ARST Railcar @ Mandas
Saturday 14.10.23
Having used the golf buggy to reach the coach at the top of the hill we depart and head initially south and then turn inland through some more wild and rugged countryside winding around and over some magnificent hills on our way to Mandas – which is where the junction of the line to Arbatax branches off from the line which runs south to Cagliari and also runs northwards.
South of Mandas towards Cagliari there is a pretty regular service run by ARST usually using the same units we have already enjoyed on the west of the island and one or two services (I think for school traffic mainly) that run to a couple of stations north of Mandas on weekdays only. We arrive in plenty of time and so go in search of a coffee at a nearby establishment which is also popular with the locals and is soon found by many of our fellow travellers.
There are still one or two services provided by older railcars (one was seen earlier in the holiday on the line from Sorso to Sassari) and today one has been found for our journey to Cagliari. So no air conditioning today! It is pictured above!
Metro at San Gottardo
Our journey terminates at San Gottardo in the north east area of Cagliari. The line continues onwards as part of the metro system but our coach is here to convey us to our hotel in the town centre. The trams use the same gauge and indeed run a little way further out of Cagliari on the line we have used on our inward journey. The depot is here at San Gottardo.
Our hotel is based in the City Centre near to the main run of restaurants and not far from what is known as the Marina area although there is now a main road between the area and the waterfront.
Elephant Gate Cagliari
Our coach takes us first to the far side of the city and we have views both out to sea and then back across the city to the Castello area. Having had a distant view the coach then returns to the city to drop us very close to the top of the city which is the Castello district. This was originally the location of a Pisan castle and it represented a change as the main city had previously been elsewhere.
The Aragonese eventually defeated the Pisans and took control of Sardinia. We walk slowly down the hill from the Castle area past the Royal Palace and the Cathedral – there is a service in progress so we cannot take a look. We wind back and forth – others seem to know where we are, I will admit to being confused. We pass through the Elephant Gate and we eventually emerge adjacent to the Bastion de St Remy having walked all the way down the hill and avoided the large number of steps. I noted a number of restaurants on the way but it is clear that they are uphill! From here it is a further short walk down more of the hill to the hotel.
The adjacent Marina district is just behind the main street of Cagliari and it contains numerous restaurants so we wander down there for our dinner.