Ancient Tharros, Nuraghic Giants, Bottarga and on to Marina di Torre Grande, near Oristano (12th - 14th June)

Glad to be leaving the insect life of Is Aruttas behind, but not the fabulous beach and low key campsite, we meandered down the coast to see what had also brought us to the Sinis peninsula, the ruins of the Punic-Roman town of Tharros.

Arriving earlier than the coach tours we knew would be coming, we were lucky to be able to wander around the ruins of what was originally a Phoenician port from as early as 800BCE, followed by subsequent conquest by the Carthaginians and then the Romans, who left behind most of what is still visible today. There’s enough to get a sense of the town, with the outline of roads and buildings clear to see, helped by the reconstructed temple columns and some ‘patching up’! Much of the ancient town lies under the sea nearby, and divers regularly add to the site’s finds.

As much as we enjoyed the wander round the site, as the temperature rose, we were grateful to climb to the nearby Spanish tower from the 1500s where we were greeted by a cooling breeze and some amazing views back up the coast and to the end of the peninsula at Capo san Marco. You can get to visit the inside and go to the top of the tower, but unfortunately for us, it was being repaired!

As we walked back to the van from the Spanish tower we also stumbled upon this intriguing church, although we couldn’t find any information about it!

Mrs B had read of a museum not far from Tharros in Cabras, that, as well as housing a broader history of the area, was home to some of the ‘Giganti di Mont’e Prama’ – the lovingly restored (from 1000s of fragments) nuraghic statues of archers, warriors and boxers (some up to 2.5m tall) from between 900 and 1200BCE. Having been impressed by the amazing tower complex we had seen at Santu Àntine, we were stunned into an astonished silence to see these figures with their enigmatic faces and postures, staring back at us across the centuries.

Mr B was also taken by the finds from a Roman cargo ship from the 1^st Century BCE, that had sunk in the nearby bay off the island of Mal di Ventre, including about 1000 lead ingots and the lead parts of the anchors. Intriguingly, the lead has been shown to have come from mines in Cartagena in Spain!

Spotting a regional supermarket near where we had parked the van, we topped up on our usual supplies and treated ourselves to a small piece of bottarga, the smoked roe from mullet in the adjacent lagoon. With the brand translated as ‘Cabras Gold’ we hope it’s as good as it promises – at €130 a kilo it better had be – and we understand that a little goes a long way!

We’d already decided to try a campsite not far from Cabras, so after enjoying a morning of culture, we decided it was time for lunch, so why not check in early at the site in Marina di Torre Grande and have lunch on the beach…

What we hadn’t reckoned on was a rather longer-than-is-usual siesta at camping Spinnaker, with the reception closed between 12.30 and 3.30! So instead of checking in, we drove up the coast a short distance and made lunch at a pretty deserted beach, ideal for a free overnight camp if Spinnaker didn’t take our fancy.

Once we’d had a chance to check the site out though, we decided that its combination of pool and beachside location would do, and we had a free choice of pitches in amongst the pines and eucalyptus (except for a zone set aside for a large group of campers from the Netherlands arriving later that day!) With enough time left in the day for a spot of relaxing, we had the site’s private sun loungers and brollies all to ourselves as we enjoyed our beachside aperos!

The beach was not as pretty as some we had enjoyed, with the water more like the English channel than the Med, no doubt the product of being in a large bay that housed a major industrial port! Still, we had high hopes of a couple of days busy doing not much…

But we’d reckoned without the very strong wind coming off the sea – sandblasting strength – and the profusion of exuberant mosquitoes that seemed as happy to be out in the day as the night, and clearly didn’t know they weren’t meant to fly in strong winds!

So, after filling the water tank and getting the van ready for a possible bit of free camping, we headed south-west into the province of Carbónia-Iglésias to do some exploring!

S&J