Some of the more attractive beach scenery from the area we visited.
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Located some 20 miles south of Posada, Capo Comino is worth the torturous drive from the main road. The coastal scenery is very picturesque. |
| The building at right is an abandoned Italian navy coast guard installation. I thought that it could be remodeled into a beautiful B&B. |  |
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While much of the coast here is rocky terrain, there is also a large sand beach at Capo Comino. |
| About ten miles south of Posada, Santa Lucia, another extremely ancient community, has some beautiful coastal views. This sentry tower is one of a series of fortifications built within sight of each other along most of the eastern coast of Sardinia. |  |
| Located on the Golfo di Orosei, Cala Gonone is one of the most attractive of the coastal towns. One of it's attractions is a sea cave which tour boats enter and exit. We managed to miss the proper tide on both visits and have yet to partake of that experience. Cala Gonone is located in a pocket in the coastal hills opening onto the sea. There is only one road in and out. That road climbs up steeply from Dorgali until it reaches a tunnel through the hillside. The tunnel is a test of driving nerve. It is very narrow, unlit, and climbs at a steep rate. When you plunge out of the tunnel into the sunlight, you have to be ready to react and make the hairpin descending curve off to the right. The road then continues steeply downward through a series of white-knuckle curves until you enter Cala Gonone. |
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The exit of the tunnel on the Cala Gonone side. |
| Peering down through the trees, you can see the town below. |  |
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A well-patronized beach. |
| A residential area on the beach. |  |
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Attractive homes and businesses comprise most of the town. |
| The beautiful blue and azure waters of the Golfo di Orosei. |  |
| Located north of Posada between it and Olbia is another attractive beach community that is unfortunately becoming unavailable to the visitor. In the 8 years between our visits, San Theodore changed markedly. Much of the beach and town became controlled-access open only to the owners of time-share condos and similar arrangements. |  |
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From the marina at San Theodore, one has a view of Tavolara, one of the islands in Olbia's bay. |
| Tavolara Island closer. One gets a
real close-up of the island when flying from Rome to Olbia as the plane
flies close alongside the towering sides of the island on the approach
into Olbia Airport.
An interesting aside is that this large chunk of limestone was once an independent kingdom. Throughout most of recorded history, the only inhabitants of the island were wild goats. In the early 19th century, however, the island was settled by some Corsicans. In 1836, Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, invested Paolo Bertoleoni as the King of Tavolara. The graveyard of the royal family is still on the island. Today, the only part of the island open to the public is an area containing two restaurants near the boat landing on the Olbia side. The remainder is a NATO installation closed to civilian use. |
