Porto Conte Bay Part 2

Ariel of Hamble
Jim and Valerie SHURVELL
Sat 21 Aug 2010 08:53

Porto Conte Bay Part 2

 

The bay is a spectacular spot with beautiful scenery.  On Tuesday we walked from Cala Tramariglio to Neptune’s Grotto.  We had expected to catch a bus on the way but we would have missed the beautiful views overlooking the bay from the cliffs.  Neptune’s Grotto is just near Capo Caccia and the light house and the island Foradada which lies off the land.  The area around Capo Caccia is suppose to be one of Sardinia’s bird breeding environments but we failed to see very little bird life at all.

It is 654 steps down the staircase on the side of the cliff which is known as the “Mountain Goat’s staircase”.  The limestone cliffs contain the numerous caves which have been visited since the 19th century.  Most people arrive by day tripper boat which picks up a mooring buoy about 100 metres out in the sea and edges itself into the cave and is secured by lines.  The passengers then walk the short landing ladder into the cave.  On our calm day it looked easy and safe but I was not so sure what it would be like on a rough day.

We were surprised at the size of the caves but it is an immense cavern system open to the water and sometimes the sea flows into the inner cave with enough water that a dinghy can enter the cave from the sea. The stalactites and stalagmites range from small spaghetti-thin strands to columns that measure metres in diameter.  We were very surprised at the huge size of the caves but Jim was sad as pieces had been broken off everywhere people could reach.  We were pleased we had walked down the steps to the Grotto. What goes down also has to go up again and I can assure you on a hot sunny day it was hard but we made it unlike several who had to sit on the steps to rest.

The walk back along the cliffs was breath taking and we enjoyed every minute of the journey.

 

Porto Conte Bay Part 2

 

The bay is a spectacular spot with beautiful scenery.  On Tuesday we walked from Cala Tramariglio to Neptune’s Grotto.  We had expected to catch a bus on the way but we would have missed the beautiful views overlooking the bay from the cliffs.  Neptune’s Grotto is just near Capo Caccia and the light house and the island Foradada which lies off the land.  The area around Capo Caccia is suppose to be one of Sardinia’s bird breeding environments but we failed to see very little bird life at all.

It is 654 steps down the staircase on the side of the cliff which is known as the “Mountain Goat’s staircase”.  The limestone cliffs contain the numerous caves which have been visited since the 19th century.  Most people arrive by day tripper boat which picks up a mooring buoy about 100 metres out in the sea and edges itself into the cave and is secured by lines.  The passengers then walk the short landing ladder into the cave.  On our calm day it looked easy and safe but I was not so sure what it would be like on a rough day.

We were surprised at the size of the caves but it is an immense cavern system open to the water and sometimes the sea flows into the inner cave with enough water that a dinghy can enter the cave from the sea. The stalactites and stalagmites range from small spaghetti-thin strands to columns that measure metres in diameter.  We were very surprised at the huge size of the caves but Jim was sad as pieces had been broken off everywhere people could reach.  We were pleased we had walked down the steps to the Grotto. What goes down also has to go up again and I can assure you on a hot sunny day it was hard but we made it unlike several who had to sit on the steps to rest.

The walk back along the cliffs was breath taking and we enjoyed every minute of the journey.

 

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image

JPEG image