Sagone then Porto Pollo/Filitosa

S/V Goldcrest
David & Lindsay Inwood
Mon 6 Jun 2016 13:30

41:42.524N 8:47.849E Mon 6th Jun 2016

 

Two shortish days of motoring after our exhilarating crossing: only to be expected as we are in the Med!  Our first stop after Girolata was a quiet sandy bay at Sagone.  We only stopped to break up a long boring motor and be able to anchor for a change, but the scenery was spectacular (snow still in the rugged mountains inland) and the water clear and warm (above 20C for the 1st time), so we stayed for 2 free nights.  Both were about as quiet as it ever gets - no sign that we were on the water, lovely stars and no artificial lights.  Lindsay had a couple of good swims, the first of the season, from the boat and we went ashore for a couple of walks.  The only highlight ashore was the remains of a very early medieval church which incorporated two much older menhirs as corner-stones.

Porto Pollo moorings:

Monday’s trip was a bit better, as I got the sails up to help the engine along for a couple of hours and relieved the boredom by playing with the toys (sails & autopilot).  Our destination, Porto Pollo, was chosen for its proximity to one of the Med’s best megalithic sites at Filitosa, but also benefits from cheapish mooring buoys (“only” €30 / night).  We were ashore early this morning to get a taxi to the menhirs (megalithic standing stones); a bit expensive and feeling rushed by the ticking taxi clock.  But what a site!  We’ve visited a few spectacular pre-historic sites over the years and a few stand out e.g. in Scotland and the Balearics, but now we can add Filitosa to the places burned into the memory.  It’s an attractive area and the weathered rocks and fertile soils would certainly have been overwhelmingly appealing to the Neolithic peoples who first settled here 8,000 years ago.  The main attractions though are the carved Menhirs; man sized with carved heads, clothing and weapons in some cases.  The areas was developed and inhabited through the bronze and iron ages and wound down slowly from the Romans onwards, so no great destruction damaged the remains.  The pictures speak for themselves:-

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Our next stop is Bonifacio - much loved first time around and well reported on, so no more posts until we break new ground somewhere in Sardinia (probably!).