Why I fell in love with Sardinia (and Sardinians)

I arrived there the first time one summer some years ago: when someone is travelling every place is read also through her own feelings of that moment, and my feelings, that year, were really positive (this could be one of the reasons why I ended up there).

I was visiting one of my dearest friend met in one Erasmus + training the year before, in Berlin. This is what I call Erasmus + effect: it makes you travel more than you think. It’s not only the project itself. After it you have new friends and you will visit each other and travel together towards new places or projects.

When you arrive from the hot weather of Naples and land in Sardinia the first thing you notice is the wind. I know it could be obvious for many since it is an island, but for me it was something new: the hot weather was somehow nicer, it was so lovely to feel the wind coming through your hair, while everyone is speaking with Sardinian accent.

My trip was in the north of Sardinia, in Gallura. What I love in travelling alone is that you meet many new people and in that trip I was visiting my friend alone. I met a lot of people from the place, they brought me around showing me the richness of the island, at least a piece.

Just the time to meet the family and some of the friends of my friend in Tempio Pausania, drinking a cold Ichnusa, and let the trip begin.

The first stage was a small place called “Isola Rossa” (Red Island). The name comes from a red rock just in front of the main beach of the place. This rock has the shape of a crocodile.

The small town is the perfect place for families, but when you have a good company everything can be funny, and so it was. Some of my best memories of that holiday are from there: from the walk on the main street at evening, with small street markets, from the jetty, made of stones and from the Sardinian delicious wine.

Nearby there is Costa Paradiso (paradise coast). The name says everything by itself, and there is no reason to explain it. I visited the small beach called “Li Cossi”. It is not an easy place to reach, since it is almost hidden and to get there people need to walk for about 15 minutes on the rock. Don’t worry, you will not get bored: the rock is just near the sea, and while walking, you can enjoy a breath-taking landscape. The beach is just between two small mountains of rock, so the place is quite repaired from wind and the sea is generally calm.

One other particular beach - or maybe I should say beaches – is the one in Capo Testa: there are two beaches one on the eastern and one on the western side and when one of these is rough the other one is calm (Spiaggia Rena di Ponente and Spiaggia Rena di Levante). You always have a way to enjoy it as you like.

The last day I was brought in a magical place: Castelsardo. Imagine a small town developed in high and on the top of this small mountain a castle.

Let’s do some step behind. On the way to Castelsardo there is a small sculpture – actually it is a stone – with an elephant shape. Sardinia is really particular with all its stones: they are colourful, shaped of the most weird forms and they give names to the places where they are. Let’s say “Valle della Luna” (Moon Valley): it is a valley, full of stones remembering the surface of the moon. While you are driving on the streets in Gallura you can suddenly chance upon it and it seems to be on one other planet – or satellite. Or stones of the monk sleeping and I cannot imagine how many others there are.

I was going to talk about Castelsardo. Well, it was my last night there – that time at least – and maybe it seemed magical also because of that. Walking up the streets of Castelsardo until the castle and through the shops, the wind, the flag, the colours, the smell of the sea, the Sardinian accent I understood that I was taken.

It was a kidnapping with no ransom.

Isola Rossa: http://www.sardinianbeaches.com/beaches-of-sardinia/north/trinita-dagultu/isola-rossa/

Li Cossi: http://www.sardinianbeaches.com/beaches-of-sardinia/north/costa-paradiso/li-cossi-beach/

Castelsardo: https://www.google.it/search?client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=43VkWpu4LYH8kwXd95XoDQ&q=castelsardo+by+night&oq=castelsardo+by+night&gs_l=psy-ab.3...12271.13234.0.13708.2.2.0.0.0.0.79.150.2.2.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.qn-OzWU2yFA