Oristano to Barumini

June 4, 2019

This has to be another quick post since I’ve run into a case of internet hiccups again. Today we rode from Oristano into the breadbasket of Sardinia to Barumini, the site of the most significant Nuraghic settlement in the country. The temperatures are definitely on the rise and this has a big impact on staying adequately hydrated, as you can imagine. So, here goes the story in pictures.

Cathedral di Santa Maria Assunta, bell tower. Oristano. This is one of 11 churches within the centro storico.

The farmer was selling fruit and veggies from a trailer behind his tractor.

We tried to pay for an orange, but the farmer said ‘no’ and handed me another orange. They were probably the best oranges I have eaten in a long time.

More rice paddies in this low lying area.

The roads through this town had been completely renovated in flat volcanic (?) stones with a ribbon of small cobbles down the centre to connect the drains.

We see many houses and buildings in this unfinished state. On can only wonder about all the reasons. In any case, it’s interesting to see how their houses are built.

This is a typical road for this region. Very little traffic today.

We stumbled upon this cooking school, where you can sign up for a 60 hr class in bread making. I was ready to register but it takes place in January.

Kitty was guarding the cooking school entrance.

At one of our rest stops, I peered down and saw this huge bee with gorgeous metallic blue wing and black body lying upside down on the roadway. It had been hit by a car and was injured. I turned it over and moved it off the road. Hopefully it recovered.

Su Nuraxi is a Nuraghic settlement dating back to 1500BC.

We arrived just in time to join 3 other couples on the 2pm guided tour.

This schematic shows the size of the village. There is much more excavation to be done to reveal the whole village.

Water represents life and here they would gather in a circle to pray to the ‘gods’.

One of the original doorways through the 7m thick wall that surrounded the 21m tall tower

The dwellings were all round and had peaked wooden/thatch roofs.

These horizontal stones are where the floor would have been.

These finely honed, cantilever shaped, volcanic stones are from the upper parts of the tower.

The central nuraghe tower was 21 meters tall.

Volcanic stones make a nice home for lizards. Probably snakes too.

Pleased to meet you, Mr. Skink. You have nice smooth skin, but my goodness you have tiny hands.

These volcanic stones are all shaped to ‘interlock’ on the inside of the wall. Amazing.

After our tour of the Nuraghi, we cruised down the hill to our B&B in Barumini. The town was dead, save for a couple of bars jammed with smoking men (that sounds funny but that’s what they do). We tried to find a restaurant or even a market, but the only place open was a tired hotel where we were the only two patrons in the large dining room. It was a bit weird to say the least, but they fed us ravioli and we left feeling grateful to them for cooking us a meal.

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Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 991 km (615 miles)

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Patty BarronI am absolutely blown away by the info & your photos of the Nuraghic settlement! How fascinating & amazing!
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