Sardinia

Or
Farmer Dave and five chicks!
Helen, Fi, Imogen, Fi, me and Dave in our Bosa appartment [photo thanks to Helen Wyllie]

I recently had the good fortune to travel to Sardinia with Helen, her sister Imogen, their friends Fi, Fi and Dave. We shared an apartment in a cute town called Bosa on the west coast.

Bosa [photo thanks to Dave James]

We hired a car that allowed us to get around the west/north coast and across to the east and the island was bigger than I expected. We had great weather and enjoyed all the different beaches we found. The group favourite was the quartz beach called Is Arutas. It’s sand but not sticky so the sun bathing is excellent and you don't rub your skin off when re-applying sun screen. The sea was a brilliant turquoise everywhere we went.

Is Arutas [photo thanks to Dave James]

On a visit to Alghero we took a boat trip to see some caves, a great thing to do when it's a bit hot. I had a gelato everyday, and sometimes a cocktail before 12! ops!

Alghero vino [photo thanks to Dave James]

A town called Orgosolo captured my imagination. It is famous for its "Murales" painted on street walls since about 1969, they reflect different aspects of Sardinia's political struggles but also deal with international issues. There were a few styles but my favourite were the market ladies.

Orgosolo murale [photo thanks to Fiona Clark]

In our exploring we managed to see some stone remnants of the nuragic civilization that existed around the middle of the bronze age (18th-15th centuries BC), unbelievably old.

We managed to be part of a fiesta to celebrate John the Baptist. A main street was covered in sand and after an evening church service and parade, horses were galloped past the crowds with their riders standing on the saddles! It was enthralling.

Galloping past too fast for the camera shutter [photo thanks to Dave James]