Falling in love with Sardinia (part 2)

If you've stumbled upon this page and would like to read part 1, it can be found here

From Alghero we headed to the Southern Capital of Cagliari. Our villa for the next few days being just outside the town in a tiny hamlet called San Paolo. As it as the weekend we really didn't venture much further than the local supermarket to stock the fridge, and the pool in the back garden.

The next day we packed a light picnic and headed up the road to the Sette Fratelli national park for a little hike. The mountains here are covered mainly by forest and are the natural habitat of Sardinian red deer, home to 5 pairs of golden eagles, plus some wildcat and wildboar. Unfortunately on our walk we didn't discover any of these but we did come a little too close to a tree snake!!

Our little road trip then took us up the East coast to Dorgali in Cala Gonone and our home for the next four nights, Rifugio Gorropu. This agriturismo looks over a majestic valley full of vineyards and olive groves with a breathtaking view of the Gola di Gorropu (Gorropu gorge).

We enjoyed the best food of the whole holiday here, I'll go in to greater detail later...

The main reason for our stay here in the Gulf of Orosei was the gorge itself, Gola su Gorropu. Hailed as the Grand Canyon of Europe, the spectacular canyon is flanked by towering limestone walls up to 500 metres in height and 4km long. The day we visited was probably the hottest day of our trip with the temperature hitting 42 degrees! Not the greatest conditions for hiking. However, on we went. The first thing we came across on leaving the car park was a man swimming naked in the river... Already we were thinking what a great idea that was. Only 20 minutes in to our walk and we came across a beautifully crystal clear natural rock pool, too tempting to resist...We threw our boots aside and waded in, fully clothed. Besides, in this heat we would be dry again in minutes. This would repeat itself again and again until we realised we would never make it in to the belly of the canyon at this rate, so turned around, stopping for one more dip where we'd seen the man swimming. Reason to come back later in the year perhaps!?

The next day we drove the coast road stopping at sheltered coves and beaches along the way. One to note was spiaggia Su Barone in the marina dei Orosei. A gently shelving beach with some great shallow waves which made for hours of fun diving in to. Its waters are crystal clear and changing blue due to the plays of light created by the sun reflecting off the sea bed. You do have to pay to visit this beach but it's a nominal fee and we really didn't mind given its beauty backed by lush greenery and thick pine forests.

Further on from here was the Oasi di Bidderosa. A stunning collection of five linked coves entered along a dirt path that goes through lush pinewood enriched by eucalyptuses and junipers. The sand itself is silver in colour and . Access to the protected beaches is managed by the local authority boards and limited to a number of cars each day. Naturally, you need to book tickets in advance which can only be done by visiting the forest station.

The last day of our trip we hired an inflatable boat from Palmasera Boat Rental to explore the coast of Orosei... Passing by some of the best beaches in the area such as Cala Fuili and Cala Luna, we wanted to find little deserted coves to land and swim. We'd packed a picnic and plenty of drinks, kept cool by the ice box provided by the rental company. The sea here is so clear you can see the sea bass swimming by, the spiky black sea urchins clinging to the rocks, even the odd starfish. Without a doubt, the most beautiful stretch of the island. 

Now it wouldn't be much of a food blog if I didn't mention the amazing food we had at Rifugio Gorropu.  Agriturismo are roughly translated as 'farm-stays'. They are independently owned farms where the owners have decided to turn over a portion of their property to accommodation. This means, you stay on a working farm where all or most of the produce you eat for breakfast and dinner is produced on the land or at least in the surrounding area. This also means that you will experience some of Italy's best traditional dining, just like nonna makes.

Home made breakfast pastries

Cured meats; grilled aubergine and courgette with roasted
peppers and olive oil; home made ricotta; music bread

Ricotta ravioli with meat sugo

8 hour suckling pig

Orecchiette with vegetables and cheese

Crema catalana

Beef steak

 

Pane carasau (music sheet bread)
baked with cheese and served with honey

Four cheese and potato ravioli with tomato sugo

Seadas - traditional dessert of
ricotta stuffed pastry with honey

Courgette filled with meat

Bresealo with leaves and cheese

Ravioli with ricotta and fennel

Courgette flowers stuffed with ricotta

Cheese filled pastry

I can't begin to tell you how much we fell in love with this little island... what I can tell you though is that we're going back again later this year. Maybe that gives you an idea!!

Julie xx

Further information;
http://www.sardegnaturismo.it/en
http://www.agriturismo.it/