On the Road (Europe 2010): Sardinia

Haven't had much time to write as we've been moving around almost non-stop, but arrived in Sardinia on the morning of the 14th via a very large Grimaldi Lines ferry from Barcelona. The boat left at 10:00 at night and arrived the following morning about 11:00 in Porto Torres, in the north. Slept poorly--or so I thought, but when I checked my watch, thinking it was probably about 3:00AM, it was already time to get ready to disembark.

Drove south along the west coast of the island, through Alghero (where it was fun to pass the vineyards and winery of Sella & Mosca, a name I know from drinking their wines in Tokyo). I found a funny T-shirt that says Cannonau in white script on a red background, imitating the Coca-Cola logo--a joke only a wine lover (and one that knows the wines of Sardinia) will understand.

In the rugged cliffs between Alghero and Bosa, I was lucky enough to get a look at three griffon vultures. They were circling high up and quite far away, but I could see them well enough to discern their distinctive features. A very big, impressive bird. So far, Sardinia has been good for birds. I've added ten new species to my life list. I finally got to see bee eaters--amazing-looking birds that fly fast like swifts one moment and then seem to stop in mid-air the next. They are unmistakable with their bright blue bellies, rufous and gold backs, golden throats, and angular, kite-like wings and tails.

The beaches are as beautiful as everyone says they are. It would be easy to spend weeks here, trying a new beach every day. The water is the color turquoise, rather than emerald, despite the "Emerald Coast" name that has attached to the north coast of the island. The beaches are often in secluded coves decorated all around with rock formations sometimes reminiscent of Antoni Gaudí. Sheep and goats roam everywhere.

The food has been excellent, the people uniformly friendly and helpful, and I have really enjoyed drinking the Vermentino wines (which have always been a favorite of mine) here in the land that produces them. Far and away the best was the Funtanaliras Vermentino di Gallura made by the cooperative in the little town of Monti, where I was able to buy a few bottles at €5.9 a bottle (less than $7), having seen it on restaurant menus for as much as €20. The best Vermentino wines, like this one, are wonderfully fruity, but crisp and dry at the same time. Perfectly balanced and reminiscent of a good Chablis in some ways.

From Portoscuso, at the southern tip of Sardinia, crossed to the little neighboring island of Isola di San Pietro, which has spectacular cliffs and more good beaches. At an inlet called Cala Fico facing Isolo del Corno, an even smaller island off the coast, I had the privilege of seeing Eleanora's Falcons circling high overhead near the lighthouse, a very rare bird, like the Griffon Vulture. In Europe, they live only here and in similarly small pockets on the Dalmatian coast, in Greece and Turkey, and in coastal areas of North Africa. A very long and tiring drive late into the night (compounded by entirely inadequate headlights on the increasingly annoying rented Mercedes B Class) brought us to Olbia, near the northern coast. The following morning, we backtracked somewhat to visit Monti, which is the heart of the country that produces Sardinia's best Vermentino wines. The area looks rather like parts of California, with its soft, rolling hills, brown grasses, and oaks, but here the oaks are all cork oaks, many showing signs of recent cork harvesting.