INSPIRATION

Today’s route is pleasantly free of significant climbs and descents, despite the constant ups and downs (“it’s all flat”.) I cross the bridge over the Rio Posada and proceed in the direction of Budoni on state road 125, which in this area runs almost parallel to the most important and busy 131. I pass the hamlet of Tanaunella and shortly before arriving in Budoni I hear sirens approaching and I immediately think an accident happened nearby. Instead, I see the car of forest guards who reach me in the opposite direction and after having joined me ask me to follow them, they will escort me to the village. This for now beats all the other types of reception!

The two guards Vanni and Franco take me to the Andrea Parodi Theatre, right next to the Town Hall, where the Councilors Denise, Luisa and Fabrizio are waiting for me. After the welcoming cafe (now a ritual) we enter the nice auditorium dedicated to the memory of the prematurely deceased Tazenda singer, where gradually various middle school classes arrive, ready to listen to my story, to my ukulele and to queue in front of the microphone to ask me a series of endless questions, led by teachers, including Maurizio, a violinist with whom we shared the years of study at the Conservatoire of Cagliari.

After this meeting I go to the Amadori Bookshop, where the owners Elisa and Beppe welcome me. I leave the bike here and in the company of Elisa, her friend Andrea and her dog Dylan, we take a walk in the main street around which this part of Budoni extends. Then Elisa explains to me that the oldest parts of Budoni are actually the hamlets scattered throughout the territory, 24 (!!), and she drives me to visit two in the northern part. We go up the hills, we pass Agrustos and we arrive at Ludduì, in a very high hill from which we can admire the whole coast of Budoni, and the underlying Porto Ottiolu, where we then descend to admire the beautiful beach that is right next to the marina.

It’s already time for lunch and we drive back at the Spice Symphony restaurant, where Maurizio joins me to eat with a colleague of his. In the afternoon I go to the tobacconist to greet Michele, who did his best to organise this day. Then I go back to the bookshop, where Giuseppe joins me, a man who had organised here the presentation of Massiccione’s book (see the Short Story below).

After a short while I am joined again by Elisa, who takes me around to see other hamlets, this time in the hinterland, on the Baroniese side that almost borders on Gallura. We pass Limpiddu and stop at Solità, to visit a small church and notice some beautiful murals, coupled with natural granite sculptures. Then towards San Lorenzo, Tamarispa, and in the middle of the mountain, up to Brunella, already in the territory of Torpè, to then go back through San Pietro, Lu Linnalvu, and Tanaunella, from which you can again enjoy a beautiful coastal landscape , at the southern end of the territory.

The last stop is on the beach of Budoni, on the side of which there is a beautiful pine forest. It is precisely here that I receive a message from the boys who hosted me in Carbonia, the brothers Simone and Matteo, who are in the area and with whom we meet up for an aperitif in a bar facing the beach. A nice evening, at the end of which I take back the bicycle left in the bookshop and I am escorted by Elisa to Porto Ottiolu, to the house of my relatives Satta from Gavoi where I will be a guest tonight, just a stone’s throw from the marina and the beach I have admired this morning.

SOUND FRAGMENTS

SHORT SARDINIAN STORIES

At Elisa and Beppe’s bookshop I see a pile of books, title ‘Life beyond: A true story of courage and rebirth’ by ​​Roberto Zanda, now known to all as ‘Massiccione’. Roberto was here recently to present his book and tell his story, now known to everyone, at least here in Sardinia: during the very hard ultramarathon Yukon Arctic Ultra Roberto got lost in the woods at temperatures of minus 50 and was found after 14 hours in hypothermia. He will survive losing his feet, one hand and half of the other. The book, which goes straight in my post-377 reading list, tells an example of strength, tenacity and attachment to life. Massiccione, equipped with prostheses, is already ready to face new challenges. Giuseppe, who organized the presentation of the book here in Budoni, also talked to him about my project, and I know that sooner or later we will meet to exchange stories of adventures and risks, also present in my trip: car drivers!