 |
 |
|
|
...TRAVELLING |
  
|
| We begin then at Cagliari, arriving there either by air or sea. At the island's capital we can make our first, timid contact with the sea at Poetto: a spotless beach with fine sands extending for about six kilometres along the Gulf of Angels, to the east of the city. At the eastern end of the gulf, we come to Villasimius with the little port of Fortezza Vecchia. The village has developed tourist facilities considerably and is set on a suggestive and varied coastline where granite rocks give way to little beaches and bays. A few hundred metres from Capo Carbonara the Island of Cavoli emerges, a little pearl on a cobalt-blue sea. Here too one can spend magic moments on the little beaches, in an environment untouched by the crowds. The old lighthouse building can still be seen on the island, though the present lighthouse has been transferred to Capo Carbonara. The island is also a paradise for lovers of underwater photography, both because of the form of the coast and sea-bed and because of the great variety and quantity of fish. Underwater swimmers should not fail to dive down to Madonna del Naufrago (Our Lady of the Shipwrecked), a statue placed on the sea-bed and indicated by a stone between the rocks. Continuing with our journey towards the north of Sardinia, we can admire the Costa Rei coastline, a seaside resort that has developed considerably in recent years thanks to its beach extending over some 10 kilometres: its size allows holidaymakers to lead the "beach life" under the sun-shades or to seek out isolated spots, away from indiscreet eyes and unwelcome company. A stop is called for at the Orosei Gulf, however. And one can make some of the most interesting excursions offered by the island's coasts, setting out from Cala Gonone, a resort provided with sufficient facilities for tourists. A visit to the Blue Marino ("Marine Ox") grottoes is a must; they can only be reached from the sea and one can explore some six kilometres of them: for centuries they were the abode of seals, the kings of the sea in this area. Today only a few examples still survive, finding refuge in the inaccessible grottoes. Naturalists, however, have proposed increasing the seal population by importing examples from Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean where they are present in large numbers. There is no lack of excitement in the Orosei Gulf, however: you just have to land at Cala Luna or Cala Sisine to discover incredible beaches; they too can only be reached from the sea and are the envy of many more famous locations. Cala Luna especially is bound to stir one's emotions with its stretch of sand separating the sea from a fresh-water lake formed by the mouth of a brook and surrounded by flowering oleanders that, on hot summer days, give out a sweet, intense perfume. Moving on toward the north, leaving aside Porto Cervo and the Emerald Coast, the realm of élite tourism, we reach La Maddalena and its archipelago, the realm of sailing enthusiasts. This handful of rocks and islands situated between the northern coast of Sardinia and Corsica is a real masterpiece of natural beauty: bays, white and rose-coloured beaches with fragments of coral and cliffs that offer protection from any type of wind make sailing a pleasure in this sea. There is many a fascinating location to visit here: Spargi and the bays along the western coast; Cala Lunga at Razzoli and the remains of a Benedectine monastery on the island of Santa Maria. And just between Razzoli and Santa Maria we find the "Donkey Track", a narrow channel to be passed through before reaching Spargi to admire the "Witch's Head", one of the many sculptures formed by the wind in the granite rocks of Gallura. Then there is the Cavaliere beach at Budelli, less well-known than the Rose beach today (lacking in much of its sand as tourists have taken it away for souvenirs), but equally beautiful and impressive. Finally we come to the island of La Maddalena where we can land at Cala Gavetta, in the centre of the village, or at Porto Massimo, a private harbour to the north of the island. And we should also pay a visit to Cala Spalmatore and La Madonnetta, a little cove overlooked by a church which houses the statue of Our Lady found on the beach. Another landing-place one shouldn't miss in the archipelago is Cala Garibaldi at Caprera, where one can visit Garibaldi's house and museum. Moving on to Santa Teresa and passing by the numerous coves following one another, a stop at Capo Testa is obligatory: an incredible promontory of cyclopic granite rocks shaped by the sea and the winds into the forms of faces, bodies and animals bizzarre but suggestive sculptures. On days of strong winds, the sea breaks on the rocks, creating spectacular thrusts of water. If one is fascinated by the splendour of this natural environment, underwater the scene is equally enchanting: there is plenty of choice for underwater swimmers, and an enormous range of subjects for photographers. Divers should also stop on the island of San Pietro, inhabited in the second half of the 18th century by a colony of Genoese who fled from Tabarka. Carloforte, the only inhabited village on the island, is the base for many coral collectors who explore the surrounding sea-beds in search of the precious red deposits. But the whole island of San Pietro is another of those "close paradises" that are well worth visiting. Punta delle Oche (named after the royal seagulls in the local dialect) and the grotto of the same name, accessible to boats of up to six-seven metre length, are situated in the north of the island and lead to a series of enchanting coves and beaches: Cala Vinagra is a little funnel-shaped fiord and in summer a camp site is set up on its banks where guests spend their time in direct contact with nature, without electricity or telephones and with few connections by land to the village. For five hundred metres the coast continues along a steep cliff-edge where the queen falcons nest. And with a bit of luck one can come across other rare birds along the coast: "pilgrim hawks", Corsican seagulls, tufted cormorants and shearwaters. There's another rarity at Cala Fico, another fiord-shaped bay: its two banks have different feature, one is dark brown as the land has a high manganese content, while the other is almost silver colour, consisting of a rock ("comendite") which is unique in the world in terms of its chemical composition. Then there is Cala dello Spalmatore with its white beach, also known as La Caletta; the Mezzaluna grottoes that are only a few metres deep but some twenty metres high; and the Columns, two crags rising just a few metres from the shore. Thus there is an enormous range of possibilities for lovers of the sea and fishing on this island inhabited by fishermen and people with great marine traditions. Sailing south we return to the Gulf of Angels to stop at Nora harbour, before the remains of the Punic city, a further testimony to Sardinian history. Then the plane or ship will bring us back to our normal, everyday lives, far from the adventure of an intense and different holiday on the island of the nuraghes.
|
||
