Sardinia’s Song of the South

The name of the house was a good omen. Casetta Maria – Mary’s Little House – had two small bedrooms and three big terraces. Yes, three. I could flit from the top terrace, where the swing seat was by an olive tree, to the rear terrace, with its handy brick barbecue and huge, private outdoor shower, before relaxing on the sheltered front terrace surrounded by bougainvillea, palms and luxuriant shrubs. It was just the place to savour Sardinian life in the balmy late-summer air that was heavy with the scent of juniper, pine and wild herbs.

I was in Sardinia’s deep south, where the coast road west of Cagliari wound alongside mountains covered in – a scrubby, fragrant landscape of myrtle, heather, gorse, stunted juniper bushes and prickly pear hanging with ripe fruit. The jagged coast hid countless little coves and much bigger sandy beaches – some