Sant'Antioco

Sant'Antioco is an offshore island in the southwest of Sardinia with rugged cliffs and beautiful bays. Marc in particular loves the high cliffs, which he loves to balance around on.

We drive over the bridge to Sant'Antioco. As we pass a supermarket, we take the opportunity to do some shopping. After driving almost 50km to find a supermarket a week ago, we are more cautious and take every opportunity.

Capo Sperone

Then we drive on to Capo Sperone, at the south-western tip of Sant'Antioco. This road is again exactly to our taste, not everyone gets here. Once we reach the top of Capo Sperone, we have a fantastic view of the sea with the small islands of Isola della Vacca and Isola del Vitellino. The whole plateau is overgrown with broom, peonies and lots of herbs, it smells wonderful.

And there are insects everywhere. I haven't seen so many insects for a long time. Nature is still in order here on Sant'Antioco. Will we be able to stand here or will we be stung? We give it a try. And we are not disappointed. We can even eat outside without any insects taking an interest in us. That would have been unthinkable in our garden in Cologne. The wasps often chased us away there.

Facebook group "Sardinia - country, culture & people"

Since we've been in Sant'Antioco, or rather Sardinia, I've been getting lots of tips from the Facebook group "Sardinia - Country, Culture & People" by Federico e Jana Meloni. There is no advertising here to attract tourists. Instead, they write about their home country with a lot of passion. And the whole thing is presented with great photos. Federico is a Sardinian with heart and soul.

You could say he grew up in the middle of Sardinian tourism: his uncle had a large campsite and his father had various hotels. He spent his free time and summer vacations at the campsite among German, French and Swiss tourists. He also spent a large part of his childhood with his grandparents. And they lived according to Sardinian traditions, which he learned from them and still preserves today. After 11 years in the military, he moved to Germany for a few years for personal reasons. However, the call back to his homeland was so great that he now lives permanently with his family in Sardinia. It was always his dream to open an agritourism business, but in these times, when many are struggling to survive, this is probably not the best idea. And so another vision was born, which will hopefully soon become reality again, namely to offer tours for tourists.

Federico has always been "bothered" by the fact that the majority of tourists in Sardinia only see the beautiful sea. He wanted to show that Sardinia has so much more to offer and came up with the idea of the Facebook page. We are delighted that the page has been so successful after a year. When traveling is possible again without restrictions, he would like to offer tours for tourists and show the real Sardinia. He was able to do a few tours in the fall and had really good feedback, which encourages him even more. At the moment, of course, he is completely paralyzed by Covid, as is tourism as a whole. If you would like to experience Federico's Sardinia, you can contact him via WhatsApp or email: fredericmeloni46@gmail.com - 0049 176 20954062

I read about Sant'Antioco and Capo Sperone for the first time in this group. And saw a great photo of a lost place. I always find lost places interesting. I would love to know more about these derelict buildings. Their history. Or see photos from the good times.

Hike to the Lost Place

It's only the next morning that I realize that the building above us on the mountain must be this Lost Place. Because I don't see any other buildings here. We want to take a look. So I quickly grabbed my camera and drone and set off on foot. The nature is wonderful, the herbs smell delicious. On the way, we meet an old couple looking for wild asparagus. Unfortunately, the yield is poor today. They are disappointed. After a good half an hour, I find a spoon on the path and am completely confused. Because it looks like our spoons. No wonder, because the spoon has fallen out of Marc's trouser pocket as he walks ahead of me. I can now roughly imagine why there are only 4 spoons left of the 6 we took with us on the tour. However, I have no idea why Marc has a spoon in his pocket. Because we have nothing to eat with us. But better safe than sorry. If the ice cream van comes by, he's prepared.

The ascent gets steeper and steeper. A Vespa comes towards us from above on this dirt road. The driver must be laughing himself as he slides down here. I think Italians are born on Vespas.

Once we reach the top, we really do find what we thought was a lost place. It is beautiful, but has seen much better days.

Semaforo di Capo Sperone

The building was probably built in 1887 as a lookout post. At the end of the 19th century, the Royal Navy chose this location for the installation of a traffic light and telegraph station to control access to the Gulf of Palmas. It played an important role as a radio station during the two world wars and was active until 1957. In 1914, the station was equipped with a powerful radio transmitter. At the end of the First World War, the radio antenna was shot down by a German submarine UB 48, which was hidden behind the nearby island of Vacca. After the radio station was decommissioned, the building remained fairly intact until the second half of the 1990s. The construction of a road financed by a European fund to reuse the property was the beginning of the end. The road made it possible to reach the top of the hill with delivery trucks, which were used to remove important parts of the building, such as wooden beams and tiles. An example of how not everything that is well-intentioned is good. 

From above, we can see several white tent domes on the other side. They remind us of Camp Silver on Texel, where we stayed at Easter 2017. This is a camp made of Airstreamers with a dome tent as a recreation room. Later we will see that it really is a vacation camp.

In the evening we see another beautiful sunset, Marc with a cigar, Torgit with Ichnusa. And an almost even more beautiful full moon. We decide to take the van up there again tomorrow.

Hiking on Sant'Antioco

Sant'Antioco is a wonderful place for hiking and off-roading. Make sure you have your swimsuit and towel ready, as there are always great opportunities to swim. But watch out for the sea urchins. Marc can tell you a thing or two about them.

Beautiful destinations are on the west coast:

Grotta delle SireneA cave worth seeing. Easy to reach by boat or SUP across the water or after a short 30-minute hike and a bit of rock scrambling. The special thing about the cave is the reflections of the sun in the water.

Arco dei Baci - Is PraneddasA natural rock arch in the cliffs by the sea. Here you can go snorkeling and swimming or enjoy a romantic sunset with an Ichnusa.

Cala Grotta / Cala TuffiA natural gorge in the cliffs, a pool formed by nature from the rocks. The wonderfully clear water is perfect for diving, snorkeling and swimming

Nido dei PasseriVery beautiful high cliffs with fantastic views of the sea, the Mangbarche lighthouse and the island of Carloforte. Great sunset. No bathing facilities.

If you have more time, you should go to the island Carloforte translate. There are also beautiful rocky coasts there. The Grotta delle Mezzaluna and Punta delle Colonne are said to be spectacular.

And very, very importantly, the lighthouse. Do you love lighthouses as much as we do? Not far from the coast of Calasetta, in the north-west of the island, you will find this magnificent example of a lighthouse. From Mangiabarche, a steeply sloping cliff, you have a wonderful view of the beacon. The sea is still crystal clear here.