Sardinia!

I am in love with Sardinia.  Rugged landscape, strong sun, delicious food.  And the beaches—oh, the beaches.  We spent our three days there going from an amazing beach (Cala Luna) to a spectacular beach (Cala Friuli) to the most beautiful beach I have ever been to (Cala Mariolu). 

We arrived in Cagliari on Thursday afternoon, picked up our rented van—Hooky Van #3—and headed northeast.  We had rented the first floor of a two storey house in Galtelli, in a pretty spot high on a hill overlooking the town and with a view of the mountains.  Everything looked great, except that it seemed as though the living room was missing.  Giovanni, the man who met us to let us in, simply shrugged when we asked him about it, so we had to call the rental office.  The woman explained to me on the phone that the living room was in the upstairs unit—she had photos of both on the website.  Rather misleading.  After much back and forth, she agreed to let us use the upstairs as well, as it was not rented. We ended up using the downstairs for sleeping and bathing, and the upstairs for cooking, eating, and hanging out.  It had a terrific terrace where we ate our dinners.  We are the first people to have rented the place this season, and the downstairs unit is new—I expect that we will be the first of many to complain.

We drove into nearby Orosei for dinner that night—delicious, thin crust pizzas and fresh salads.  These are two things that are in short supply in Barcelona.  After a leisurely morning on Friday—the children ran around trying to catch lizards while the adults lingered over breakfast—we decided to drive to Cala Gonone and made our way to its small port.  The marina is lined with small shacks from which people sell tickets for boat tours to the various beaches that dot the coast. Most of these beaches are inaccessible except by boat; they sit at the foot of 900 meter white cliffs.  The aquamarine of the water surrounded by the white stone is absolutely stunning. 

We hired a boat to take us to Cala Luna, one of the closer beaches.  The driver left us off and we crossed a small bridge to the shore.  The children had stripped down and dove into the sea as soon as we touched land.  It was hot, and the water a perfect refreshing temperature.  C.C. borrowed a mask that fit her perfectly and spent hours studying the silvery white fish that swam in the shallows.  I fell asleep after a good long swim and some lunch.  Afternoon naps on the beach are my absolute favorite naps. We made a caprese salad and grilled steak and local sausage for dinner, washed down with the inky, local Canoneau wine.

Saturday threatened to be grey, and we debated whether to head back to the beach or to go to the mountains, but in the end decided to risk the beach.   This time we drove, to another beach south of Cala Gonone called Cala Friuli.  You park on the top and then descend a steep, winding staircase cut from the stone down to the beach.  Cala Friuli’s beach consisted of large-ish white rocks.  You have to arrange them just right beneath you to get into a comfortable position.  We swam again, ate sandwiches on the beach.  I napped.  It was beginning to feel like a routine, a very nice routine.

We decided to drive into Nuoro for dinner in order to get a sense of local culture.  We ate gelato in the piazza and strolled the main avenue.  I had found a slow food restaurant that opened at 7:45 and, as we were a party of nine, we decided we should get there when they opened.  Il Rifugio is the kind of restaurant you wish you had in your neighborhood.  Simple wooden tables, delicious aromas emanating from the kitchen, warm, attentive service.  The kids ate pizzas while the adults had local seafood and pastas.  Alec’s primi piatti was outstanding—a half-moon shaped pasta with a dough more like gnocchi than ravioli, stuffed with cheese and almonds, sauced lightly with slivers of guanciale and orange zest.  Amazing.  The panna cotta—served either with chocolate sauce, caramel, or forest fruits—was perfectly creamy, yielding easily to the spoon.  We left happy and full, drove back in the chilly night air and fell into bed.

On Sunday we got a bit braver, and rented a boat in order to get to what was purported to be one of the most beautiful beaches—Cala Mariolu.  Eirik knew how to drive a boat, and the waters had seemed easy enough to navigate.  Everyone suited up in life jackets and we set off.  It was a fine day, the sun shining and the water glittering.  Eirik steered us skillfully out into the open water and let the kids take turns “driving” the boat.  We passed Cala Luna, Cala Friuli, and several other beaches tucked into coves, counting on a map until we were certain we had reached our destination, a beautiful beach divided by a large rock.  We pulled up to the beach—C.C., our little fish, jumped out and swam to shore—and unloaded our towels and dry clothing, bags of sandwiches and bottles of water.  Andres and Dmitrius quickly scrambled up to the top of the high rock—it was about 10 feet tall—and jumped into the sea.  I had to do it, too. What a feeling!  I don’t like heights very much, and it did feel high up there, but so glorious to jump into the cool, blue water.

A couple of large parties of Italians had taken charter boats there for the day, and cheered each other on as one after another jumped into the water—teenage boys, older men, women in bikinis.  We had to keep moving our towels as the sun began to fall behind the cliffs—it was cool in the shade.  Finally, after everyone else had left and the sun was gone for good, we packed up and sailed off, but not before Alec pulled a muscle in his leg bringing the boat to shore.

We had another grill fest, and sat outside for a long time talking.  Vibeke suggested we play cards, so we did for awhile, until we realized that the deck we had bought at the grocery store was missing all of the eights, nines and tens.  We found another partial deck in the house and made do with that, playing until Vibeke and Alec tied for the lead, and we decided to turn in.

We managed to leave early enough this morning to stop in Cagliari on our way to the airport for one last, fantastic gelato at L’Isola del Gelato on Piazza Yenne.  And now we are home again, just in time for a full week of fieldwork for me, and the kids’ last, short week of school.

Milo loved having a 5 day playdate with his best friend, Peter.  One morning I asked Milo when he had woken up and he told me: “I woke up first of all, but I just stayed in the bed because I knew when my friend Peter woke up, he’d want to do something fun with me.”  Although they sounded like an old married couple at times, they are very good buddies, and I hope they stay friends for a long time.  C.C. loved hunting lizards, looking for fish, and jumping off of the big rock all by herself.  And we had a terrific time with our new friends.  All in all, a successful trip.  I had begun to feel overwhelmed by all that has to happen these last three weeks in Barcelona and, as I napped in the Sardinian sun, the sound of the ocean filling my ears, I began to slowly unwind.  Upon returning, everything seems somehow more manageable.