Santa Teresa and Capo Testa

Santa Teresa di Gallura port

8th June We are now snugly moored in Santa Teresa di Gallura sitting out high winds. It’s a chance to do some essential jobs like topping up the shopping and fitting in an overdue trip to the launderette.

On a walk into town today we noticed a stage being set up outside the library for a concert this evening. Two musicians were rehearsing jazz on trumpet and piano and they sounded great, so we decided to return this evening to hear the concert. It took a while to get going, but once it did a long haired, bearded, slightly stooped man took centre stage and talked, and talked, and talked. Occasionally the musicians would add background music, but we soon realised this wasn’t a concert, it was a poetry recital, and we couldn’t understand a word of it! The rest of the audience were spellbound, so we waited for a pause in the proceedings before we crept out.

Capo Testa

11th June Santa Teresa  is near to Capo Testa, a headland renowned for its amazing rock formations, and today Liz and I set out to walk over there (we left Cliff at the boat, intent on making a new base for our passerelle). Once out of the town we followed the trail through rocky terrain covered in macchia and wild flowers. The coastal views were stunning, and as we climbed over the hill we could see the sandy isthmus that joins the cape to the mainland.

The Roman quarry with columns, left

On the headland we stopped at the bay of Spiagga Levante (a pretty bay with pale sand and turquoise waters) to explore the remains of a waterside Roman quarry at one end of the beach. This is where granite was extracted to build the columns for Rome’s pantheon, and we could still see columns in the shallow waters, one upright and the rest lying on the sand.  
 

Rock landscape
 

It was a hot walk up the hill from the beach to the lighthouse but we were rewarded with amazing views and the most bizarre and beautiful rock formations I have ever encountered. The granite and limestone have been carved by wind and sea into extraordinary shapes. At first it felt as though we had wandered into a Henry Moore sculpture park, with abstract human and animal bodies silhouetted against the sea. Then, as we walked further round the headland, we found ourselves in a land of fairy chimneys and turrets, reminiscent of the rock formations I had seen in Cappadocia in Turkey.

Reminds me of Henry Moore...


 

Elephant rock

Fairy towers
 

What a brilliant day! When we got back to the boat we found Cliff had also had a good day, he had converted some old decking into a multi-purpose base for our passarelle, so that we can now safely attach it to the bow or stern of the boat.