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February 26 Sunday Bicycle touring Italy Sardinia from Fordongianus Sardinia to some bushes past Oristano and before Sili Sardegna Wow! Fantastico! The best heart beating excitement I have seen in a long while. The Sartiglia in Oristano has 120 horses and they race through the dirt-covered street at breakneck speed while performing acrobatics in groups of three. The three horses are tied together and with the horses all going what seems like 90 mph the horsemen stand up or have legs out to the side while standing or even the middle horseman may be held upside down by his two compadres on either side. We were standing where the horses come around the corner. It was very exciting as the horses came thundering towards us as a drum roll reached its crescendo -- dust and clods of dirt flying through the air. Needless to say, even with the horsemens' great skill and bravery lot of accidents happen. We saw people being drug, ran over, and crashing into hay barriers -- if they were lucky. The doctors and ambulances were kept busy with a steady stream of customers. As we left the area we asked a policeman who had kindly kept an eye on our fully loaded touring bicycles if this was normal for so many injuries at the Sartigilia. "Oh yes," he replied nonchalantly. "Some years more." He didn't seem overly concerned. I see why people didn't know what we meant when we called it a parade before. When does the parade start? This is no passive event. I think even a couple of spectators got taken out. The costumes are elaborate, colourful and traditional with a ceramic face mask. It was amazing to see. Lots of people. I know why now. It is like Halloween, Klondike Days, and the Calgary Stampede all rolled into one! We washed our clothes at the Fordongianus outdoor washing machines before heading to Oristano. A washerwoman asked if we were from Morocco. Am I that dark? As we left the festival we had to get by horses in a staging area. Someone called out to make room for the Germans to pass. They must have been looking at Sharon. It was dark by the time we rode out of town back towards Sili on our fully loaded touring bicycles. We pitched our tent in a small clump of trees between a busy road and the railroad track. The weather the past week has been terrible for bicycle touring. Lots of wind. Clouds. Cold. It is colder now than when we arrived in Sardinia in January. |
