks so we had the perfect spot to watch the town prepare. As the main church clock had a different time on each of its 4 faces – none of which were accurate – it was obvious that this was not going to run to the programme! The parade finally started and was very parochial although seeing everybody, including children, dressed in local costume was wonderful. The food festival turned out to be a handful of tents with massive queues so we wandered off to a nearby restaurant near the harbour. If we were honest, our expectations for the fireworks were low and as anticipated the start time was 30 minutes adrift! However, it was definitely worth the wait as they were spectacular and lasted for a further 30 minutes. As a town with regular festivals throughout the summer and very few tourist facilities (hotels etc.) we wondered how they were able to justify the cost of so many expensive firework displays, although it felt like the entire town attended in a massive show of civic pride.

With the days being intensely hot, we decided to grab breakfast and take a morning trip to the island we could see from our room (Sant Antioco) and visit Calasetta. The short journey was itself an experience with the road across the causeway surrounded by salt flats populated by flamingos. The island was quiet along with the roads, making it an easy trip and parking was really straightforward – on the waterside with plenty of spaces. By the time we arrived the sun was very strong so we made our way along the waterfront to the rocky beach, regretting that we hadn’t brought our swim gear! The sea breeze took some of the heat away, we found a flat rock near the water and watched the comings and goings in the bay, time seemed to evaporate. To avoid walking too far in the heat we checked out the opening times of some local bars and their proximity to us before taking a gentle stroll up into the main square. Bars were slowly beginning to open up, setting up outside seating areas with umbrellas etc so we sat a while in the square before wandering along the main street for a drink.

Already we had realised that this break was going to be different to anything we had done before – it was going to be total relaxation and not sightseeing. We also knew that being out during the peak of the heat would be a mistake so we would be returning to our B&B by lunchtime each day before venturing out again in the evenings. On our way back we discovered that there was a small ghost town on the route – Tratalias. In 1951 an artificial lake was created (Monte Prano) but the water seeped into the house’s foundations making them unstable, the locals persevered for 20 years but finally had to abandon their homes with the town becoming deserted by the early 1980’s. It was overwhelmingly hot when we visited and there were no facilities or shade. We parked as close to the centre as possible and had a gentle walk around; the buildings were still in perfect condition (the most affected houses were demolished for safety reasons) and the church is still the centre of major festivals in the area but an eerie silence hung in the air.

Looking for somewhere not too far away to visit, we headed out to Iglesias. As with everywhere we drove, the roads were quiet and parking on the street was easy. We headed to the main square for a coffee and to get our bearings. The town was a warren of narrow, steep streets so we decided to just explore in the shady alleys around the church. This turned out to be the centre,  with its streets filled with little shops, cafes and bars. Again, we had no reason for our visit but we could see that this was a larger town than Portoscuso with greater choice of restaurants etc. so we made the decision to return again for our last evening –  mainly to avoid eating pizza again! We found a table outside of a gelateria to enjoy an ice-cream before making our way back for an afternoon in the shade.

There was a walkway from the centre of Portoscuso to the beach at the edge of town so as the evening cooled down we wandered along just before sunset, pausing at the beach at the end of the path before finding a bench and watching the sun go down. The only way to end the day was in our favourite spot on the square watching locals again… with a beer!

Having not used the beach since our arrival, we decided to live like Sardinians and after an early breakfast we packed our stuff and bagged a spot on the sand. By 9:30 the beach was already busy with everybody bringing low beach chairs and umbrellas tethered with guy ropes and angled to give maximum shade – no cool boxes, food, drink, or games here. It was clear that this is the retirement plan as we were almost the youngest there!! Despite the ‘beautiful people’ image that is so prevalent on the Italian mainland, this beach was full of older people in tiny bikinis and Speedos having the best time. Most of them didn’t swim but instead walked lengths of the beach in small groups, starting at the edge of the water and with each length moving deeper into the bay. Very few of them actually swam, chatting to friends instead. After a while, they would wander back to their shade and let the sun dry them off before slowly making their way up to the shaded bar for a drink, returning to the beach later. They didn’t spend all day cooking in the intense heat but collected their things together by mid-morning and left. Having worried before leaving about what would be suitable swimwear it became apparent that it really didn’t matter, these people just enjoy life and make full use of the great climate.

Following our visit to Iglesias, we had decided to return to a small restaurant, Enoteca Ciccimonelli, that specialised in traditional Sardinian dishes. The town was only a short distance away and we really wanted to be back in Portoscuso for our last evening so we booked an early table. The journey took us along the coast and past a stunning viewpoint we had discovered the day before. We made a point of stopping to take in the breath-taking view that we now knew was just minutes from our B&B. The restaurant was a wine bar and tapas style restaurant so we ordered a number of dishes to share and enjoyed some of the best food we had eaten during our stay. As with everything on the island, the pace was slow and gentle with a real feel of personal service. We sauntered through the narrow streets back to the car knowing that we would catch some of the sunset from the clifftop viewpoint on our return trip.

Again we finished our evening in the square and made plans to make the best of our last few hours in Sardinia. Sardinia had taught us to stop and we certainly needed it after our India trip, it had also taught us that doing nothing can be everything. The Sardinians had taught us how to relax and the beach experience had been the best lesson so on our last morning we would eat breakfast, pack up the car and head to the beach for the morning. We ignored the possibility of sand in our clothes, wet swimwear, no towels, having to get changed in the car etc. and enjoyed every last minute of the weather and sea.