Europe

[Visited: May 2022]

The drive south from Olbia was my first introduction to Sardinian landscapes, and it was easy to fall in love with the island with its attractive coastline, beaches, and fantastic turquoise waters surrounding it. Then, we drove past a marble mine, and mountains in the interior of the Mediterranean island. When we see Baunei, we know that we are close to our destination. The drive up the mountain to the north of the village is fantastic, with short hairpin bends and a viewpoint over the village, the mountains and the sea in the distance. We install ourselves in a basic bungalow and get a briefing about the Selvaggio Blu (Wild Blue) trek we will start the next day. The history, the logistics, the do's and don'ts. We are a varied group: mostly Italians, one French lady, some youngsters, some old. No one knows what to expect, and that only adds to the sense of adventure.
The next morning, we are off in two jeeps which bring us to Pedra Longa, the starting point of the trek. It is a beautiful day, and the pinnacle stands proudly above the calm sea under a perfectly blue sky. The first part of the trek takes us to a pebble stone beach where we cool off in the sparkling sea and have a bite to eat. Next is a climb on a trail that is steep in parts, and takes us under, and then next to, the massive rock formation we have seen for hours now - albeit from a distance. Enrico, our guide, explains the different paths we use: those for shepherds, which can be narrow and steep, and those for carbon collectors who need wider paths with bends in it for transportation on beasts of burden. The light gets more beautiful with the passing of time. We reach the first stretch of pointy rocks, where you have to be careful placing your feet and where a good balance definitely helps. When we arrive at our first camping spot, we start a routine that we will repeat the entire trek: get bags from the jeep that just arrived, set up tents, arrange mattresses and sleeping bags, filling a used water bottle from a black jerrycan which contains surprisingly warm water, have a shower in nature, and shortly after that, dig in to a meal which is cooked on the spot and which is different every day. After that, we chat, some of us drink mirto and filu a ferru (Sardinian liquors) and then use our headlamps to find our way back to the tent. In the mornings, we make sure our tents are down and our bags are packed by the time the jeep arrives, after which we have breakfast, take our lunch pack and water for the day. The good news is that breakfast includes Nutella which makes some of us very happy - myself included. The trail meanders through rugged Sardinian landscapes, where we sometimes have to crawl under thick bushes, where the guide quite often needs to find his way because the trail is by no means easy to find, where we need to rappel down a cliff or climb a steep rock. Also, where we get spectacular views of the coastline of eastern Sardinia, where we often see tiny beaches with transparent water that look absolutely irresistible, especially when sweat drips down our faces.
The trek takes us past Punta Giradili, Monte Ginnirco, the beach of Portu Pedrosu where we cannot resist to swim even though it is infested with jellyfish, and many other places with typical Sardinian names. By the time we reach Cala Goloritzé, we have climbed mountains, descended steep tracks, have seen delicate veils of clouds wrapping the pointy peaks in a woolly blanket, have had our first view of the Bay of Orosei. Cala Goloritzé, a pebble stone beach right at the foot of a 143 metres high pinnacle, is surprisingly busy: we are among the very few who have arrived on foot because most come here on a day tour by boat. It is hard to leave the cool water, especially since we know that yet another climb awaits us. We come across fantastic rock formations, at times hike through big holes in the rock. With steep drop-offs, the views are almost continuously spectacular. Meanwhile, our guide works very hard to make sure that whatever we do, is done in safety. One fateful night, we are surprised by sudden, massive rainfall, during our dinner. When the rain finally gets a little less intense, we quickly make it to our tent - only to discover that not only has the wind blown it upside down, whatever was inside, is now drenched wet. Among those things: my camera, which turns out not to work anymore. Ah, if only we would have fixed the tent properly... We cross what are the remains of a recent landslide in which enormous pieces of rock tumbled down the steep slopes. After some more abseiling and hiking, we arrive at Cala Sisine, the end of our trek. We happily dive into the light blue waves of the sea before a jeep picks us up again. Although the trek is over, we head out the next day for something different: it is mostly about abseiling some 200 metres altitude. The weather is fine and we once again have sweeping views over the coastline below us. The biggest surprise is when we enter a cave and abseil and walk through the darkness of this wonderworld of stalagmites and stalactites. When we exit the cave, we are close to the trail we have walked a few days before. The last of the six abseils of the day is the most spectacular, and lands us on a rocky surface just a few metres above the waves. From here, it is an easy walk to the place where a boat will pick us up. The waves pull and push the boat and make it bob, so some care is needed to get on board. I offer my hand to help my fellow hikers. The second last one, who has been falling very often, has not listened to instructions given by the guide, takes my hand while the boat moves away from the rocks. If it was not obvious enough, the guide yells "Wait!", but to my horror, the guy steps forward, straight into the sea. He has such a firm grip on my hand, and is considerably heavier, that there is no way for me to avoid being dragged into the waves between the boat and the sea. Fortunately, we are not crushed, and it is easy to get out of the water. I am furious, get on board, where I see the same guy fall into the water again. All my clothes are absolutely soaked - fortunately, my phone survived this wet end of our long hike. Who would have thought that the most tricky part of all the abseiling and hiking would be right here?

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Selvaggio Blu (Italy)

Selvaggio Blu > Italy > Europe

[Visited: May 2022]

Around the World in 80 Clicks