Descovering Sardinia
25 April, 2008
By Helen WerinPhoto shows: Alghero, looking from the old town.
My daughter had told her little school friends that I was going to Siberia. I might as well have been for all that I knew of Sardinia.
It's the greatest thing to travel with few preconceptions or expectations, so I had deliberately not done any research on my destination beforehand. I wanted to be surprised, delighted, excited - all those things. What I hadn't expected was to be so amazed that I was totally lost for words, for once.
Magnificent Views
We'd walked down 654 stone steps chiselled into the side of an 180metre limestone cliff at Capo Caccia, a promontory with magnificent views just 15 minutes' drive from our base at Alghero.
One of our party had had vertiginous heebie-jeebies seconds into our descent above the pounding seas. But the steps were not difficult, going down at least, though with a somewhat sporadic handrail bordered by a chest-high wall.
As if this wasn't enough of an experience, let me tell you that what happened when we got to sea-level and ducked inside the opening of Neptune's Grotto instantly took away the breath that I had been saving for the ascent.
spectacle
If I took all the superlatives of every language in the world I would still not feel that I had done justice to this spectacle.
Imagine three beautiful cathedral-like chambers, with calcitic columns nine metres high, spectacular concretions like organ pipes and Christmas trees, unusual horizontal formations in what is aptly called the 'lace' hall and every shape and size of 'tites' and 'mites'.
Now multiply your vision a thousand-fold, add no less than seven lagoons as still as mirrors and the feel, perhaps, of an Indiana Jones film set. That's the nearest one can get within the confines of literary description.
That easy
What is worth saying here is that all this is less than three hours away from Derbyshire. One of the recently-launched Ryanair flights can whisk you from East Midlands Airport to Alghero, on Sardinia's north west coast and a hired car, or even the Blue Line bus, can take you the 24 kilometre distance to Capo Caccia. It's that easy.
Of course, what wasn't easy - for me, anyway - was the ascent. It felt a bit like a vertical Great Wall of China going back up and only the thought that I had absolutely no choice but to plod on kept me going. I asked our guide later what would have happened if I had collapsed. "Oh, the people who work in the caves will just have to carry you," she said - and she was not joking.
We may have done it the 'hard' way - when the sea is calmer you can take a boat from Alghero's harbour right up to the cave entrance instead.
This same boat will also transport you through Pierced Island close by, another delight, I'm told, but one we missed out on because of choppy seas.
Sense of Achivement
But what a sense of achievement - and what a sense of having seen what was undoubtedly one of the finest sights I have ever laid eyes on.
I was half expecting everything else on our whistle-stop weekend to be overshadowed by the grotto experience, but not so, particularly if you are fascinated by history or archaeology.
Sardinia, all 270km or so in length of it, is covered with no less than 7,000 of the mysterious Nuraghi - Neolithic fortress-like settlements unique to the island and dating back to around 1500BC.
Design Genius
As we strolled around the remains of one such Nuraghic village among the olive trees at Palmavera, off the road connecting Alghero to the stunning Porto Conte bay, I could not help but wonder at the design genius of these early Sardinians.
The central tower, around which there would have been 50 huts, is a curious cone shape, its’ walls simply layers of sandstone without any mortar to hold them together.
Some of these buildings would have had several floors and even balconies. The mind boggles as to how the tower has managed to stay up, let alone be so well preserved.
3,000BC
A short drive in another direction took us to one of the most important historical sites in Sardinia, the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju, on the road to Porto Torres, which dates from 3,000BC.
Even those in our party who claimed to be 'bored' by Sardinia’s colourful past were among the first to scramble inside these underground burial chambers, the domus de janas, bull-horn-shaped ‘houses of the dead’.
These were also sacred places where the living met to pray and leave offerings in memory of their dead. There are no less than 2000 of these collective tombs all over Sardinia and artefacts discovered in them can be viewed in museums in Sassari or the capital, Cagliari.
Intriguing Past
Alghero - founded in 1120 - has an intriguing past, with the remnants of its 400 year rule under the Catalans very evident today.
Half of the city's population speaks Catalan; indeed, people from Barcelona flock here during the summer. As it seems that everyone from miles around does on a Sunday afternoon for the passagieri.
Generations of families promenade up and down the seafront and crowds pack the narrow cobbled streets of the small, old town.
Coral Coast
Many shops sell coral jewellery as Alghero is, after all, on the Coral Coast. Coral is one of the staple industries of the island, along with its other major export, delicious pecorino cheese from sheep.
On weekday afternoons the locals observe their siesta with a fervent reverence and the quaint streets are deserted and the shops closed save for a couple of cafes and tempting gelato parlours.
Alghero is very ‘big’ on religious festivals and here, in the old town, there are also some historic churches to visit and museums dedicated to different processions, sacred art and liturgical treasures.
The cathedral itself is somewhat of an architectural mixture, with a rather out of place 19th century mock Neo-classical façade, but inside is the most magnificent 18th century Baroque-style altar of Italian marble.
Classical Music Concerts
In July and August, at the church of St Francis, you can soak up the atmosphere at classical music concerts. You can also stay in the cloisters here - if you’re not noisy, that is. In fact, some of our fellow Ryanair passengers did, and proclaimed it a “wonderful experience”.
Alghero’s ‘symbol’ is its bell tower. Indeed, the rooftop spectacle of Alghero to the turquoise sea beyond is as picturesque as any in the Mediterranean, especially with the multi-coloured ceramic dome of San Michele in view. What this vista also highlights is just how unspoilt the coastal landscape is, thanks to a ban on development beyond Alghero's tourist quarter.
However, I can well imagine how busy the five kilometre stretch of Alghero beach and the two lovely beaches of La Bombarde eight kilometres away become at the height of the summer season as the population almost trebles.
Cleaned Up
In early spring, however, the beach was deserted, if covered with the seaweed – algae – from which the town is believed to get its name, but which is cleaned up in time for the sun seekers.
Alghero’s wide promenade winds its way up to the harbour with its countless yachts and around the walls of the old town, past enticing restaurants and pavement cafes.
Here you can find menus to suit every budget, from the expected pastas and pizzas to the most magnificent platters of fish and seafood imaginable.
Several Memorable Feasts
We had several memorable feasts at which we indulged in seafood risotto with clams and mussels, fried calamari, octopus, crab, sea bream, swordfish and monk fish so delicately cooked they melted in your mouth and unbelievably delicious prawns, all washed down with the delectable local red Cannonau.
The meal I most remember, though, is a massive gut-busting 19 course extravaganza at the Azienda Agrituristica Sa Mandra, an agricultural cooperative near the airport, where everything – from the wild boar and spit-roasted suckling pig, to the most succulent tomatoes and oranges I have ever tasted were all raised or grown on the surrounding land.
Most of the people on our flight from East Midlands Airport had come for a long weekend just to relax, soak up the sun - 22c at the beginning of March - try the wonderful food and dip their toes into the Med.
Talking to some of them on the way home, like me they had been amazed that they could pack all that, plus culture, history and one of the most wondrous sights that they are ever likely to see into such a short space of time without feeling hurried.
Easily and cheaply
What delighted them even more was that they could do it all so easily and so cheaply.
As I arrived back in drizzly Britain, with a harsh wind whistling around my ears, you can understand how cold and grey it must have felt. I missed the vibrance, the colour, the passion for life, the warmth of the Sardinian spirit. Everything felt flat and listless after my Alghero experience. In fact, it felt a bit like I was coming to Siberia.
FACT FILE
Helen Werin visited Alghero courtesy of Ryanair. For Ryanair flight information and prices go to www.ryanair.com
For tourist information on Alghero go to www.comune.alghero.ss.it and click on Vacations to Alghero.
