Railcar at Tempio Pausania
Sunday 8.10.23
Our first Sardinian train beckons today with a visit to the line between Luras and Tempio Pausania, a much truncated version of the entire route which stretched from Palau to Sassari. The Green Train website refers to a service between Palau and Tempio Pausania, but makes it clear on closer inspection that trains no longer run beyond Luras. It is clear when we reach Luras that nothing much passes this way – and certainly not beyond! The service at the moment appears to be two return trips on a Sunday starting at Tempio Pausania which has the sidings and workshop, so unlike many passengers we are travelling it out and back in the wrong direction!
Luras as a station feels remote – although there is a nearby factory and some housing it does not seem to have much more than farmland surrounding it. We have a modest wait before the train appears around the corner and comes to a halt at the platform. Almost immediately the engineers emerge waving spanners as something needs “fixing” before we can board the train for the return journey. It is a diesel railcar of some vintage which takes us away back along the line from whence it had come.
If anything it feels even hotter today – amazingly warm for the time of year. At Tempio Pausania our coach is awaiting us and transports us to Nuraghe Majori.
Nuraghe
Nuraghes are a major feature of the Sardinian landscape as they effectively amounted to the home of a small hilltop local community – and in consequence there may once have been 10,000 such erections. Inside it is not very large and provided a home for the extended village, a lookout point at the top to be aware of potential attacks, separate internal rooms with supposed uses – although the absolute function of the construction have been lost over time. There were spaces for fires with chimneys with a staircase to the higher levels.
We have lunch together today at a restaurant adjacent to the Nuraghe. Whilst the food was reasonable the local wine was disappointing to say the least!
We retrace our steps but this time the train for our journey is a loco hauled set of carriages which bumble along quite nicely.
Having suffered the difficulties of the upward gradients last night from sea level we decide not to emerge this evening but buy supplies in the supermarket adjacent to the front of the hotel (although at a markedly lower level). Wine, cheese and nibbles in hand we ascend to our room and have a quiet evening.
