Travels with my Wife

Our Green Train at Laconi

Sunday 15.10.23

Today is a little odd as we use the coach for a return to Mandas where yesterday we caught a service train south. Today we head in the opposite direction using one of the Green Train services to see more of the scenic beauty in the centre of the island.

An early arrival enables another quick visit to the same convenient coffee shop as used yesterday. On this journey it is noticeable that just about all of the coach journey travelling times are significantly over-estimated.

Transport today is also a throwback as we have a diesel loco and coaches. We are heading north from Mandas to Laconi. The line originally ran through some very rural areas ending in Sorgono; I have found a review of a trip reaching there in 2012 but there is no indication that any services now cover the line north of Laconi on a regular basis.

Part of the journey is alongside a reservoir and we see some very attractive scenery passing by as the line inevitably twists and turns along the hillsides to find their way between the sparse settlements.

Chiesa San Sebastiano at Isili

Other participants are not just taking the train trip but are going on a further excursion but our tour operator only booked the train – this may vary on future such tours. Looking at the Green Train excursions being outlined for 2024 it seems that they do not normally just offer the train – but it forms part of a larger offering on most of the services.

We return to Cagliari by coach – it is a lot faster by road than it was by rail! Once back in the capital we have a cultural excursion to the archaeological site at Nora which was originally a local settlement and then a Phoenician settlement. Later still Punic and eventually Roman which of course sits on the top of the others. Given its location at the southern end of Sardinia it became a major trading place as it was easily reached from all directions across the Mediterranean.

Roman Mosaics at Nora

As with many Roman sites there mosaics so implying it was a major site in the first century and predates Cagliari by a long time. We can see that it was highly compact settlement and yet there is a small amphitheatre and other communal facilities, so the population must have been in need of such resources. However much of the adjacent land is still used by the army and has yet to be excavated so may extend over a much greater area as well as there being a further extension which has now fallen below sea level as this end of the island is sinking into the sea.

We return to Cagliari for dinner.

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.

Tag: Mandas

Sardinia 15.10.23

Sardinia 14.10.23