Sardinia Day 3: Bosa - Alghero - Castelsardo - Capo Testa

Bosa

As we had camped in a small village close to Bosa, it was still early when we stood on the hill in front of Bosa, overlooking the pretty colorful village on the other side. Little houses in pastel colors with red roofs are scattered across the hill, on top of which stands the Malaspina castle. This is Sa Costa, the oldest district of Bosa. We walked through the historic center with its small cobblestone alleys and pretty balconies, all the way up to the castle to take in the view from the other side. On our way back, we briefly followed the shore of the Temo river before turning back and heading to our next destination...

Alghero

The ride to Alghero was truly breathtaking. The curvy road along the cliffs can be a bit scary at times, but totally worth it.

For the first time on this trip, we felt we were in a tourist place. There was even a tourist office, where we spoke with a friendly employee who had good and bad news for us. The bad news was that the Grotte di Nettuno at Capo Caccia, which we really wanted to see, was closed for renovation. Closed sites were become the connecting thread of this trip. Luckily, she had good news too: the weather would clear up. The forecast promised less rain and more sun. Feeling hugely relieved, we set off to explore the historic city center of Alghero.

Surrounded by old town ramparts and defense towers, Alghero is a lovely, old town with small cobblestone alleys and cute boutiques with local products. Unlike Bosa, Alghero feels really touristic with its numerous shops, restaurants and bars. At night, pick a table along the boulevard and watch how the sun sets over the bay, coloring the entire town orange.

Castelsardo

As the Grotte di Nettuno was closed, we decided to skip that part of the island, as well as Stintino and the Asinara Island. Instead we drove eastwards to Capo Testa, with a stopover in Castelsardo.

The Castello dei Doria is the Castelsardo’s main highlight. It houses a museum of basket-weaving, an important local handicraft. To our big surprise *uhum*, the castle was once again closed for restoration. So we explored the medieval citadel around the castle, as well as one of its tiny bars.

Just outside Castelsardo lies another interesting sight. An eroded rock outcrop, the Roccia dell’Elefante draws visitors and photographers due to its remarkable resemblance to an elephant.

Capo Testa

The plan for the evening was to stay over at a local person’s place through Couchsurfing, but it didn’t work out, so we went straight to Capo Testa for another night in the tent. This is where we found the best camping spot of the entire trip.

A bridge separates the seaside resort Santa Teresa from the peninsula Capo Testa. Just before the bridge, we found a piece of grassland which was perfect for our tent: from here, we had a beautiful view over the peninsula and the sea. In the distance, we could even see the coastline of Corsica. To reward ourselves on this great finding, we treated ourselves on a good meal in a local restaurant.

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