Lanusei
Caught the 09:15 bus to Lanusei and arrived at the hostel at 12:45, exactly 15 minutes prior to the reception desk closing for a 4 hour siesta. We also wanted to visit the tourist information bureau before siesta, so we dropped our bags in our room, and rushed back downstairs and out the side door and rang the bell for the tourist information bureau which happens to be located immediately next door to the hostel. The lady who checked us into the hostel, leaned out of the hostel door and told us that she was also the one who ran the tourist information bureau and she had already prepared a package of pamphlets and booklets for us in anticipation of our arrival. We walked around a little bit of the hilly town exploring the nearby constantly curving streets, but eveything was closed for siesta. After enjoying a light meal at a restaurant with a great view of the valley below, we headed back to our hostel to partake in the ritualistic siesta as well. All the shops resumed activity at 17:00, and we bought some provisions for antipasti as well as some fruit and juice for tomorrow's breakfast. We went to four different shops before we found bread...eveyone's bread baskets were empty. The 3rd shop keeper said that we could find some bread down the road a little bit a la sinistra, we said, no everyone was out of bread. She was incredulous, and walked out to the sidewalk and yelled across the street to some old lady sweeping her doorstill and asked if she had any bread to which the old lady yelled back in the affirmative. So, we crossed the street and found our bread. The nice thing about travelling at this time of year is that there are very few tourists on the road which means that we have been finding ourselves nearly all alone in these big places designed to accomadate many dozens of people. Here there is only one other middle-aged couple from Newcastle who are on the next floor. So, we each have an entire floor to ourselves, and because the staff do not stay here at night, we are all alone in this huge place after 7 p.m.
Lanusei Day 2
Fresh bread was aplenty this morning at the alimentaria which opens at 07:00 next to our hostel. And, thus, we were able to enjoy delicious fresh bread for breakfast with our cheese, jam and coffee. After breakfast, One of the park wardens at the archaeological park of Selene picked us up at the hostel and drove us up to the Nuraghic ruins above Lanusei about 1100 meters above the sea. |In case you were ever wondering, but were afraid to ask, here's the common evolutionary chronology presented at all of the museums of the mediterranean islands we've visted so far:
Paleolithic Period: 500,000 to 10,000 B.C.
Mesolithic: 10,000 to 6000 B.C.
Neolithic: 6,000 to 2700 B.C. (the temple people of Malta thrived during this period and suddenly disappeared without a trace and for reasons unknown)
Eneolithic: 2700 to 1800 B.C.
Bronze Age: 1800 to 900 B.C. (the Nuraghic people thrived toward the end of this period...also during this period, new tribes took possession of the abandoned temples in Malta)
Iron Age: 900 to 750 B.C.
Eastern Age: 750 to 510 B.C.
Archaic Age: 510 to 238 B.C. (The Phoenicians and Carthaginians dominated the Mediterranean which marks the decline of the Nuraghi who fled to the high central hills to preserve themselves from annihilation)
Roman Era: 238 B.C. to 476 A.D. (end of the Nuraghic peoples)
Vandals: 476 to 550 A.D.
It is interesting to note just how much effort the Nuraghic people went to bury their dead. The temples of huge rocks were errected with no small effort and were specifically used to bury people. This is surely an indication of the overwhelming importance death held in their culture.
Because it was such a belissima giurnata today, we decide to walk back to the hostel from the park. We descended about 500 meters in 2 km which is a very steep decline. I believe today is the first time that I actually wanted to stop to take a break going downhill. When we approached Lanusei and saw an uphill climb ahead, it cam, surprisingly, as a relief to our legs.
