Torre Dell Pegna

We debarked the tour bus at the state park in Porto Conte, and road walked a short distance to the start of the trail. This short hike in Alghero on the island of Sardinia was an olive branch of sorts. Mrs. Jack knew I was missing prime fall foliage hiking in New England and wished to ease my pain. The hike would certainly be different than my normal environment. The day was already warming up, and expected to reach almost 90F. There wasn’t a tree taller than waist high that I could see in any direction.

Our objective was to reach the Torre della Pegna. The Argonese tower was similar to the nearby towers of Tramariglio and Buru and Porto Conte. The weather was ideal, with visibility extending for many miles. Gently ascending the trail we aimed for a large cliff in the distance.

Right away, the trail surface presented itself as moderately challenging, with loose rock and small boulders in places with uneven surfaces.

The scrubby pine and dry shrubs were sharp, and brushing up against the wrong bush caused some scratches. I wished I had worn my long pants, but with some nimble footwork I came away fairly intact. Some of my hike companions sacrificed a few ounces to mother nature, for others it was a bloodletting.

The tower was just over 1.5 miles away, but the travel was slow going. The guide stopped every now and again to give us some information as to the geology. The landscape was breathtaking.

The rock formations of the cliffs and beneath our feet were limestone. Submerged beneath the tropical seas, they were forced up during the Cretaceous Period around 100 million years before our hike. The sediment layers and existence of fossilized matter are evident in the rocks, and they bear some interesting shapes and contours.

The sun grew strong, and I wished I’d brought my umbrella for a sunshade.

Our guide pointed out one of the islands, one of which featured a natural passage through the island which could be transited by boats.

We continued our climb to the tower, but just a hundred meters before reaching the summit we were halted when several members of the group had reached their limit. Several were simply unprepared to hike, and one had fallen when she caught her laces on a shrub. The guided bowed to the pressure, and we stopped for a photo and water break.

The views of the coast were spectacular. Eventually, we turned back and made our way slowly to the tour bus. The trail back was quiet. My companions were tired, and when people get tired on hikes they usually shut up. It was a welcome development. Many had complained all the way to the summit!

I was just about out of water when I reached the road. The air conditioning of our transportation was lovely, and I was tired- not from hiking but from listening to the noobs who again began gushing complaints over how rugged the hike was. Heck, it was only three miles!

I found it to be a delightful hike. A little challenging, a bit slow, but a great change of pace from my normal routine. I wished it was just myself and the guide, we would have made much better time. Unfortunately you don’t get to choose your hiking wing man on shore excursions.