Lost Everywhere
 
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Stintino
Porto Torres does not give someone a welcoming first impression of Sardinia.Infact PortoTorres would best be described as a industrial shit hole. With large unsightly factories littering the coast it gives the impression of looking at nancy karrigans teeth.  Fortunately for me, I was not staying there. I beamed it straight for the lovely touristic town of Stintino, which is the launching area for the NacionalParcdiAsinara. NPDA is italy’s version of Alcatraz. Up until 1998 the island was home to no less then 8 prisons; 6 minimum security and 2 maximum. The benefit of this prison system is the entire island is unspoilt by development. Even the waters around the island are off limits to fishing. The water is as clear as any, and you can see the abundance of fish without having to doan scuba or snorkel gear. Stintino is also home to one of the most amazing white sand beaches in the world (and its topless, much to my dismay…). On my first leisure day, I booked a yacht tour that took me around the island, and included a visit to one of the now defunct prisons. You can only visit the minimum security prisons, as the maximum contain blueprints for the way Italy still builds their maximum security prisons. Technically, someone could visit the prison and figure out a way to break a friend out of a maximum security prison anywhere in Italy. When booking my tour I was hoping to meet some young people (girls). Unfortunatelly I got stuck on the geriatric boat. The other guests were at least 80 years old, and the women saw fit to take their bikini’s off once we set sail. Lovely, I know. That didn’t take away from the lovely coastline that the island enjoys (well it did but not that much). The boat drifted gently across the shoreline exzactley the way a bowling ball wouldn’t. The minimum security prisons are more akin to villages then prisons. The prisoners had free access to wander the island but had duties to perform for the guards. The prisoners were the gardeners, carpenters, mechanic’s, etc..for the guards who must have lived a pretty cushy life. When the prisons were closed most of the guards wanted to stay on the island. All but one were not allowed. (I cant remember his name) was a stone sculptur as well as a guard. There is a museum in the prison now with his works in it. When the tour finished, I bid adieu to my geriatic semi nude companions and started my 75 km cycle to Alghero. 

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Minimum security prison
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A carving made by one of the prison guards
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To get there, I had to go back through Porto Torres. This worked in my favour as I needed a bike shop to perform some much needed repairs. Somehow all 4 brakes were completely worn out (I knew something was wrong when I couldn’t stop, ha). I was also tired of experiencing intense anus pain, so I invested in a gel cover for my seat. Praise the lord hallalujah! What a difference. I can feel my ass again! Worth every penny. A kickstand was also added, but my bike is too heavy with all my gear on it and falls over if I try to use it.

With my new set of upgrades I set off for the amazing town of Alghero. By far the nicest town I had visited in Sardinia up to this point. Alghero has it all; beautiful beaches, an Unesco World Heritage Town Centre, amazing coastline and lots of things to do and places to visit. At my hostel I was the only person besides a quirky Bavarian man. The next few days consisted of visting a very cool (literally and figuratively) cave where the worlds second largest stalactice exists, a 3500 year old Nuraghi town and of course drinking coffee whilst pondering the purpose of my existence in this world (still haven’t found out the answer).

Unfortunatelly, like and good (insert acronym), all good things must come to an end. It was with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye, I packed my bicyclette (italien for bicycle – in case you are retarded) and set off for the 150 km trek across the island to Santa Teresa de Gallurda on the east coast. 

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Capo Caccia
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The entrance to the cave with stalactites and stalacmites
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Infamous Christmas tree stalactite
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The last time I cycled over 150 km in a day it was a disaster. No need to bring up painful memories. So I split the journey into 2 days, with a stopover in Castelsardo. Enjoyable, beautiful, serene and unexpected is how I would describe the trip. I was barraged with some of the most jaw dropping scenery you could hope for. Again, the pictures will do the talking. A strange thing happens when youre cycling in these surroundings; you kinda forget you’re working. The cycling becomes a rythem, and combined with good music and amazing scenery you feel very much at peace. I am also listening to IPOD lectures on the Roman Empire and the Italein Renissance in between music. This adds to the experience as I am cycling through areas that I am also learning about.

I arrived in Santa Teresa de Gallurda during a beautiful sunny warm Sardinian day. STdG is another amazing town that ‘has it all’. Beautiful beaches, picturesque old town and lots of places to visit.However, with the go-go-go pace of the previous two weeks combined with a recent surge in my seasonal allergies, I decided to spend the next few days doing sweet fuck all. When my 3 days were up, I departed for the short 50 km ride to Palau en route to the nationally protected parc of La Madalena. I found a beautiful campground.  Immeditaley after setting up my tent, it started to rain. I remember thinking “I’m getting pretty good at this rain dodging thing. This is the third time in a row that I have just finished setting up my tent and without a moment to spare the rain has started” in the next few days I couldn’t have been more wrong. Anyways, La Madalane is a parc that is compromised of a few beautiful islands with very little development. The main tourist draw to the islands are their captivating beauty, lack of permanent inhabitants and picturesque islands that, fortunately for me, also have decent mountain biking trails. This was the reason I purchased a mountain bike and not a touring bike. A touring bike would have allowed me to go a lot faster, but you cant take a touring bike on mountain trails. Up till now, the only mountain biking that I enjoyed was in gran parc nacional del paradiso in the Aosta valley...Therefore the rest of my time on the islands were happily devoted to this endevour. 
I made a video of my sardinian adventures... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKfyFO-qnpg

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Random view while cycling
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Castelsardo
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Arrival in La Madalena