A Farm Stay in the mountains- on an Italian Island

Fotos and Experiences of the highly recommended Argiturismo Canales, in Nuoro Province of Sardinia

The drive to this farm stay is quite adventurous.. if you are coming from the sea side, you will pass a very long bridge (and very tall, please don't try look down ;)), drive narrow winding roads that are very raw and even wonder what happens if a car is coming from the opposite direction (in the sense of who will back off, to where and how). But all worked out fine this evening, when we finally reached on top of the mountain and parked our car.

As we walked towards the reception, we already had goose bumps. The sun had just set and the sky was a dense rose pink. The air was slightly misty but still summery warm. Everything was so quiet, not even a slight breeze. Majestic peaks of mountains surrounded us in all directions. Soon we heard soft notes of clinking cutlery mixed with smiling conversations as we approached the open terrace. The relaxed gestures of those dining in candle light, stood out against the background of the softly lit up mountain ranges.

I stayed in a jaw dropped open state for the next 24 hours. It was as if we had walked into a novel that describes Italian culture and nature's beauty with the most endearing and tangible adjectives.

I took no pictures that night. Only soaked it all in. Let me show you where we were.. starting with the next morning.

Agriturismo Canales

And go ahead ask me- how did you find this place? It was our destiny!!! We wanted to move to the Dorgali area last minute. So we just booked the next affordable (at 80€ a night for two people and breakfast included) and available room (Sardinia is mostly booked out in summer) without checking out where we were actually going :)

8 km west to Agriturismo Canales is the town of Dorgali, which is spread across the slopes of Supramonte Mountains. And 16 Kilometres to its east is the coast and beach front town of Cala Gonone- where the boats leave for the most famous beaches on the Island. All of them are located in the municipality of Dorgali.

For those of you who are new to my Sardinia series of Blogposts and are wondering how to get here and where exactly is Nuoro province, please click here: Sardinia- Day 1- Getting Started

Breakfast Time

An extensive breakfast made from fresh farm-produce: Cakes, pies, breads that come warm out of the family oven. Ricotta cheese, the creamiest yogurts and the loveliest combinations of subtle flavor!!!

For each of the two mornings we spent there, we dedicated an entire two hours to our breakfast. Just to be civil, I restrained myself from not licking the plate at the end of each meal ;)

The water

So, now you know that you can walk down to the water and go boating in the valley. We had spent a lot of time at the beach the previous days. So we decided to walk up the mountains instead.

Going to the Farm

See the houses on the left in the picture above, that is where our rooms were. And yes, our rooms were very spacious and clean. Remember, this is not a hotel. You are being hosted by a farmer and his family at their farm. So don't expect room service. But all other amenities for a lovely stay are in place:)

At the Farm

You guessed it right. Their farm is on another mountain. We were lucky to have company of a biker Italian couple, who regularly come here. They said, lets walk around the mountain, on which we stay.

Just taking a round

So that was our evening.. spent walking around damp roads amidst Sardinian mountains (it had rained heavily at noon and there was also much thunder). We were now on our way back to the open terrace to enjoy a multiple course Sardinian dinner made by our hosts.

Dinner is Served

The farmer's family (host and owner of the place) are the ones who make the meal for you and they also serve you personally. I had opted for a fully vegetarian meal. In Sardinia in general they did not offer chicken, mostly pork (with many body parts served on the plate than we are used to seeing or even eating).

Priced just at 25 € the entire meal also included regional wines. Our four courses comprised of Pita bread, followed by crispy veggie cakes, stuffed pasta and the regional delight coccoi prena (pastry with a filling of potato and sheep or goats cheese). Finger-lickin' good! Oh had we even made a dinner reservation for the previous night!!

And how do you like your virtual tour? :) :) :)