Round the Nuraghe
Published March 23, 2009 | 
Islands from the first time we saw
we could wait for this moment, like rocks on the shore
we can never be closer somehow
for the moments that lasts, is this moment now
- mike oldfield
It seems humans were on living on Sardinia since at least 250,000 BC. During the early Neolithic period the Nuragic culture were building conical rock towers called Nuraghi (Nuraghe) throughout the island. By the 8th century BC the Phoenicians made their way to the island and created a base of sorts that connected ports all over the Med. When they arrived they found a mainly agricultural people who were more or less happy to trade and leave the island’s shoreline and harbors to the Phoenicians. In time the Carthaginians took control. ( I can’t say Carthaginians without visualizing George C. Scott) In time they were defeated by the Romans and on and on it goes until next week when Justine & Barry show up…
Next weekend Barry Shaw & Justine Curgenven will heading to this Mediterranean island crossroad for a bit of sun and record breaking paddling. The record? Well, according to CackleTV.com Barry Shaw is attempting to be the first former postman and zookeeper to kayak around Sardinia. In joining Barry on this monumental task, Justine will also become a record holder as the first female filmmaker to accomplish such a feat. Hey don’t blame me, I’m quoting!
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean with about 900 kilometers of sometimes super windy coastline. Justine and Barry will also have to be a bit cautious in that 70% of Italy’s military bases are located in Sardinia and several of the smaller islands are no go areas, not to mention there are firing ranges to be avoided as well. Justine will also be using some new software from Sanoodi which I mentioned a few days ago to post their position to twitter and provide links to online mapping as well.
Justine tells me she’ll be posting a bit more information on her blog, and you can check out her Sardinia page here. I can’t help but feel a bit envious. What could be better after this long grey winter than a few weeks of Mediterranean sun? Nice.
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Posted in Expeditions, Paddling, People | 
barry shaw, Expeditions, justine curgenven, Mediterranean, Phoenicians, Sardinia3 Responses to Round the Nuraghe
Oh, I laughed and I laughed over this one!!! As much as I admire all the “first of’s” that I read about (and even some that I know), it’s so nice to see that Justine’s silliness has once again broken through. I’ve not met Barry, but I suspect that anyone who hangs around with Justine for extended periods likely has a strong streak o f the ridiculous too. Carry on, Sardinia!!!
I hope they’ll have a wonderful experience – Sardinia is a beautiful place to paddle, and I can’t wait to see what Justine gets out of it.
I’ll have to check up on the “first postman around Sardinia” claim, though
René Sendal
Venice Kayak
History will record it as the Curgenvenian Takeover. Others will call it the Justinian Manoeuver.
Apologies to Barry!