Sardegna

Here we go!


Two weeks ago I went on a 5 day trip to the island of Sardegna with Brian Moore. The goal was to get outside, camp, beach, have fun, and explore.

If you were to design an island perfect for Brian, this is about as close as Ive ever found. Simply, Sardegna is amazing. Here is a list of things you can do there:
-beach some of Italys best beaches
-climb on world class steep limestone cliffs
-visit Europes deepest canyon, and others like it!
-chase sheep/goats/mouflon
-see beautiful Italian farms and countryside
-eat amazing Italian food
-cave
-swim in the water
-stay at a bed and breakfast...
-climb mountains
-etc...

This entry will have more pictures than words, because it just works better. Instead I will just tell the stories (make sure to click on them to see them bigger!)

(More pictures coming! so make sure to look back here)

The Beginning

after our review (yes I do some school here) on thursday we did some last minute shopping. I had earlier bought a small down sleeping bag, and we went to the hardware store for a plastic tarp that would serve as our shelter. The goal was to travel as light as possible, we would be doing a lot of walking so we needed to just bring exactly what we needed.

home is where the tarp is...

We set off at 7:00pm for Termini station to catch our train to Civitavecchia the modern portcity of Roma. We got lost right off the bat and ended up at the spanish steps (oops). However eventually we got to Termini and boarded the train for a one hour ride to Civitavecchia. This train was later than we expected and our ferry to Sardegna left at 10:30. We arrived at the station at just before 10. Not realizing there was a shuttle to the ferry we spent the next 20 min. running as fast as possible the mile to the port. We arrived sweaty but happy at the ferry.

this is italy

Now Im not a cruise type person so Ive never been on a really big boat. But this was a really big boat. it had 11 levels, 6 of them for cars. I would guess that the length of the boat was around 1000 ft. We got seats in first class since second class was closed (you can also get beds!). To celebrate our successful departure of the mainland we explored to find the top of the boat and then drank our celebratory boxed wine.


7 hours later we arrived in Olbia, Sardegna. From here we had got a bus south to Siniscola where the plan was to catch another bus to Dorgali. Now... Brian is much better at Italian than me, so the plan was that I would know logistics and he would do all the talking, it worked out pretty well! After arriving in Siniscola we discovered that the bus system is a mess on Sardegna and they only use about 1 of every 10 fermata (bus stops). So we spent the next 2 hours doing laps through Siniscola to find out bus stop. Our main quota from this trip is, Dov'e Dorgali? (where is Dorgali?). We probably said this at least 20 times. Finally, with the help of an old man, we were on the way to Dorgali. We arrive just before noon.

this is Sardegna

From Dorgali we did the 3 mile hike across the mountain pass towards the fishing village turned tourist resort Cala Gonone.

brian with box wine in hand on the way to Cala Gonone

We were walking primarily on a busy road but it was still very nice , we hiked through a long tunnel and emerged in a world of happiness, love, oceans, rocks, and joy.

yes please

im real!

We were so impressed by this bliss we took a lunch break in some rocks and decided to forget the road and hike through the country down towards Cala Gonone. This lead to being lost for 3 hours and having a tough encounter with some sheep. Resulting in Brian sacrificing the boxed wine to use as a weapon against them.

SHEEP BLOCKADE!!!



this is an important map!

Finally we got back on track and dropped down into the town of Cala Gonone. However it was off season and 3 oclock so we could find anything but empty playgrounds. So we decided to continue on to one of our main goals, the pristine beach (or so we hoped) of Cala Luna.

Cala Gonone

2 miles of road walking along the shore ended in a dramatic gorge. Then it was another few miles on rougher (but decent) trails. Dropping down and hiking back up through the numerous gorges on the way to the beach. We were going pretty fast in hopes of arriving while it was still light outside (and there was a storm approaching!). Finally as the sky was darkening we dropped down into the gorge of Cala Luna. Only to find we were on the wrong side of a mysterious body of water.

on the way to Cala Luna

As night approached we traversed both cliff sides in an attempt to get to the beach that was to be our home. Finally, it was concluded that we had to cross this water (ford the river!). It appeared to be fairly shallow, but we were working by the light of headlamps and couldnt tell depth. So, off went the shoes and socks, and up went the pant legs. Into the water we went, looking down to make sure we didnt step on anything bad (like a shark). The water was great! (after the first 5 seconds when you went numb that is). And we were able to successfully cross without going any deeper than our kneecaps. Success! We arrived at Cala Luna. Due to the darkness we wernt able to explore much, however we found a nice cluster of circular limestone rocks that would make a great fire pit and we set up camp right on the beach. We put up our trap since rain was threatening (however it turned out to be a amazingly clear and dark night)

And after drinking some of our celebratory Scotch Whiskey, and after sitting around the fire listening to the waves, and after discussing what would cause us harm during the night on the beach (we decided seal attack was the biggest threat), we bedded down for the night.

camp

Day 2 on the Island

get it! it says Cala Luna!

waiting for the sun

here is our sweet camp

We woke up for sunrise.

morning on the beach