Cala Gonone is another well-known spot in Sardinia. Before going there, I was wondering why this place was so popular. I mean, there are beautiful sandy beaches everywhere. I thought I would be spending another day lying on the beach reading my book.

But I was wrong. I walked and walked and walked a lot here. Even though I only visited one beach.

There are many beaches and caves along the coast between Cala Gonone and Tortolí, and there are two ways of accessing them. First is to walk and second is to take a boat. If you are unlucky and happen to be in the area on a windy day, then you are left with only one option, which is to walk.



I decided to leave town early in the morning and headed to Cala Luna. My host said that the path went through the woods and forest, so no worry about it being too hot at midday.

Either he was wrong, or there was a misunderstanding in our communication, the sun was burning down at me almost the whole 3 hours of my walk. I kept going on the dusty path, my hiking shoes covered in powdery dirt and I was sweating my body weight out. I was determined to go hiking today, not to go to the beach. Hence I didn’t even bring a towel with me. Although less than halfway through I couldn’t wait to jump into the cold water.

Walking down from the cliff to see light blue bay and white sandy beach, paradise felt much closer to me.



At last, I slowly walked down and headed towards the sea, through trees blossomed with pink flowers and a sign pointing out a way to the beach. It was just like I was about to discover paradise, just like in the movie The Beach.



To be honest, the beach at Cala Luna wasn’t that spectacular comparing to the effort I had to make to get there. There was no sandy beach but pebbles which hurt a little. What was a little bit more particular were the caves that you could go inside and hide from the sun while still looking out at the crystal blue sea.

What made I appreciate this place, ironically, was the fact that I had to walk 2 hours to get there. Soaked in my own sweat, at that point all I wanted was to jump into the sea.

And that was what I did.

Thing really worth more when they are harder to get. I really believe so.

At first, I was unsure if I should go to Santa Teresa because I didn’t have much time and everything felt like a rush. However, within less than 6 hours of being there, I already decided I would stay one more night.

What was it in Santa Teresa di Gallura that got me hooked?



After spending the last two days on the beach around Palau, just reading, eating and sleeping (maybe also swimming…occasionally), I started to get bored. Once I got to Santa Teresa, my host took me to Capo Testa that afternoon. I had heard about this place before but I didn’t really know what to expect. Turned out that there were rocks everywhere, and they were big enough that it was fun to climb up and down the rocks next to the sea.

So up and down we climbed, and I learned that I really liked being active. Beach holiday where you just lie there on the towel reading and talking just wasn’t my thing. It might be good for a day or two but then I would feel the need to move again. So the abundance of hiking trails in Capo Testa really got me hooked.



After that, we also hiked the nearby Valle della Luna, known for the hippy people who built their shelters there and stay all year long, or some that would camp there during the summer period, living in the wild and smoking weed just like that.



Apart from what it was famous for, though, the place was breathtakingly beautiful. As we entered the valley the sun was low over the horizon and the light was perfect. It seemed like this valley was under the spell. And once you got inside there were so many more hiking paths for you to discover. I decided to return to this place again next evening. It wasn’t a hard decision to make.

That night, I had a chance to sleep on a sailing boat. My Couchsurfing host rented out two apartments he had in town and he said if I wanted to stay I would have to sleep on a sailing boat with him. He asked if that would be okay for me and of course I said yes. How often would you get to sleep on a sailing boat like this?



He brought some prawns and vegetables for dinner. So after I got back from my hike that night, we made our way to the boat and started to grill our dinner right there, on the boat, surrounded by seawater. It was such a memorable experience.

I slept in the little cabin that night and he on the mattress on a bench outside. The small sailing boat consisted of the ‘bedroom’ I was in, a tiny toilet, small living room and an area designated for cooking. It was what I imagined sleeping in a converted can would be like, just that this was on the water instead of solid ground. The waves and wind made the boat rocked a little like I was in a baby clot, just perfect to put me to sleep.



Waking up on the boat wasn’t bad either, because as soon as you woke up, you were just there, surrounded by other boats, out in the fresh open air as the smell of seawater hit your nose and the morning sunshine hit your skin. It was a great experience but not the most comfortable way to live.

I think I would opt for a van life though…as soon as I learn how to drive that is.

Having only 3 weeks in Sardegna, I had to be by the seaside at some point. So after ten days in Martis, I left and went up North to Palau.

That was a good decision I made. The sea here was really incredible.





Starting in Palau, my main goal of staying there was to visit La Maddalena, an archipelago North of the main island, just 15 minutes on a ferry to get there. I set my alarm and woke up early that morning. During the beginning of high season like this, even the more remote beaches could be very packed. Once I got of the ferry on La Maddalena, I managed to find a lift to Caprera, the small island on the east side. From there I walked to a small beach not too far away, left all me stuff on the towel under the shady tree, and off I jumped into the crystal clear blue water.

So refreshing.



Even though the beaches here could be as crowded as those in Thailand, I was impressed by how clean and wild beaches could be here. Maybe it was only at the places I chose to go, which required a little walk to get there, or sometimes even a proper trek with trekking shoes. There were no shops, restaurants or hotels around, just you and the beauty of nature. The water was so clean and clear, many bays were free of boats and the water was still that you could swim as if you were in a pool, apart from some fish, jellyfish and starfish you could see under the water which would remind you of where you were.


I hadn’t been to any spectacular beaches like this for almost ten years, at last, all the water to Italy, here I was. I swam and swam until my skin got tanned and my energy lever was low. Before going back to Palau, I took a walk around town and bought some sweet treats, including this amaretto cookie with blueberry and fig jam inside. The girl behind the counter said it was the speciality of this island, I wasn’t sure if I believed her but it wasn’t a bad treat, just overly sweet like any other amaretti.




Back in Palau, I got a lift to Porto Rafael and walked up to the viewpoint of Punta Sardegna to see the sunset. It was one of the best sunset spots I had ever been to, and I had been to quite many. It was the highest point around, at the tip of the North coast, surrounded by small, foggy mountainous islands. It was the perfect landscape combination of the mountain and the sea.



On top of that amazing view, there was that perfect ‘bench and table’ where an American couple was sitting there with a bottle of Rose the same colour as the sky. It also had the best viewpoint of the surrounding area.

Well, one thing I learned from here is to bring someone else with me next time.

“Martis? What are you gonna do there for ten days?”

That was often the response I heard from people when I told them where I was going to spend the majority of my time on this island at.

I told them I was going to do some work exchange there. I didn’t know much about the place, or the village called Martis. Just that the owner of the farm, Giovanni, seemed very friendly when we talked on Workaway. He had also lived in Thailand for a year and had an amazing time in my country. So I thought why not?

The early morning bus took me through the main street of Martis. I looked around with curiosity and saw how small and quiet the village seemed to be. Then I though to myself,

‘What am I doing in Martis?’

There were three bars in Martis, one of them make pizzas on weekend evenings, and a small grocery shop. You could ask anyone in the village and they would be able to tell you where Giovanni lived. Oh, and surprisingly, there’s free wifi in the main square of this small village.

I found Giovanni’s house which looked a bit nicer, newer, than many houses in the surroundings. The sound of dogs barking was the response I received after ringing the doorbell. I tried again, this time Andrea opened the door and greeted me. He took my backpack and led me upstairs to the kitchen of the house where Serena, his girlfriend, was making tea for breakfast. Both of them were volunteered who had been living there for a couple of weeks now. They seemed very at home at this place.

While having fresh figs from the garden for breakfast, I met the other two volunteers. Anthony from America and Roger from Switzerland, both of them had also been here for a while.

Within half an hour of my arrival, I received two unexpected news. First, Giovanni wasn’t at the farmhouse. He left just a few days ago because he had a problem with one of his strings or muscles and he had to go back to see the doctor in Tuscany. Second news, baby goat who was born the day before died last night and no one at the farm knew what to do next.



Right, the owner of this place wasn’t here, and no one knew how to milk goat. The unpredictable reality of life.

The first few days at the farm was a little bit strange. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, or what my job was. I was disappointed that the bees died over winter so there would be no bee keeping, there would be no cheese making since one goat wouldn’t produce enough milk for any types of cheese, and the weather was to hot to light the pizza oven and bake pizza or bread.

Basically, all the things that got me interested in coming to this place were not gonna take place during my stay.

Serena said she had been mainly cleaning and cooking for everyone in the house, being the only female there. So I thought I might do the same. I started with picking some berries and made some courgette cake, the produce we had way too much of at this period. And since they didn’t make you do what you didn’t want to do, but rather encourage you to do, or learn, about what you were interested in, I decided to stick with cooking and feeding people.

Everything started to make more sense when Giovanni came back. Then I understood why everyone, Andrea, Serena, Roger and Antony, all of them came back to this place after their first visits.

Giovanni was full of energy, and being around him just boosted your enthusiasm and willingness to work and get things done, as well as to have fun. That was what he wanted for the volunteered who stayed with him, to learn about the cultures and have fun. At the age of 34, he had travelled a lot and he seemed quite young to be living in such a small place like Martis. But he had his vision and his reason, he wanted to create a small community here. Of course he didn’t plan to stay here for the rest of his life, as much as he loved the place, he also loved travelling.

Basically, Giovanni was the heart of this farm. I wanted to leave this place after the first few days but at the end I even considered coming back here to make a documentary for my last project.




There was nothing exciting here, life was simple. But this place was full of lovely people and that was the most important thing. I might not get to learn about beekeeping or cheesemaking, or bake bread and pizzas this time. However I knew that these things would always be here for me to learn when I come back. We saw a tradition costume parade in town, went on a day trip to the beach with other volunteers and enjoyed many delicious meals together. There was plenty of work to be done but some fun and new project ideas were always considered and supported. That was the best thing about this place.

So, with a clearer idea of what I want to do in Martis, I will be back here again.

It might seem like I am never satisfied with where I’m living, I always want to move. Until I came to Bologna, Italy. Here, I want to stay for a longer while.

Though not in summer, definitely not, so I left again.

Summer in Bologna is almost unbearable. The heat was trapped inside the city and there were no wind, no rivers, no lakes and no beaches to cool you down. There were two ways out, staying in the basement all day and go out at night, or leave the city and go somewhere near the sea.

I chose the latter, with no second thought. Also because I really missed seafood.

After asking around some Italians for the best places to go to the sea, the first answer was always Puglia, and then Sardegna. Since I have been to Puglia before, and the thought of a wild, untouched nature on the biggest island of Italy provoked my curiosity, making decision was that hard.


So I bought two cheap flights from Bologna over to the island of Sardegna.

Before coming here, I had a picture of Sardegna in my mind. Since everyone whom I told where I was going always said something like, ‘Wow, Sardegna is wonderful! But very expensive…’ so I just imagined this crystal clear blue water and white sandy beach.

I arrived at Alghero airport in the afternoon. To get to Sassari where my host lived, I had to take a bus which would leave in an hour an a half. Of course I didn’t want to wait at the airport for that long, so I wandered out to the parking area and decided I would ask someone who were about to leave just in case they were going to Sassari. I asked the first couple I saw, and jackpot, they were going exactly where I was going. So they gave me a lift straight into town.

They had two daughters, one lived in the mainland of Italy and the other in Lithuania. So they understood me, a girl who travelled abroad by herself. They wanted to welcome me to their country and gave me a good first impression, the same way that they wanted other people to do it to their daughters who lived far away from them.

And so my first impression of Sardegna was memorable. I hope it would continue to be wonderful like this.