Cagliari, Sardinia

Today, we arrived in Cagliari, on the Italian island of Sardinia.

We’ve been here several times before, so it doesn’t hold many surprises for us. We had originally planned to try and get to a nature reserve famous for its flamingos, but Tracey was feeling a little under the weather, and decided she would rather stay on board ship. I toyed with the idea of doing the same, and having an easy day of it, but then changed my mind and headed ashore by myself, with the rough plan of walking a familiar circuit of the city, and capturing some photos and video to mark our visit.

Pedestrians are not permitted in the port of Cagliari; instead, a shuttle bus was laid on to carry passengers to the port entrance, from where the city is only a relatively short walk away.

Once free of the port, I headed towards the botanical gardens and a Roman archaeological site beyond. At this point, the land rises to a much higher point, providing me with some good views across the city. I was slightly disappointed to find a food kiosk that we’d bought food from on a previous visit no longer existed…

Here, at this much higher level, there are old city walls, punctuated by arches that lead into the old town, and viewpoints across the opposite side of the city, looking towards the flamingo nature reserve (far too far to walk, by the way; when we return again, we will have to find some local transport to get us there…).

I paused in the small square outside the cathedral before proceeding towards Triumphal arch, where steps led me back down to sea level and a short walk back, along the promenade, to the port.