TREKKING IN NEBIDA. AN IMPRESSIVE PATH

Nebida is part of the southwestern coast of Sardinia, and the town where the famous Pan di Zucchero (Sugar Loaf), the imposing limestone cliff faces the famous Porto Flavia mines.

It is called the Green Coast of Sardinia, due to its wild nature, with long beaches and numerous coves that border the area, which make it even more impressive, the whole picture and in its perfection, when looking at the great rock.

The beach of plag’e mesu (spiaggia di mezzo = middle beach) was our starting point. It is called this because it is located right in the middle of Funtanamare and Porto Paglia; And in fact, the beach is only one, but being so extensive, for convenience has been divided with different names.

After parking the car in the main area, we started our hike towards Funtanamare.
The stretch to get to the end of the beach was very tiring.
Although the planned route was only 4 km, because of the strong wind, each step seemed to triple. To avoid strong winds accompanied by sore sand, I had to stop several times and wait for the wave to pass.

Finally, we were able to resume the march to shelter from the wind under the rocks that separate the beach from the promenade.
Once the dizziness passed, we began the ascent along the narrow path that skirts the coast and as we ascended, the spectacle began behind us: the sea, with all the shades of blue, that looked like velvet moved by the wind , the waves that were created were not defined but raised a light white foam that ran along the surface; And the intense green vegetation that is suddenly interrupted to make room for the white cliffs of the rocks.

And then to the bottom, always in front of my eyes, was the Pan di Zucchero.

Usually, in Sardinia, the most common wind is the mistral, but this year, on the other hand, there have been many days of strong sirocco. We would certainly have walked more if it were not for this wind and we would surely have come to the abandoned mines for so many years, and yet have maintained an incredible charm.

The washrooms are red, and their walls are stained cerussite and pyrite.
The location of the La Marmora laundry is particular, mainly because it is on the sea: because of its position was to facilitate the coupling of racks, that is to say, of the sailboats that were loaded with minerals and that were transported as far as Carlofrote , Where there was a storage structure of sphalerite (the mineral from which zinc is extracted).
The laundry room dates back to 1897 and was abandoned in the 1930s.
In the past there were sorters or machines for the separation of minerals that selected and washed extracted minerals.

Unfortunately, the laundry is falling apart: the strong deterioration is due to the climate but above all because of the abandonment of the man, unable to preserve this heritage, and that are causing the structure to undergo several failures and collapses.

As I said, our road stopped before we reached the laundry. Although the kilometers were few, the strong wind prevented us to continue.

We left the round road and left to rejoin the asphalt road.
And we went back to the beach, and sheltered from the wind we enjoyed our lunch.
Again on the way back, we crossed the beach only in the last part, because for a change, we decided to walk along the path parallel to the beach inland.
This trajectory allowed us to see the magnificent sand dunes from which the Drosanthemum sprout, some peculiar and succulent plants commonly called “beard of Jupiter”, that find their natural habitat in sandy and dry places with more frequency.

Our walk ended soon after. On the way back, I stopped several times to look at the fascinating game of light they give these spring days. I do not tire of repeating how important it is to preserve and defend this wonderful and fragile nature; Unfortunately there are also many negative details when going to places close to the sea. We must be more and more aware of the amount of plastic that is in the sea and on the beaches, transported by currents and / or abandoned by people. It is necessary to give account of the little information that still exists towards the community and how many could be the initiatives of protection of the environment, with the participation of the citizens for the improvement of the unique patrimony that we have.

When I think of these things, I enjoy every moment that allows me to live these wonderful moments and in my heart I hope that in the future there will be many generations that can enjoy all this.