Night location: Arzachena, Italy

Today we crossed the island from west to east and explored the wild interior of Sardinia. The Romans were unable to conquer the middle of Sardinia, dubbing the inhabitants 'Barberia' and we can see why they would have struggled. While there are magnificent valleys ideal for crops or livestock, the mountainous outcrops of granite form a natural defence.

Our first stop was Nuraghe Santu Antine. The Nuraghic people were a Bronze Age civilisation who were sophisticated builders, artisans, travellers and traders. Sardinia is dotted with over 7000 nuraghi, most of which were built between 1800 and 500BC. Santu Antine is a triangular compound with three watchtowers at each point and a central tower which originally rose to a height of 25 meters. We explored the long internal corridors and wound up the narrow stairwells to the top of the towers.

From here we drove to Monte Limbara. The jagged summit dominates the region as it soars to a height of 1359 meters at its peak. To reach the top we drove up a narrow road that was just one hairpin bend after another. It wound its way through a dense pine forest with scattered mounds of huge shards of granite. We were glad that it wasn't very busy as meeting vehicles in sections would have required negotiations and then some reversing! The first lookout was near a quaint church to Saint Mary and her statue gazed across all of northern Sardinia to the coast. After admiring the view ourselves we walked through the pine trees and found a lovely shaded spot with rocks towering over us and the valley in front stretching out to the sea.

A second lookout was down a dirt track that was designed for hikers rather than any form of vehicle. Adriano, the Q2, handled it with style however and Amber was very grateful that the only other people we saw were two joggers. We explored this panoramico by climbing over boulders and through wild brush and were rewarded with a different angle across to the coast.

Returning to the sealed road we were surprised to find that it narrowed further as we continued to the summit, resembling a glorified (if a bit uneven) bike path. Undeterred we drove on up towards the multiple television towers perched on the top and were impressed by the view, but really, the drive itself was what made the destination worth it.

For the next three nights we are staying on a rural property near Arzachena which has converted old stone farmhouses into beautiful accommodation. From here we plan to explore the Emerald Coast and also La Maddalena.