It rains in Cagliari too!

Keeping Mrs K happy is the duty of all around her and I was sensing that a distinct lack of civilisation was beginning to get to her. So in order to carry out my duty I suggested that we stay in Cagliari for a few days rest as this is the capital of Sardinia and should be busier than we have encountered so far.

We sailed, or rather motored from our nice anchorage and entered the bay of Cagliari.

We opted for the family run marina Del Sole in the right hand corner of the harbour at 20 Euros a night and a discount if you stay a week. They knew how to make Mrs K happy.

As it happened we had arrived at a particularly festive time as it was the celebration of St Efisio and his ridding Cagliari of the plague in 16 something. Apparently the promise was that if he got rid of the plague the town would hold a procession from Cagliari to where he was beheaded on the beach at Nora about 20 miles up the coast and further by road. The trip goes on over four days in all but has been observed for the last 350 years or so. 

Efisio had been a Roman soldier sent to persecute Christians and savages in Sardinia but had converted to Christianity. It is always dangerous to listen to those you are persecuting! Emperor Diocletian saw this as a breach of contract and had him dragged from Cagliari to Nora where his head was duly lopped. It's not clear why they dragged him so far for this. I don't think they were thinking future yearly processions at the time. Apparently he promised to protect Cagliarians just before sentence was pronounced. So we will hang around and enjoy that.

We had a good explore and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of interesting things there are to do and see.They had their own Roman amphitheatre for dispatching Christians and entertaining the richer Romans although there were cheaper seats. The tunnels and caves were for introducing wild animals to the unsuspecting performers.

They have a nature reserve.

Flamingoes in the salt flats. Apparently this area and the nature reserve behind it attract a great many species. Note how bird wildlife are happy to pose for the cameras.

Weird plants in the botanic gardens. Even plants can think hang on a minute I may need to broaden my stance if I can't diet.

The ancient centre has many old and unique buildings often built on Roman foundations but even before this the Phoenicians, whoever they were, settled here about 700 BC.

They had a real tough way of burying their dead.

Digging out these tombs from the limestone at Tuvixeddu can't have been easy. There are about 1700 of these still remaining despite 2000 years of quarrying. You can just imagine the conversation:

"Where shall we bury our dead? Shall we find a nice soft earthy area or what about that really hard patch of Limestone over there?"

Clearly someone didn't like someone in the Phoenician camp.

What I like about Sardinia and particularly Cagliari is that prices are reasonable. I recall spending eight Euros on two small beers in Corsica but we had a large one and a small one, I won't say who, and that came to four Euros. I think you can judge a nation on the price of its beer. Also museums galleries and grottos are very cheap if not free to go in. They don't max out on the souvenirs shop  at the end either.

We were wondering around the city looking for St Efisio's church when we came upon a cave or grotto  with a guy sitting there collecting 2 Euros to enter. This was the crypt of Santa Restituta of Africa another victim of the Diocletian 'I'm not having any of those damn Christians around here' campaign. She was captured in Africa , tortured and cast adrift in a burning boat. She did not suffer any burns but did die and washed up on some other Italian island where she was pronounced a Saint. Her relics ended up in Sardinia and this cave, probably dug by the Phoenicians initially as they can't resist a bit of stone chipping, was dedicated to her. Used by many an outcast minority and falling in to disuse for many centuries it became a bomb shelter in world war two and then returned as a shrine attracting a two Euro entry fee. But actually it was very interesting to visit.

Just up the road was the quite plain but obviously quite important church of Sant Efisio. Clearly the church had been built before they realised his plague curing skills otherwise he would have merited a small cathedral but actually a very nice little church because it was cared for. I suppose it helped that we were approaching his four day trek to reminisce on the beach where he was relieved of his swede.

With all this habitation there was also a large amount of archaeology and most of it, unsurprisingly was found in the Archaeology museum. Lots of Nuraghe, Pheonician, Roman and medieval stuff in pretty good repair.

I am sure I use to work with this guy.

King Alfonso of Aragona built a fort and a church on the hill at Bonaria and the current church which has bits of the old one contains the wooden statue of Santa Maria of Bonario. Again there's a great story behind it, it was in a box and chucked overboard from a sinking Spanish ship in  13 something but all suddenly became calm as the box contacted the water. The box subsequently washed up on the port of Bonaria now part of Cagliari harbour and the friars took it in. Presumably thinking this will go nicely in our new church.

The Emperor Charles V of Spain popped in to the Church of St Michele to celebrate his victory over Tunis in 1535.

There were an abundance of Saints in Cagliairi and corresponding Churches. The oldest church being that dedicated to St Saturnino again a victim of that baddy Diacletion but his story is too unclear to recount other than simply beheaded and buried, no long treks or the inconvenience of being washed up, but It all went on in Cagliari.

Unfortunately as you may expect even in sun rinsed destinations like Cagliari if you plan an outdoor festival you can guarantee that it will piss down on the day. And it did.

Large bulls, horses, carriages and people, hundreds of them.

Annoyingly just as you thought something was about to happen it would rain and all the brolleys went up obscuring everything. Still stuck it out until the statue of old Efisio came by at the end.

Nice lunch and back to the boat to entertain, drink wine with, Jim passing through on his 44 footer to Turkey.

Now Mrs K doesn't go on the attack too often but this morning just after a scrambled egg breakfast she casually stated that she had been bitten all over by mosquitoes. She then enquired as to my suffering to which I explained that I was indeed bite free. I was expecting a 'well lucky old you' but I wasn't expecting a  "well bugger you and your rotten old leathery skin." I sometimes think that Mrs K doesn't like to suffer alone.

Right that's enough of enjoying ourselves back to sailing around Sardinia. Just as soon as it stops bloody raining.