Sardinia – Necropoli Anghelu Ruju and Sunset in Alghero

Worth waiting for the rain to stop

Onto every parade a little rain must fall and, on day four, our Sardinian adventure got soggy.

Normally I don’t mind a bit of rain when I’m travelling. I just head inside to a museum, gallery or shop and wait out the weather. This was a bit of a problem for us however, as it was Easter Sunday and absolutely everything was closed.

We didn’t know this at first. Of course we knew it was Easter but when we asked the host of our B&B, he assured us the shops would be open. Ok, we thought. If nothing else, we could stock up on cheese, salami and other Sardinia goodies to take home with us. We jumped in the car and headed off.

Since there was a break in the clouds, we decided to visit one last historic site. The Necropoli Anghelu Ruju just happened to be minutes from our B&B. We drove by the entrance at first because it was hidden by a massive vineyard, Sella & Mosca, which happened to be the makers of the wine I drank the evening before. The fields of vines seemed to stretch forever and we discovered the necropolis hidden amongst them.

We parked at Anghelu Ruju and, seconds after we got out of the car, it began to rain again. We quickly hoofed it around the site. One thing that stood out for us at Anghelu Ruju and Pottu Condinu, the day before, was the openings of many of the necropoli were completely square. We wondered at the significance and how they were created using primitive tools. We didn’t have time to stand around pondering this, as the heavens opened. So we raced back to the car.

Necropoli Anghelu Ruju

Since we had already spent a lot of time in Alghero, we decided to head to Sassari to do our shopping and check out the sights of the city. Despite our B&B host’s reassurances, Sassari was closed up tight. We did a quick wander through the rain to see the stunningly carved façade of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas and then headed back to Alghero.

St. Nicolas Cathedral, Sassari

By this point we convinced ourselves that our host meant the shops in Alghero would be open. So we drove back to the city. No dice. Everything was closed. Frustrated we went back to the B&B and decided to relax and read our books and try again after lunch.

At 3:00 we went back into town, hoping that things would be open but we were denied again. We decided to warm up with some coffee at an internet café, one of the only open doors in the city.

After a few hours, the rain finally stopped and the skies began to clear. We had a feeling a good sunset was on the way so we raced back to get our cameras and find a good position. We weren’t disappointed. I’ll let Mother Nature speak for herself.

Golden light on the walls of Alghero

Sunset in Alghero

Sunset over the fort in Alghero

Capo Caccia cliffs and lighthouse from Alghero

When the sun finally set, we were tired, soggy and hungry. We found a lovely little restaurant that we had all to ourselves. (No matter how hard we tried we just couldn’t eat as late as the Italians, who started supper just as we were finishing.) Then it was off to bed to rest for our final day in Sardinia.

To be continued with our final day in Sardinia…