June 2007 - Arbus, Sardinia - The Green Coast

From the south coast of Sardinia, we drove north towards the town of Arbus, near the southern strip of the west coast known as the Costa Verde (Green Coast).
This region's unspoiled coastline is formed by gently sloping mountains covered with wild maquis vegetaion (hence the name) . . .

. . . and desert-like, wind-rippled sand dunes, . . .

. . . with not a development in sight (how refreshing and foreign for us used to seeing condos or cranes blocking our views of the sea), . . .

. . . while the interior consists of wide plains covered with grazing sheep, separating short rugged mountain ranges also covered with the maquis along with scattered 19th Century mining buildings, now being converted to tourist attractions.

Afer driving about an hour and a half north through the somewhat rugged terrain and seemingly abandoned old mining towns, we spotted Arbus straddled along the side of, and half-way up, two of those maquis-covered mountains.

The Bed & Breakfast we'll be staying at for the next four nights is near the center of town, with great views of the surrounding mountains . . .

. . . and the sunset behind them. We arrived just in time to see this wicked sunset from the terrace of our room, which was amazingly modern with every imaginable amenity.

The B&B is run by this warm and hospitable family, each member having a specific role in the family business: The mother keeps the place clean (and force feeds after-dinner drinks), the father prepares and serves breakfast (and shares his love of Sardinia and its proud language - not dialect - lingua Sarda), the daughter handles all of the computer and email issues (and fixes household appliances), and the son handles the money aspect of the business (and recommends off-the-beaten-track sites over more popular tourist attractions). We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and practicing our Italian (which they spoke in addition to Sarda and a little English). They really are quite the team and amazingly happy people. The son could not make this picture as it was the first day of his new job (outside the B&B).

The B&B is also "looked after" by this scrappy little kitty, who would greet us in the street with those sad eyes when we would return from a day of sightseeing. Casandra would talk to her in that kitty language she speaks, promising to bring her a treat the next time we returned.

The town of Arbus, characterized by granite houses and small squares, is known for the production by local craftsmen of traditional knives with curved blades called arrasoias. It's in a region where lead and zinc were once mined and transported by narrow-gauge railways to the coast for exportation.

Arbus is surrounded by granite mountain ranges with jagged peaks . . .

. . . rising above maquis covered slopes.

This particular granite peak near Arbus, with its distinctive plateau shape, can be seen for tens of miles away in every direction, often helping us find our way back to town.

On our first full day in the region, we took a drive north along the coast. Along the way we saw rugged rocky coastlines like this one, . . .

. . . and protected little coves like this one.

At the north end of the Costa Verde, not far from the old Spanish Torre Casari, . . .

. . . we saw the first traces of development along the coast, a group of large houses built on the cliff above that tiny cove.

We took several pictures heading north towards the tower and then . . .

. . . looked to the south for a sweeping view of the pristine, completely undeveloped Costa Verde. From here, we could also see . . .

. . . that distinctive squared peak miles inland near Arbus.

Just on the other side of the Torre Casari and those houses are these amazing sand dunes, which along with the maquis vegetaion scattered around them, define the southwest coast of Sardinia.

After enjoying the views from here for a while, we got back in Smurfette and drowe down the coast and towards Arbus.

The sun began to set as we made our way south along the unspoiled Costa Verde.

The only sign of any civilization, present or past, for tens of miles was this ancient ruin sitting atop a maquis-covered mountain.

The view got more and more spectacular every minute.

After the sun set but before dark, we turned away from the coast and towards our granite landmark. While Arbus is relatively close to the coast, as the crow flies that is, it takes quite a while to climb up and down, and wind around the mountains in between, and we didn't want to be driving on these curvey, safety-rail-free mountain roads in the dark. Not yet, anyway.