October 6, 2010: Body Surfing, Body Body Surfing

Just as we had hoped today was sunny and warm. A perfect day for the beach.

We left our hotel in Guspini with a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up snacks for the day and then traveled west to the Costa Verde, or Green Coast. This area of Sardinia got its name from the green-covered hills (the landscape here changes drastically as soon as you climb over a mountain, so the green hills really stood out compared to other areas we drove through). The beaches along the coast are only accessible by small curvy roads (sometimes dirt) and are therefore in relatively undeveloped areas and not very crowded. While this is a great selling point, it also means that it takes a long time to get from one beach to another, so we spent more time driving than at the beach.

Our first stop was Spiaggia Scivu, and as we approached the beach we knew it would be a great spot. Once we parked, we climbed down a 70 meter sand dune to get to the beach which extends down the coast a pretty long way (about a 30 minute walk to get from one side to the other). The beach front and water are down below the dunes and sandstone rocks, which came in a variety of great shapes. We walked along the beach that had creme-broulee sand (cracked under your feet) for a while to admire the beautiful water and then jumped in for a 45 minute body surfing session (or body beatings). The waves were great and pretty much non-stop. We spent the morning enjoying this place.

We hopped in the car for about two hours to get to some beaches further up the coast. We made a quick stop at the beach in Funtanazza (which was really deserted and not what I would call a "fun" place), and then stopped for a while at the Marina di Arbus. This spot was a little too rocky for swimming, but the rocks were amazing so we climbed around a bit before getting back in the car.

Our last beach stop was at the northern point of the Costa Verde, at the Spiaggia Torre dei Corsari. There were more enormous sand dunes that backed the beach here. We spent some time enjoying the last hours of the sunny day and jumped in for a quick dip before we were on our way to find our hotel for the night. We're staying in a small town called Cabras which is just 5 km away from one of the biggest cities in Sardinia, Oristano. We had to drive through Oristano to get to our B&B, and it was a little weird seeing so many people and cars after being one of the only cars on the road for the last few days.

Tomorrow we're going to explore this area a bit and then drive across the island to to the east coast. According to our book and some people we've spoken to here, the best is yet to come!

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

No gelaterias found. Instead, we split a cioccolato semifreddo for dessert at the restaurant where we had dinner. Still good!

To see pictures of our day, click here.