Sardegna - The Roads Less Traveled

​We arrived to Sardenha, which Americans usually call Sardinia. Our first night was in Burumini, the site of a nurse hi. Never heard of a nuraghi? Me neither. 

It is “just an old pile of rocks”. The one at Barumini dates back 3600 years (1600 BCE), and was occupied to the sixth century BCE. For comparison classical Greece was just beginning in the sixth century. 

Turns out this was not unique. There are about 7 to 10,000 nuraghis in Sardenha.

Hundreds or maybe thousands were destroyed. Farmers used the rocks to build stone fences. The highway department used them for

Below is the map of Burumini nuroghe. The guide said this was basically a large family compound, 20 to 40 people lived here over a thousand years. 

The wall in the Maltese cross area is about ten feet thick. The tower originally stood about 60 feet high. The small circles were rooms and houses. Fascinating old culture I had never heard of. Everything was made of stacked rocks without any mortar. 

Next day we drove up to Aglientu in the North East. A clerk at the map store tried (quite emphatically) to convince us to go up the west coast “highways”; she didn’t believe we really wanted the slow road through the mountains. We bought a paper map since mobile reception was spotty. 

It was a beautiful and slow ride, definitely worth it. All the roads were paved. Mountainous roads with many hairpins, and gorgeous views, small villages clinging on the sides of deep valleys.  Most of the other traffic were motorcycle pelotons from 10 to 50 riders. 

Unlike our helmetless “freedumb” American bikers, all the riders had full riding gear — helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and tight hi-tech abrasion resistant jumpsuits. No slobs. 

Our BnB for the next three nights was a delightful stone cottage way up a hill with views to Corsica (France) and a dramatic granite headland (Capo Testa). 

Vivere la bella vita,

Krem

P.S.  Having challenges posting pictures today.  Sorry.