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Travel : Sunny Sardinia

On 29 August 2004 Matt and I headed off to southern Sardinia for a week as our British summer this year was virtually non existant and so we were desperate by this stage for sunnier climes. Sardinia, an island region of Italy, sits just south of the Island of Corsica in the blue Tyrrhenian Sea. It's about 160 miles long, 68 miles wide, and 115 miles west of the Italian mainland.

We took a direct BA flight from Gatwick so arrived in Cagliari at 11:05. Our transfer was there to pick us up and by 1:00 pm we had arrived at Cala Caterina (www.hotelcalacaterina.com) which was only 56km away, just in time for a delicious lunch of salad and cold meats on the terrace. The rest of the afternoon was spent sunning ourselves on the beach, 100 metres from the hotel - pure effortless bliss on our first day of holiday!

This was pretty much our daily routine for the rest of our time there. Although we did venture out to the town of Villasimius which was about 5km away and enjoyed a delicious gelato, some shopping and a cocktail or two at one of the restaurants on the lively piazza. On one of the days we also hired a scooter from Villasimius and explored the Costa Rei. There were so many beautiful beaches and secluded coves along the way, not to mention spectacular scenery. In particular, Cala Pira was an exquisite cove and Cala Sinzias was such an inviting beach that we just had to stay and spend a couple of hours soaking up the rays and swimming in the turquoise waters. The Costa Rei stretches for approx. 8 km and we noticed that most Sardinians enjoy picnics on these beautiful sandy beaches as a way of life. We also noticed that Sardinia has a rather mountainous interior and vegetation which looked very much like prickly pears dotted everywhere. On our way back from the Costa Rei we popped into Simius - the town beach of Villasimius. By this stage we had called it a day with regard to our tanning so enjoyed a delicious cold drink instead.

Besides swimming everyday we did manage however to enjoy two runs where we explored the nearby marina and some stunning coastline but it was just too hot so no huge distances were covered. There were other activities on offer at the hotel, for instance we could take a boat out to Isola dei Cavoli and Serpentara Island, go horse riding or quad bike riding but we were quite happy and content reading our books, snorkelling and swimming or just dozing in the sun on Cala Caterina beach.

The cuisine most certainly needs a mention as it was out of this world - a combination of mixing game and farm produce (traditional with inland towns) and fish and seafood (traditional with coastal towns), so every evening after sipping our cocktails and listening to live music our palettes were tempted by a mouth watering 4 course meal. Some of the dishes that we sampled included: roasted Sardinian piglet, Sardinian roast beef, pork cutlets, mussels and clams, seafood risotto, prawns, swordfish, fish soup, flat, crispy Sardinian bread called carasau, ricotta stuffed ravioli and pecorino cheese fondue.

The wines of Sardinia also come highly recommended and accompanied every meal. And the desserts were to die for. It was always just as we were contemplating whether or not we could, or should squeeze one in that our chef, jovial fellow who donned a different chef's hat every night would make an appearance and delight in giving us an explanation of each dessert. So in otherwords we had no choice but to sample some of his delectable creations - tiramisu being one of my favourites. And if that wasn't enough there was still almond biscuits and nut nougat on top of this. The breakfasts were on the same grand scale so you can just imagine how generously proportioned we soon became towards the end of the holiday.

After dinner we relaxed with coffee and a dessert wine or a mirto liquor. Mirto is an island specialty that Sardinians swear can only be found on the island. Made from Mirto berries found predominately in the north of the island, the taste of this liquor resembles a strange mixture of black licorice, blackberry, and grenadine. The dark reddish liquid is thick and strong and athough it is served chilled in a small shot glass it is to be sipped slowly. (Although it may be easier to just shoot it down if the flavour doesn't quite agree with you!)

So if you are looking for a holiday to get away from it all and throw in a bit of romance, Sardinia is definitely an island that allows you to truly experience the relaxed manner and style of Mediterranean life.