ThatPhysicsGirl on Holiday: Travels in Sardinia

Hello! Sorry this post is a little late, but whilst on holiday the wifi was intermittent to say the least! I’ve just got back, so thought it might be nice to offer a little account of my time abroad. I love to travel, I love to see new places and experience new things. My boyfriend and I had looked at going to one of the Greek Islands this year, but were worried by news of strikes which may have caused us problems. As such, we ended up looking across a range of different places in Europe and finally settled on Sardinia for its combination of stunning coastline and lovely mountainous interior. Plus both Ryanair and Easyjet do cheap flights there (which for a student is pretty important!). 

Alghero

Alghero is a large town on the North- Western coast of Sardinia. We flew in here (because the flights were cheapest :P) but ended up spending two nights here due to timings of flights and buses. It was actually really nice to have a look round as the city has some really interesting history (basically it got invaded a lot) and some really pretty parts to look round. There is a strong Catalan influence which gives it a nice character as several styles of architecture have all been used at one time or another. We went for a walk round the old town, and then wandered around the docks and along the sea front before we finally headed back for some well deserved pizza!

Cala Gonone

Cala Gonone was a small seaside fishing village, but thanks to better transport links with the rest of the island is being developed more and more into a tourist destination. We were lucky to go at the start of September, as school holidays were over but it wasn’t quite the end of the season, so we had the benefits that it wasn’t too crowded, but everything was still open. We had rented a nice little self catering apartment, approximately 200m from the seafront so a great location! The town has a few sandy-pebbly beaches within easy walking distance so we spent a good few days just relaxing (and reading lots of books!). But the town is also a good centre for trying lots of other activities, so in later days we ventured further afield!

Nuraghe Mannu

Almost every other person that goes to Sardinia will have a car. We were looking to keep costs down and used public transport during our stay there, which rather shocked the lady in the tourist info! As a result, to get to this Megalithic structure (there are lots of Nuraghes in Sardinia) at the top of the cliff involved a fairly long walk up the hill back along the main road that leads into the town. I got the impression not many other tourists decide to walk up judging from the looks we were getting from passersby in their cars. Eventually we turned off the main road on to the dirt track leading to Nuraghe Mannu and arrived at the entrance gate. Unfortunately it was closing for lunch (everything closes at lunch time which is always inconvenient when you forget) but we managed to get in to have a quick look round. It was amazing how well preserved the structure was, considering it was from the Nuragic era (1900-730BCE), however to us we had to admit it did just look rather like a pile of rocks. A very nice pile of rocks, but a pile of rocks none the less. However the view from the top was excellent, we could see around the entire bay, along the coastline to places we were going to visit only the next day.

Boat trip

Having done extensive research before leaving, I’d read that everyone says that you absolutely must get a boat along the coast. Having explored the various options (water taxis that just drop you off, mini cruises that take you along for the day and hiring your own) we decided to hire our own boat. Whilst it was the most expensive option, it was definitely worth it. You went along to the port, had a nice chat with all the people sitting in their beach huts and got the best price for hire. The next morning you’d come back, pick up your included parasol and ice box and go and get your boat. After an incredibly brief introduction to how to actually use a motor boat you were just allowed to set off along the coast. It was incredible being able to speed along looking at the stunning coastline. All of the beaches are really nice, white pebbles/sand and clear turquoise and deep blue water. Most of them are not easily accessible from the land, meaning that getting a boat is really the only way to see them. The most incredible was Cala Goloritze, a UNESCO world heritage site, with its amazing limestone towers jutting out over the beach. The water was also really as blue as it looks in photos! After a swim (just anchor the boat and jump really) we headed off down the coast. We stopped at Cala Mariolu for lunch, which involved the process of running the boat close to the beach, pulling out the engine (so it doesn’t get damaged on the bottom), dropping one person off on the beach with all the stuff while the other goes back out, anchors the boat past the line of buoys and then has to swim in. Oh and they might have to battle with other peoples anchors getting stuck round their propeller and then help very nice, but slightly incompetent Dutch tourists who’ve managed to really get themselves stuck. It was fine for me though – I was the one left on the beach! The whole day was wonderful, boating, sitting on amazing beaches, swimming with the fish… all in all a great experience and one I’d really recommend. Getting your own boat means you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want which for us was great!

Gorroppu Gorge

On our final day we managed to book on to an excursion to the Gorroppu gorge. If you have your own car you can drive there and do the walk yourselves, however as we didn’t have a car we didn’t have that option. In the end though it turned out to be such fantastic value getting a guide that I think it is probably the best option! We were picked up from our accommodation in the morning and driven to the gorge with another couple on the same trip. The trips are set up for 8 people and we only had 4 so our experience was great! After a brilliant, adrenaline filled ascent up the mountain along really steep, loose rock tracks in the 4x4 (over some impressive drops) we started our hike down into the gorge. Our guide Francesco was brilliant and told us lots about the flora, fauna and geography of the area in slightly broken English (but it was lots of fun to work out words that he couldn’t remember). On entering the gorge we started the 1km odd stretch that tourists are allowed to walk along, scrambling over huge boulders worn smooth by the river that appears in winter. It was lots of fun and having a guide was great as he knew the best route along so could show us the easiest ways to get over obstacles, as well as other fun bits like a couple of natural slides. The gorge itself is gorgeous (see what I did there ;)) – it is known as the European Grand Canyon and it was easy to see why. Walls up to 400m on either side, the gorge itself ranged from 10-50m in width. Eventually we got to the point where only people with ropes and climbing gear are allowed further, so whilst we were disappointed we couldn’t have any more fun scrambling over bigger rocks we’d seen a lot already. It was then back along the gorge and up the hill to where our guide was preparing us the lunch that was included which was lovely. Typical Sardinian fresh bread, soft cheese made from sheep milk, hard cheese (somewhere between cheddar and parmesan) and local sausage, as well as a small amount of local red wine. All in all a fantastic day and an excellent experience!

Those were the main things we got up to whilst in Sardinia. It was such a nice holiday and really let me relax, which after the rest of the summer I’d had was well needed! Now on to planning the next trip!


A few links:
Our B&B in Alghero: Good location, well priced, lovely hosts, nice room, amazing breakfast.
Really Good Pizza in Algerho: V. cheap, really nice pizza
Apartment in Cala Gonone: Great location, excellent value, lovely host, well equipped.
Ghivine Tour Company for Gorroppu: Really excellent company, such a good day!