Late Summer in Sardinia (Satis Shroff)

Baunei Base Camp (Satis Shroff)

My base-camp was Baunei,

A beautiful little hilly town,

In the north part of the isle.

I was with my two daughters Natasha and Elena,

In a lovely two-storeyed house.

The high monolith of Pedralonga

Is a part of the limestone plateau of Baunei,

Stretching from the hamlet of Santa Maria Navarrese

Northward to the Cordula di Lima.

Throughout the island you come across

The Mediterranian macchia.

A thick, aromatic plant that smells of lavender, rosemary,

Wild fannel juniper and myrtle.

An aromatic island, indeed.

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The Magic of Sardinian Culture (Satis Shroff)

The hills of Barbagia beckon you

With the magic of Sardinian culture.

It’s an archaic island

With prehistorical sites.

The countless Nuragic monuments and towers

Bear witness to the Nuragic folk.

You discover the giant graves,

Fairy grottos and sacred fountains,

Temples and fascinating cult-sites.

You feel drawn by the magical aura

That surrounds this world.

You thirst for more.

The Sards speak Romanic sprinkled with Latin,

Spanish, Catalanian,,Corsican, Genuish and Arabic words.

The lingua franca is Italian but Sardinian too.

The Sards have dialects galore:

Logudorish, Nuoreish and Campidanish.

It was only in 1999 that Sardinish

Was recognized as a linguistic minority.

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Sardinia Feeling (Satis Shroff)

What is Sardinian feeling?

Watching the sun go down

At the Gulf of the Angel?

Or is it the Perfume of the Shepherds?

Il perfume di pastorei:

The aromatic smell of the herbs

Blown to your nostrils by the warm wind?

This perfume pervades in Sardinia

From the coasts to the hills.

In Bavaria, Switzerland and the Schwarzwald

You hear the cow bells in the meadows.

In Sardinia it’s the pealing of the bells

On the collars of sheep and goats.

And the people?

There is no hamlet without a choir.

Trachten costumes, artefacts and cuisine.

The shepherd loves the earth,

Wine, dance and good food.

Sacral festivals and colourful processions

And an innorn passion for horses.

A round dance ‘Balli Tundu,’

The shrill tones of the sherpherd’s flute.

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Mysterious Bronze Age Ruins (Satis Shroff)

Ah, Sardinia,

You stunning, sophisticated and yet rural isle,

And the overwhelming diversity of your sights.

Nestled as you are in the Mediterranean Sea,

A relatively big island with turquoise water,

A friendly blue sky,

And a coastline of 2,000 kilometres.

Sandy as well as pebbled beaches.,

And a hilly interior with countless trails.

The sea shimmers with cobalt blue

And Prussian blue colours.

Ah, Sardinia your treasures

Are the thousands of mysterious

Bronze Age Stone ruins,

Shaped like beehives

And incredible rock formations;

A geologist’s and climber’s delight.

Sardinia has Paleozoic rocks

And the hills are made of granite, schist, trachyte,

Basalt, sandstone and dolomite limestone.

The people are war and-hearted and sympathetic,

And the towns are vibrant.

The urban people live from tourism

But the rural Sardinians are simple and proud

Of their agriculture and are self-sufficient.

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Pedralonga, Sardinia: arty by satisshroff

Sardinian Specialities (Satis Shroff)

Life is simple and good

And Sardinia has its own specialities,

Impressive red wines made from Monica grapes.

The white wine is made from the Vernaccia grapes.

The Cannonau is the oldest grape sort in the world.

The vertical walls of the coastal cliffs are covered

With marquis holmoak and juniper trees.

The best liquor is the bresca dorada,

Which is sweetened with honey.

Casu marzu uses milk sheepmilk to make cheese

In which living maggots are used;

They’re eaten together with the cheese.

Sardinians eat whole grain bread,

Beans, vegetables from the garden and mastic oil.

The love pecorino cheese made from sheep,

Fed on grass and has high omega-3 fatty acids.

Meat is relished only on Sundays,

And on special occasions like in landlocked Nepal.

For a good meal go to the local trattoria.

Another speciality is Su Porchedu,

Roast suckling cooked for five hours.

Sea urchins are also delicious.

You’re in food heaven.

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Sardinian Culture: arty by satisshroff

The Sardinian Soul (Satis Shroff)

Alas, the Sardinians have had turbulent experiences

With invaders,

Starting with the Nuragic volk

And the stone artefacts they left behind.

The fairy houses date back to prehistorical times,

Which include the gigantic stone graves

To be seen around Arzachena, the Emerald Coast,

In the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju.

The big Nuragic towers are dated 1800 and 500BC.

The Sardinians tried to stop the invaders of Carthage

But lost against the fierce foes,

And fled from the coasts to the hills.

The Sardinians have a saying since then:

Furat chi beit dae su mare.

He who comes from across the sea — -steals.

The East Germanic tribe of the Vandals

Conquered the island in 456 and ruled for 78 years.

Then came the Romans.

The strong Roman Empire defeated Carthage

And Sardinia became a Roman island.

The Romans changed the architecture of Tharros and Nora,

Built the road from Cagliari and Sassari,

Created thermal baths,

Extended existing mines,

And forced Christians to work in them.

Sardinia was invaded by the Phoenicians,

Romans, Arabs, Catalans, Genuese and Venetians.

All these invasions led to the Sardinian soul

Preferring isolation and serenity,

For the Sards are predominantly shepherds and farmers,

Fishers and sea farers.

They fear the sea

And to them even their own countrymen,

The Italians, are people from the Continent.

The Sards have become a fiercely Christian society.

The island population is Roman Catholic

And Sunday mass is well attended.

Most Sardinians have left the island,

In search of better pastures.

The population has declined.

Now there ar 40 inhabitants per square mile.

A gentle breeze from the mainland

Mingles with the aroma of cistus, mastic and straw berry tree.

Much like the Nipponese of Okinawa,

Sardinian life expectancy has grown to 82 years.

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The Delights of Mediterranean Cuisine (Satis Shroff)

I’d tried the Limoncello at the Lake Garda

And instantly fell in love with it.

Especially the one from Sirmione.

No meal is complete without Limoncello

From a freezing glass.

Nothing beats it after a hearty Mediterranean meal.

A Sardinian meal comprises bread, pasta, olive oil,

Tomato sauce, red or white wine, sheep or goat’s milk cheese.

Proscuitto, lamb, mutton, pork

Served with vegetables and fruits.

There are four million sheep in the island.

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