Now we have arrived in the nice town of Alghero. But the day started by driving to the far end of the Stintino peninsula in north-west Sardinia. There should be many beautiful beaches ... and there probably are. But here in July, it is BOTH difficult to find space on the beach AND difficult to find space to park the motorhome. After being driven away from a car park (don't know why - we were standing inside the parking space?) we gave up and rolled further south.
Crowded at Stintino
Sure, the beaches at the end of the Stintino headland were nice, but what good is that when you can't find a place to park your campervan? We had to settle for photographing ...
Grotta di Nettuno
Instead, we continued out onto another headland, located just north of Alghero. The headland ends at Capo Caccia, where you have a great view of the steep cliffs and the open sea.
There is also the famous Grotta di Nettuno cave. You can visit this if you can walk the 656 steps down (and up!) in the 30 degree heat. However, we did not have to consider this, as it was not possible to park a motorhome nearby anyway ... Maybe we will take a boat trip there tomorrow instead!
Alghero - a city with its own language
After this excursion we continued to the town of Alghero. There is a large and charming old town within sturdy walls, a long sandy beach and a very large harbour for small boats. There also seems to be a lot of Scandinavian tourists - for the first time in a very long time we heard Swedish, Danish and Norwegian!
Incidentally, this city has both its own flag (in addition to the The four heads of Sardinia thus) and its own language. In the Middle Ages, the city had an influx of people from Catalonia, and a fifth of the city's population now speaks 'algheres', similar to the Catalan spoken in and around Barcelona. The yellow-red flag also resembles the flag of Catalonia!
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BP says:
The beaches in Sardinia seem to be really small - albeit beautiful. And Alghero is really cosy. I like the Old Town with the "shoeboxes" in different colours. The harbour is really impressive.
If you already have difficulty finding a pitch, I wonder a little cautiously how it will go in August when all the Mediterranean countries are on holiday plus all the Germans and English. Wondering where you will be then... Exciting to follow you:-)
03 July 2015 - 20:39
admin says:
BP, you have been here in Alghero? So far it's not difficult to find overnight pitches and campsites. However, it is sometimes difficult to find parking spaces at popular attractions and tourist destinations... and it certainly won't get any better in August! 😉
03 July 2015 - 20:46
Ruth in Virginia says:
Beautiful, beautiful! The harbour is packed with boats. I wonder what it looks like
on a public holiday, when all boaters want to get out on the water?
Looks like a nice tourist town - The view from Capo Caccia is great.
Rocks and water = beauty!
We travelled by bus when we were in Sardinia and never got to the sea.
except at the ferry points. We were in a hurry, to catch a flight from
Interior Sardinia was a very barren area.
and slightly mysterious landscape; not at all like beautiful Corsica.
I hope you won't have too much trouble finding campsites.
03 July 2015 - 23:16
Mr Steve says:
Grotta di Nettuno. Known or unknown?
03 July 2015 - 23:39
admin says:
Ruth in Virginia, this feels like a nice tourist town, but yes, lots of tourists! I understand that you are a bit stressed when you have certain times to fit, we don't have to do that. I think we will find places to sleep. Now we are free camping for the second night in a row, and again together with quite a few other motorhomes.
Steve, well, it is the most famous cave here in Sardinia. But perhaps not known outside of Sardinia directly... 😉.
04 July 2015 - 0:34
Ama de casa says:
If there was no "up"... I think they should install escalators or possibly a lift in all those places... 😉.
But it looks really nice in Sardinia! 🙂
04 July 2015 - 9:20
Lena in Wales says:
Looks absolutely fantastic!
Great to join you!
04 July 2015 - 11:30
Anja says:
We have been to Alghero twice. Nice! It is a Ryanair destination, so you will hear a lot of Swedish. The last time we were there it was +42 - a bit too much for us. I can recommend a nice beach called Mariapia and an ice cream parlour at the entrance to a park where the buses depart. Goood ice cream!!!
04 July 2015 - 12:28
Anja says:
Forgot: Great to see the pictures!
04 July 2015 - 12:29
snort says:
I would also have missed that descent and ascent in that heat but a boat trip sounds like a great alternative!
04 July 2015 - 17:11
Matts Torebring says:
When we on our summer & holiday trips in recent years, come into the month of July, I always say to Birgitta ... "Now it's time to go home". All of a sudden overnight there is a queue for everything. Finding overnight parking can be quite stressful. Take care.
04 July 2015 - 18:14
Stina says:
I have always wanted to go there, maybe it will be sometime, when I don't go to Thailand. Right now, all trips home go there.
Hugs
04 July 2015 - 21:30
admin says:
Ama de casa, an escalator would look great up that steep mountain 😉.
Lena in Wales, Sardinia is nice! Funny that you come along! 🙂
Anja, oh thank you, then I understand why I heard Swedish! We are no longer here, so unfortunately I can't try the ice cream. But very good ice cream everywhere in Sardinia, I must say! 🙂
Znogge, it was a boat trip! I will report as soon as I have internet on my computer (sitting with my iPhone in a pub with wifi right now ;)).
Matts, yep the high season is starting! So far it's easy to find overnight places, but it can be difficult to park at beaches and attractions. And it gets worse... 😉.
Stina, we highly recommend both Sardinia and Corsica!
04 July 2015 - 22:21
Steel city anna says:
The blue tones in the top picture, I could have sacrificed a little congestion for sure 🙂 .
05 July 2015 - 20:31
admin says:
Steel city Anna, aren't there beautiful colours on the sea here?
05 July 2015 - 23:04