Rain poured in the city of the sun this weekend. Unfortunately, we had to cancel many of the activities that were planned since the rain made the hiking much more dangerous. Saturday, we woke up bright and early, and made it to Coccodi before our 2 hour bus ride. Our ride provided great views of the Sardinian countryside, which I watch as I drifted in and out of sleep. Eventually, we landed at the Museo Delle Maschere Mediterranee. Here, we learned all about the tradition of scaring off the spirits of winter. Each town has their own costumes and specific celebrations, but essentially they have the same idea. We learned about the town of Mamoiada who have a group of men dress in black sheepskin, cowbells and black wooden masks, symbolizing the winter spirits. Then, there are men who dress in red and white with smaller bells, scaring the spirits off. They parade around town while everyone drinks wine and eats desserts as they watch. I find it interesting how these traditions spread across the entire Mediterranean region. It makes me think about how many cultures are much more similar than we think.
After the museum, we headed to another Agriturismo for lunch. We were served the classic four course Italian meal: antipasti, pasta, meat and dessert. Three hours later, our stomachs were full and we headed off to our hotel in the mountains. The ride to the mountains was a bit more difficult than initially planned. A couple of wrong turns turned the 1.5 hour ride in to 3. This was only more complicated by the rain, fog and the tight turns and large bus. Although I would normally be nervous, I was relatively calm as the bus made a three point turn while scaling the mountain and all we could see is fog around us. It reminded me of Peru and all of the scary bus rides I have endured, besides it was a great bonding experience.
At the hotel, we were each assigned a room and then we headed to another four course meal. Everyone told me they eat a lot in Italy, but I never suspected 8 courses in one day (not that I’m on to complain - I love food). I have to be honest though, I could not bring myself to eat the goat, it reminded me too much of my old pet Tom Brady. Besides that, it was a great meal. In the morning, we ate crossoints and coffee then loaded up in heels to go down the mountain. We tried to do a tour of some sites, including a 1000 year old olive tree. The jeeps brought us to a smaller village in the mountain where we toured which seemed to be their small version of Plymouth Plantation. It taught me that Sardinians are typically small and their houses match. It was really cool to see the older village and way of life, though I realized most of the stuff was actually used until about 60 years ago (much more recent than I anticipated). We ate lunch, only three courses this time, in a restaurant and got to talk more. I learned a lot about my friends on this trip, which I really appreciate.
Once we got home, we had an hour to relax then we took the public bus to the football (soccer) stadium. It was pouring rain, but I stayed the entire first half and even watch Cagliari score! I must say, I thought the crowd was going to be crazier but I guess the rain kept them tame. Anyways, we returned to the dorms drenched and tired, which I guess means we had yet another adventurous weekend here in Sardinia.
The masks
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