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| The
coast up to Cala Luna |
The
trip starts from the marina of Santa
Maria Navarrese. Here you can hire a motor dinghy which will
be available from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm in summer and from 8.30 am
to 5.30 pm in autumn. On leaving the marina, head right, towards
the Isolotto d’Ogliastra (Islet of Ogliastra),
opposite Tancau beach. We suggest that you visit
this tiny island in the early morning as it tends to get crowded
with boats in the course of the day. Drop anchor as you approach
the anchorage then take your goggles, snorkel and flippers. Don’t
forget the stale bread you will have expressly prepared for the
countless blacktails that populate these waters: shoals of them
will rush to the bread as soon as you scatter it in the water. You
can then dive in and admire them from close up since they are not
at all skittish. If you take a walk around the island you will soon
notice signs of human activity. In the Roman period, an attempt
was made to build a pier that would join two parts of the island
together using materials dug out of some excavations carried out
in the island itself. |
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| The
Islet of Ogliastra, off the coast of Santa Maria Navarrese |
S.
Maria Navarrese |
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If you carry on along the coast you will then discover a number
of fascinating spots, first of all the huge menhir of Sa
Pedra Longa (Tall Rock). Past that, you will find a small
waterfall that flows directly into the sea, but only until June,
before the heat of the summer dries it out. Next to the waterfall,
is the Grotta dei Colombi (Doves’ Caves) and then Porto Quao
(Hidden Harbour), a small fiord impossible to see if you are sailing
too far from the coast. |
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The Grotta dei Colombi |
Sa Pedra
Longa |
Further
along this stretch of coast full of picturesque corners you will
then reach the famous bays of Cale
Goloritzè, Degli Innamorati (Lovers’ Bay), Dei
Gabbiani (Seagulls’ Bay), Mariolu
otherwise known as Ispuligidenie,
Biriola,
Sisine,
and finally Cala
Luna (Moon Bay). We suggest that you don’t stop in Cala
Goloritzé but carry on until after Cala degli Innamorati
and drop anchor in the anchorage immediately after that. Here
is where most of the boats that offer lunch on board moor. Here
is also a cave worth visiting, if you have been
well enough prepared by bringing an underwater torch with you…
You will have to swim a little in order to reach it, then once
you’re in it you will soon touch the sea-floor. When you
get to the end of it, go back towards the exit until the water
comes to just a little above the waist. In that exact position,
search under water for an opening on the left side of the cave.
That is the entrance to another small cave. If you stretch your
arm into it you will feel the wall on the other side of the rock.
With your torch, enter the cave in small groups. The particular
structure of the cave creates an echo of the waves. Also
be careful of the air currents coming into the cave at regular
intervals.
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| The
coast |
a creek |
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After visiting the cave you then just need to choose one of the
nearby beaches to spend a few hours and enjoy one of the most beautiful
seas in the world. Just remember that the only way to reach Cala
Goloritzé is to swim there, where as the other beaches can
be approached by boat mooring along the appropriate gangways. Dinghies
will have to be moored off the buoyed area, but not on the buoys
themselves. |
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| Off
Cala Goloritzè |
Cala
Goloritzè |
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