Weekend Travels

A bunch more has happened since my last post. Beginning from Thursday, we had a day off and I slept in late. When I finally got up and finished with breakfast, everyone had already left for the fish market, so I ended up hanging around the dorm most of the day snoozing and catching up on my computer. Later though, I went for a really nice walk around Cagliari. There were a lot of really cool pictures and sights, but unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera on the walk so Ill have to retrace the root again to get pictures. The first thing I did was walked to the very top of the hill that Cagliari is on. Our dorm looks out over one side of Cagliari but the top of the hill looks out over the other side, so it was a beautiful new perspective of more of the city. After that I walked back down, weaving through the city towards the water before looping back around to home.

In class Friday we went to the lab and learned how to analyze a sample of waste (municipal solid waste, refuse-derived fuel, food waste, and mature compost). This analysis would let us accurately estimate the water content, energy potential, and even the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen levels in the sample. By taking a sample of a larger source of waste you can determine its potential value and use. Later on that day I skyped my parents back home for the first time.

Men of the lab.

Mike teasing a class napping.

Saturday morning, we got up early to leave for Porto Flavia, a Geomining park on the southwestern coast of Sardinia. This park was right on the water and there were some absolutely incredible views. The mine itself was merely a long tunnel that ultimately popped out of the cliff face overlooking the water. Apparently they used to mine silver and lead there though I'm not quite sure why they stopped as it didn't appear to be a very big mine.

Pictures of our view on the walk from bus to Porto Flavia.

Entrance.

View from the opposite side of the mine.

Upon leaving the mine we went to a small restaurant close by and got another huge Italian meal. Boy do Italians know how to cook!

View from the restaurant.

Mike <3

After lunch we went to an old Nuraghe temple ruins. It was cool seeing more of the living past and to go to another scenic place with the crew. There were some adorable wild cats and a dog there. They were all very cute, but despite all being comfortable with us, the cats very clearly didn't like the dog. When it got close in a sort of mellow trundle, the cats attacked and sent the dog racing back. We also found a tree that we were all trying to climb for the longest time. It looked easy but the bark was extremely sharp. Eventually, a few of us made it up it, however a few scrapes and bruises were incurred (totally worth it).

Nuraghe temple ruins.

Tour guide explaining temple while Mike looks cool.

Wild dog.

Nearby, Sheppard.

Proceeding the temple visit, we took the bus ride to the farm where we were staying for the night: Agriturismo "Sa Perda Marcada". On the ride I caught a few sleepers... payback. :P

The farm itself was so cool. It was a very quaint set up with a nice view of the mountains, and plenty of space to explore. On the farm they had more cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, horses, a turkey, and lots of crops. We had another big meal that night before going outside to look at the stars. Despite the clouds, the view was great, and I saw a nice shooting star. The following morning we received  an Italian cooking lesson. We weren't given too much to do, but we did learn how they form the shapes of their pasta and how they make one of their tasty deserts.

Lounge area in our room situation.

View from the balcony.

One of the many Cats on the property.

Horses.

Erika and Divya swinging.

More views of the grounds.

Danielle.

Chickens.

The "blue" crew.

Puppy being adorable.

Young Italian boy being adorable with Eli and Dima.

After relaxing in the warm sun for awhile, enjoying the company of the cute boy, puppy, and cat combo we left for Piscinas Sand Dunes. This is a beautiful beach on the southwestern side of Sardinia with giant sand dunes and ripping currents. The water looks tame when your out of it, but jump in and your realize how wrong that assumption was. Just getting out twenty yards, in shallow water, was a struggle. Every step forward you took the waves would knock you back a few more. After "attempting" to swim we walked along the beach. And along the beach, we found the most perfect skipping stones I have ever seen. And there weren't just a few; it seemed like every stone was made to skip. It made for some nice rock skipping. Down the beach, a few of us hiked up the top of a dune to see the view. It was a tough walk but well worth the view. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera at this time but the view was stunning. Camping out under the stars up there with a nice fire pit and friends would be the absolute coolest thing.

Views of the beach and the dunes.

And now, I'm back in my room finishing up my blog. In a few minutes I'll go grab a delicious Kebab dinner before tackling our first big project due tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Ciao!