It's all here now (6 Nov 07)
I chose to spend a fortnight in Sardinia in October 2007, based largely on good experiences of a shorter trip in September 2003, and ease of flying Ryanair from Stansted to Alghero. So, I took the Lonely Planet guide and Rother Walking Guide to 50 day walks, which we’d used 4 years ago. I headed by train towards the mountainous area called Barbagia, situated in the recently re-organised provinces of Nuoro and Ogliastra. In Nuoro, I asked the tourist office where I could buy hiking maps, and was told to try the bookshops in Corso Garibaldi. Unfortunately, none stocked IGM maps. Unfortunately, for anyone who grew up with UK Ordnance Survey maps, few countries can match these for both standard and availability. However, the tourist officer gave me a free booklet “Trekking in Provincia di Nuoro”, which included descriptions (easy to understand Italian) and maps for 13 walks.
 
So, I headed up towards Brunca Spina ski area, via bus to Fonni, hitching to the turn-off and then walking the remaining 8km to the Brunca Spina ski area. The road was fairly quiet, but a few cars seemed to be turning round without going to the ski area – obviously there was no snow yet. Eventually, at Untana Ervarisciu, I discovered what they were doing – 2 men were filling water containers from a spring. One apologised for not giving me a lift when they saw me earlier, but that their car was full of water containers – I hadn’t even asked! Anyway, there was plenty to look at / photograph / taste as I walked – cows with bells, rosehips, blackberries, springs etc.  I decided to walk to the ski area, finding it closed as expected, but thinking of bivvying. However, I spotted a sign to Azienda Agrituristica Separadorgiu (Farm with facilities for tourists) and met an old man driving a 4WD, who handed me a business card and gave me a lift to the farm. The charge for overnight, evening meal and breakfast was 47 euros – very reasonable. It turned out that this also included extra coffee through the afternoon, mirto (mytle berry liquer), wine etc and tons of food – to give me “energia” for my walk. We stood by the fire for warmth, drinking tiny glasses of dark purple mirto. It was a wonderful chance to try many types of food, just as the family ate. The old man saw me playing with the farm cats, so I showed him photos of my partner working on our veg patch, duck, cat, cattle and sheep at the country park where I work – and then showed me round their goats, chickens, ducks, fish ponds, and rooms for making honey, cheese, salami and ham. By the way, the man spoke only Italian, which I don’t speak, but we had no problems communicating, using my Spanish, French and Latin and the few words of Italian I have learned. He also drew me a sketch map to help with my hike planned for the next day – a combination of Rother Guide walk number 27 Punta La Marmora, 1833m, and “Trekking in Provincia di Nuoro” Itinerario No 8, which led west over Brunca Spina 1828m to Desulo village. The evening meal went on for course after course – jugs of water and wine; a basket of slices of bread and crispy bread sheets; pickled artichoke hearts, peppers and tiny onions; a wooden platter of 3 types of pancuito / proscuito / ham; a small bowl of hot chopped liver; pasta shells with tomato sauce and parmesan; an eartherware dish of hot meat and potato in gravy; small pieces of fried hot meat; salad of tomato slices and onion pieces dressed with olive oil; triangles of salty cheese; fruit – I saved a tangerine, pear and apple for the next day. I declined more offers of coffee and grappa, and eventually got to bed.
 

Next day, after a breakfast which was extended as my hosts kept bringing more foods – a jug each of coffee and hot milk; bread; biscotti; tiny peanut tarts; lemon, apple, prune and apricot jams; fruits – round pears, apples, tangerines – I finally set off. I left the farm at 0845, carrying all my kit (about 18kg) and reached the start of the track by 0905. There are a couple of blue arrows painted on the concrete blocks, but the most obvious feature to look for is the wire cages of stones which stand beside the road a short distance from the trackhead. The track, wide enough for a 4WD vehicle, goes north initially, away from the obvious peak of Bruna Spina to the south. Within about 15 minutes, the track curves to the south. After another 20 mins easy walking, looking around and enjoying the sights and sounds of solo mountain hiking, I reached the base of the short section of hairpin bends. I always heard cow or sheep bells before seeing the animals. About 1 ½ hrs after leaving the farm, I reached the summit of Bruna Spina, 1828m. As it’s the top of the only ski slope in Sardinia, outside the snow season, there’s quite a bit of infrastructure – fences, sheds, solar panels, weather station etc. The views in all directions were fantastic, although the strong sunlight made it difficult to capture with photography.
 
I had decided to head west off the summit and head towards the road leading towards the mountain town of Desulo. This was the only bit of tricky navigation, tricky mainly because of inadequate maps. So, I knew to look for a route heading west along a spur – no key on map, so I wasn’t sure if it was a right of way or a path on the ground. As the ground was pretty rough, it was just a case of picking a decent route to scramble down a steep slope of interspersed patches of scree, vegetation and boulders. About 1/3 of the way down, there is a large rocky outcrop, where I decided to go north round it, which turned out to be OK, but going south might also be possible. As I was traveling alone, I was a bit cautious, using hands where necessary, to avoid falls or slips. I soon reached the col known as Arcu Artilai, 1660m, marked with a small cairn. Looking back to the summit, it was covered by low cloud which had blown in. I continued along the path which had looked most suitable from above – having reached the col, it would be difficult to pick the right one had I not observed from above. Nearly 2 hours after leaving the farm, I was back on a vehicle track, unsurfaced. A sign marked the path to both peaks, Brunca Spina 1828m and Punta Marmora, at 1835m, Sardinia’s highest peak. The vehicle track leads through typical mountain terrain, with sheep flocks and water collection structures. 2 ½ hours after leaving the farm, I reached a building at the end of the surfaced road. Leaving the road head was a group of 2 men, 2 women and a small black dog. I said “Buon giorno” but they didn’t reply – not in any language and not even a hand raise. When I reached the house, I noticed 2 cars, both with Swiss number plates and mountain bike racks and stickers, so I assume these were the uncommunicative hikers’ vehicles. I continued walking along the road, tasting water from each spring I passed. One surprise was meeting a free range saddleback sow (pig) on the hillside – presumably, she was truffling around for roots, leaves, fungi etc – she certainly looked happy and didn’t mind me watching and photographing her. The pig was just opposite a car park and farm entrance, labeled “Botanic Gardens and Restaurant”. A little way further along the road, there is a large layby, with 3 large trees. A car stopped just behind me – apparently to get a mobile phone signal. The car drove on and stopped beside me. The driver asked where I was heading, then said she was going to Desulo, so offered me a lift – and then dropped me right outside the cheapest hotel in the town (Alberguo La Nuoro, 20 euros for a single room), after explaining that she lived at the rifugio at the roadhead. So, by 1230, I had completed my day’s journey, leaving the rest of the afternoon for a coffee, wander round town, evening meal etc. By then, the rain clouds had come down and started precipitating.