Europe 2009 - Sardinia

[notarian]

Sardinia is an island with many faces and entirely different than Corsica. If sun and sea is your bag then Sardinia is the place to make tracks for. Emerald green / blue waters, pristine white sand beaches are everywhere and its hot – July and August are scorching really and well into the 90 – 100’s F (35 – 42 C).

But it comes at a cost as summer tourist beach areas in Sardinia are very expensive, new tourist town developments are constantly ongoing similar to the Spanish Mediterranean coast, the food can be worse than bog standard and the beach area locals can be indifferent and downright rude.



On the other hand, the hill / mountain interior region is inexpensive, not at all touristy, really friendly, helpful people, the food is wonderful, temperatures are bearable and the roads are excellent.

The ferry from Bonificio, Corsica is an outrageous 80 Euros for 2 persons and a motorbike for a one hour voyage to St. Teresa on Sardinia.

Sardinia on the horizon and inching closer at $3.00/minute


What a colour!


The coast road west from St. Teresa – dead straight and hot as hell


Want a beach, turn right on any road




Gallura region and the Valle della Luna – land of rocks and cork








It’s hot and shade is non existent




Cork is a big deal in Gallura


So is wine


Given the chance, I strongly recommend staying in an agricultural accommodation and El Muto de Gallura in Aggis is one of the best. Very comfortable, delicious meals and affordable. Everything is home grown, dinner can be 3-5 courses. We chose 4. Home baked bread, spreads, variety of meats, cheeses and veg for openers. The most fantastic Gallura soup second, followed by wood oven baked baby roast piglet and all trimmings. Don’t remember desert but must have been very good. All washed down with a fine wine made on the premises.

[notarian]

Two days at Muto was enough and we headed cross country to city of Alghero. Billed as a town steeped in fishing industry (especially lobsters) and one that retains a sense of mixed Sardinian, Spanish culture, we found it anything but that. Here’s where the impersonal people bit comes into play. Algheroians may be cool and friendly in the off season, but they don’t give a shit for you during the summer season. Maybe most of that service industry is staffed by non Algheroians?

Plus, it’s outstandingly expensive. A fairly good 3-star hotel in this area is $280 per night and a lobster dinner will set you back $100. We did neither, opting for a campground bungalow well outside the city and costing $180 / night. That didn’t include a $30 cleaning fee for 2 nights, $15 for two towels or toilet paper. There’s a pool (didn’t use), a bar (did use) and a small store that cost the earth and sells items like T-paper in Costco size proportions = I bought 50 napkins at $5 instead and really don’t care if I plugged the plumbing.

As for lobster, we went into Aleghro around 6 pm for a fine meal, only to find that the restaurant doesn’t open until 9. Bugger that, we were hungry so didn’t hang about.

Beaches may be public but umbrella operators rule the sand = can’t use the beach where they have set up camp without paying them $22 per person for a cot and umbrella. Nope, you are sent down to a rocky bit at either end if you don’t pay up.

Except for sand and sea there is little to do around Alghero, but can recommend the cave at Neptune Grotto on the Cape Cassia peninsula. One can take a boat trip or drive close and walk down (and back up) the 654 steps. If you do go by boat, ask when they will come back to collect you and if not, which of the other tour operator’s boats can you return on. The tour boat we took buggered off for a two hour lunch and didn’t tell us which boat to take back. It was 3 hours before getting out of the grotto.

Cape Cassia


Neptune Grotto










Another Alghero attraction (so they say) is the pre-nuraghic necropolis of Anghelu Ruju that turns out to a bunch of 5000 year old holes in the ground that are ancient burial tombs. Whatever artefacts were found have long since gone off to museums and the site is a bare field and a shack for buying a ticket.

[notarian]

2 days of Alghero was plenty and I was longing for some of Sardinia’s 3rd gear mountain roads and maybe cooler temperatures. We headed south to Boza then east for the central range. It was 100 F and melting in black leathers.



But the roads were getting better and better






Higher up the temperature had cooled to 80 F and the road became exceptional




Mountain village of Tonara at 900m and a warm welcome at the small family operated hotel  and restaurant Muggianedda. We were back in the world of $35 rooms and superb meals (wild boar stew) at $12.


It’s big bottle Miller Time – or rather, Ichnusa Time. Thirsty work, being a pillion.


Exploring the region




Have I mentioned the roads? Like Orson told us, in Sardinia one rarely gets out that ‘do all’ 3rd gear.




I stopped for a stretch at a side road and happened on this sign. What the heck, I’ll have a look.










Time to move on. Mainland Italy needs to be seen too and we had a day’s ride through the mountains and coast to the ferry port of Golfo Aranci.

When M was concentrating on the road and not whirling about snapping pics left and right, her digital timing was excellent.












I imagine most people find Sardinia to be a wonderful holiday, but I have mixed feelings about the island. It’s not the island’s fault, its mine as expected much more of Sardinia. June – August is not the month for biking, its just too damned hot. The scenery isn’t good enough, but the roads are fantastic.

So, it now time to visit Italy’s mainland, Roma, Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany and the next ferry port of call was Civitavecchia, about an hour and a half north of Roma.

AMF Sardinia. You were good, but not great.

[notarian]

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[Orson]

Ahh...It's a shame you had a run in with Sardinia's murkier side  

Here was my route.


I stayed away from the coast except for a couple nights. I had one of my most memorable days on a bike in Sardinia. It was nearing 5 o'clock, and I had ridden more than my share of twisties, when I passed a sign reading "HOTEL 300m".

30 minutes later I was dipping in their pool and enjoying a cold one. A perfect ending to a great day  

I had 80 degree temps in June, and that was more than enuff. I can't imagine what 100° must have felt like  

[notarian]

Ahh...It's a shame you had a run in with Sardinia's murkier side  

Well Will, sometimes you just don't know until you get there. Too right about sticking to the mountains - that was magic. But then, for the first time this wasn't a solo ride for the pure purpose of riding and more a dual purpose holiday = the beaches had to be seen too.

A cold, frosty one is even more pleasurable after 3 digit temperatures!  

[stefrrr]

Beeyootiful! Nice ride report, too!  

[TuffguyF4i]

Very pretty.  Nice!  Alot of the landscape actually reminds me of CA.  

[KeC]

Nice report and great pictures. Traveled for allmost two weeks arround Sardinia back in '07.

Loved the roads: