After an entertaining and at
times slightly anxious detour around the old centre of Oristano where we had
gone to shop (there were multiple fire trucks blocking the main road) we set
off to explore the interior, en route to the island of Sant’Antioco off the
south west coast. We’d tracked down a non-ACSI campsite that looked OK as a
backup, with the idea of maybe free camping en route.
As the weather filled in we
decided to have a lunch break at the Roman Témpio de Antas, a ‘heavily
restored’ temple of the 3rd Century AD, built, as is customary, we’re
learning, on the site of an older Carthaginian and Nuraghic sanctuary. The temple
might have been more inspiring in better weather, but Mrs B’s pose at the
temple in the picture that follows, gives a sense of how underwhelmed we were!
Glad that entry to the site
also included an option to visit a nearby Nuraghic village, Mrs B’s pose here
leaves nothing to interpretation about how that turned out too!
The drive onwards further
south, like so much of the driving on Sardinia, was a series of dramatic and
changing landscapes and topography, that included a stretch of abandoned coal
mines as we neared one of Mussolini’s grandest ‘self improvement’ towns,
Carbónia.
The town was established as
a centre for coal mining as part of Il Duce’s drive to make Italy more self
reliant in the 30s and Carbónia remained a source of coal until the 1950s.
Nowadays it has a sleepy air and we decided just to send it a wave as we drove
past and onwards to our ‘island off the island’ destination.
As we neared Isola di Sant’Antioco
the weather improved, no doubt as a result of the fierce wind that was now
blowing from the west, and as the van was buffeted as we crossed the spit of
land and bridge that joins the small island to the big island, we were grateful
that the route to our campsite took us along the lee shore.
As we hugged the shoreline and
admired the calmer waters between the two islands, about five miles out from
the site, Mrs B spotted a possible free camp, so after a quick U-turn, we
headed off down a dirt track to the beach, passing the ‘no campers’ sign and
spotted an Italian campervan that looked like it was staying the night. So,
embracing the spirit of ‘when in Rome…’ we decided to give it a go. And as the
sun set behind the bluff we were tucked in behind, we kept our fingers crossed
that the next day would dawn sunny and slightly less windy.
Sure enough, the sun
obligingly rose in view of our dining window and we enjoyed breakfast – with a
view! (You may also spot our good friend Posidonia, also present!)
As the campsite was in one
direction, and the town in the other (complete with plenty of history and a
recommend of a restaurant owned and run by a fishing cooperative) we decided to
risk a later check-in and explore the town first.
Arriving early in the day
and spotting lots of places to park the van whilst we explored the town, we
thought we’d try and park close to the museum we had read about that covered a
sprawling, multi-epoch site. But although the adjacent carpark was completely
empty, we were stumped, as the access road clearly blocked campers! And having
got away with a free camp where we clearly shouldn’t have the night before, we
decided to become good citizens and park back near the port.
The museum was equally empty
and we had the benefit of some very attentive and helpful museum staff, both of
whom showed us around the Punic burial grounds that form a large part of the
outdoor exhibits, and set us up with an English translation video that
explained the museum and nearby historical sites.
As most of the chat with the
staff was in Italian, we weren’t entirely sure what we’d bought a ticket for,
except that it was more than the burial ground and the museum display, so,
undeterred but clear that we were meant to go around the museum exhibits first
(complete with English audio guide) we set off on what turned out to be a whole
morning of archeo/historical delight!
Mr B was in his element as
we viewed a series of displays and models that brought the mutli-layered
history of the area to life from the Nuraghic period to the Roman occupation.
Leaving the cool of the
museum and its amazing displays behind, we returned to bright sunshine as we
walked to the next part of the site, an ethnographic museum that covered the
more recent agricultural life of the islanders (19th and early 20th
century) including the curious and rather fascinating activity of harvesting
bearded giant molluscs to weave ‘sea silk’ or bisso used for embroidery.
Along with an Italian
couple, we were then shown round the caves of what was once a necropolis from
the Punic era but which were re-purposed by the poorer islanders into micro
cave homes in the later centuries, including into the early 1900s! It was
fascinating to see how a real economic need had led to the partial destruction
of an historic site (described as ‘desecration’ by the guide). And so, armed
with our audio guide and the Italian we could glean, we saw a combination of
recreated Punic tombs and the dwellings of the poorer Sardinians.
Emerging from the near
stygian gloom, we were then led further up the hill that the old town was
perched on and into the Piemontese castle that was unlocked just for the four
of us! Built by the islanders under royal decree (i.e. they were forced to pay
for it!) it was designed to serve as a defence against marauding pirates and
corsairs, although after the garrison was massacred in one attack by pirates
who approached under a British flag in 1815, the defences were improved. The
walls have great views across the coast and northern part of the island and it
was sobering to contemplate the massacre as we wandered about.
With our brains overloaded
with historical info, we headed off to the port for lunch at a local
fishermen’s cooperative ‘food outlet’ we had read about, La Sulcitana a ‘no frills’ place where the menu apparently
focussed on the catch of the day. Mrs B enjoyed fresh (not farmed!) sea bass and
a seafood fregula and Mr B couldn’t help himself but have a slab of the local
tuna (and a seafood fregula as well!). Sant’Antioco, and the nearby island of
San Pietro, are (in)famous for their mattanza, or, as our guide described it,
‘tuna bloodbath’ that would have just finished recently. In a nutshell, the
fish are herded into nets and then bludgeoned to death, in a tradition
unchanged for centuries. Notwithstanding any ethical debates on the subject, Mr
B reported his lunch as two of the tastiest tuna steaks ever!
After lunch we had a wander
around the old quarter and just soaked up the low key, tranquil nature of what
reminded us of many a sleepy Spanish town.
And so, after what seemed
like at least three days’ of excitement rolled into one, we headed off to look
for our campsite. Pulling over to check on the directions, we were overtaken by
a Swiss camper with a picture of a large moose on the back, more of which
later!
We had read about Camping Tonnara,
at Cala Sapone, in our guide and on the Campercontact app, one of only two
sites on the island. We pulled into the parking area and noticed that the Swiss
camper had just arrived before us, and so would be looking for a pitch at the
same time – always a challenge if there are not many – but as we discovered,
there were plenty.
Advised to pick at least two
by reception, we soon chose what had to be the best pitch going, shaded by
trees and overlooking the bay, so we hurried back to reception, to find the
Swiss couple just leaving, having chosen, you guessed it, the very same pitch!
Laughing at the coincidence (and having subsequently chosen another pitch with
lovely views) we got chatting to Anita and Robert, who had travelled pretty
much all of Europe and nearby countries and clearly had an experienced eye for
good pitches! They were travelling the Sardinian coast in the same direction as
us, and sailing the day after we were, so we were sure we would see them again,
as we had seen many familiar faces at the campsites so far. (Unfortunately we
didn’t, but who knows in the future!)
Our stay at Tonnara was
great fun, with plenty of sun and stunning views – but also persistently strong
winds and so after a few days of lazing about, we decided to take the next big
leap – across the south coast to what looked to be another promising quartz (or
in this case ‘rice’ beach) the other side of Cágliari, the island’s principal
city.
S&J
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