July 17, 2017
Subterranean Sardinia.
After philosophizing and prophesizing (without our pens) about mankind as embodied in the monuments it builds itself, it was time for further deep thought – on the monuments nature itself builds – deep being the right word: for that’s how far we were going underground…
We’re here, on our route winding slowly from north to south of Sardinia.
These undergroundnesses were only discovered in the 1950s – by mistake! Folks were taking a stroll around these parts and stumbled upon a hole in the ground. So they poked their heads through it. Then they crawled through. Then they started to extract something useful to sell (I can’t recall what), but in doing so destroyed some thousands-of-years-old stalactites and stalagmites. They only very narrowly avoided destroying themselves in the process, slipping back out again and getting the heck out of there. Today it’s a lot more civilized – tourists purchase tickets and calmly enter the caves for guided excursions.
Hmmm. Still not sure what the story is with those there miniature houses. The excursion was in Sardinian-accented English, which I don’t speak ). Also, the acoustics in there ain’t perfect, as you might well imagine. All I did gather was that they were installed there due to some religious event.
I rave about caves. Alas, I’m no speleologist just yet. I just like their aura and how they look…
Sardinia. To me – a magical Mediterranean island. And I like the way you can say you’ve covered most of its tourist attractions in one visit of a few days! I’m always busy, and more often than not have to leave a country/city/island before hardly getting started checking the place out. Here I have a feeling of completion and closure. Like :).
Here we are at the island’s southernmost point: Faro Capospartivento. From here it’s a mere 200km across the Mediterranean Sea to Africa.
That’s all for today folks. Ah, and my Sardinian mini-series is coming to an end. Just one last post to go – on Sardinian lodgings – coming up tomorrow…
Cin cin!…