3 common misbeliefs about Sardinia – Part 2
Sardinian misbeliefs debunked (-some at least). Before travelling to a new place most of us go to the web to search for information. But it is easy to get lost down the black hole of the Internet. This post covers 3 of the beliefs the potential traveller can come across when reading about Sardinia on the Internet. This is part 2 of this topic, part 1 covers the misbeliefs about driving, the internet and the weather
This is the second instalment (read first instalment here) of the misbeliefs about Sardinia that I came across when I was searching for information on the Internet. As mentioned in instalment 1, the Internet sometimes leads you down a dark and dirty information rabbit hole.
The misbeliefs I came across the most were these: Driving, no internet, the weather, nobody speaks English, deadly spiders, people are superstitious and prudent. The first three were covered in Part 1, the last three are covered here.
Nobody speaks English
This one is almost true. I have not met many people who can speak English, not even a few words. This has certainly led to some funny experiences, but usually it’s not a big deal as lots can be accomplished with hand gestures and pointing and Google translate.
It always surprises me now when I come across a person who can converse with me in English. Bearing in mind that I stay in a part of Sardinia where there is not much mainstream tourism.
However, it can be quite frustrating when you visit a museum or see a sign at a historical place and all that’s offered is text in Italian – leaving you to guess what it says.
More signs in other languages please
My advice to the Sardinian tourist board is that they spend that extra money to have some text available in English (and other languages) on museums and historical places. It will add so much to the experience for non-Italian speaking visitors and make them feel more welcome. I have seen quite a few comments on TripAdvisor on this so I know I’m not the only one thinking this could be improved upon. Besides, many people use TripAdvisor before they visit a place and constantly reading comments from others that ‘if you do not speak Italian you’re lost’ is off-putting for planning a visit.
However, in places with more tourism and larger visitor sites you’re much more likely to come across English speaking people. And some offer guided tours in English (and other languages). Among the best I have come across is the nuraghe at Barumini. One of their guides spoke excellent English and it made the trip so much more interesting for me.
Deadly spiders
Before I arrived I read some horror stories about the poisonous spiders they apparently have here. About the Mediterranean black widow, or Argia as it’s called on Sardinian. Even stories about people having found these in their rental cars and out in fields. One lady even asked if it was at all safe to bring children to Sardinia because of this spider.
I have not seen or heard anyone say anything about scary spiders, in fact, the Argia is not common at all. This spider was even thought to be extinct, until they found some species in the Oristano area some years ago. Delighting the zoologists at the university of Sardinia.
There is also another poisonous spider called the violin spider, or Mediterranean recluse spider (Ragno violino). It’s bite can cause serious infections. But it is not widespread and I have never heard people talk about it or indeed seen this one myself.
The only warning I’ve had about creatures and insects are of ticks, but we have those up in Scandinavia too. Interestingly enough I have never seen any ticks even though I hike regularly, whilst in Norway they seem to crawl on me as soon as I set a foot outside.
People are prudent, old fashioned and superstitious
I read many places that people here are prudent, very old fashioned and superstitious. In addition to being strictly religious, almost down to pietistic. That they wore particular amulets and jewellery to protect themselves. That there was strict rules for do’s and dont’s among people. How they interact and that they had a very relaxed relationship to being punctual and on time. Maybe this was the case many, many years ago, but I found these people to be very open-minded and laid back, way more similar to us Scandinavians that I could ever have imagined. And every time I have planned to meet somebody, they have always been punctual too.
This lack of punctuality is another one I came across several times in my research. Many people seem to have experienced a certain lack of punctuality among the people and the services they have encountered. That has never been among my experiences.
Covered up
Based on what I read, I expected to be wearing big sturdy bikinis and lots of clothes to ‘cover up’ when I went to the beach. But no, wrong again, ‘Are you going to wear THAT?’ Sardinian man said to me when I showed up in my sturdy Norwegian bikini. So on the beach you can skimp on clothing, tiny little bikinis for women of all ages are totally acceptable and normal. I find this quite wonderful, you’re ‘allowed’ to get some sun on your body even if it’s saggy and flabby and old (in your opinion that is). Hats off to the Sardinias for this, nobody needs to (or indeed does) cover up on the beach.
I found this really liberating, no need to feel awkward for taking a stroll along the beach in your bikini even if your body is not according to the high standards we set for ourselves.
I did not see any top-less tanning (only on beaches up North, but they were tourists as far as I could make out). But small bikini tops are totally fine. Even if your butt-cheeks hang out of a tiny bikini bottom that’s also OK, the beach is for all bodies. Maybe top-less tanning is the norm up in the more touristy areas up North, but not down here in the South-West.
Conclusion
Simply and basically don’t be as naive as me, never take what you read on the internet as facts. Even if you read the same thing on several different web sites. Remember that the advice on pages like TripAdvisor are only somebody’s personal opinion and might stem from misunderstandings or indeed an unlucky and unfortunate experience or even somebody else’s experience.
On that same note and in the same way: Please bear in mind that the above are MY personal experiences from having spent around 9 months in total on Sardinia, mostly in the Iglesiente area and on La Maddalena. Somebody else might have totally different opinions and experiences (as is obvious when you search the internet).
It’s best to come to this beautiful place and see for yourself. It is totally safe, and yes you’ll have internet to use Google translate should you need it.
Lots of love,
Bee