Salento - Saturday, Aug 20

SALENTO Saturday August 20

This was day was one of the many highlights of our trip.  Cham made arrangements for us to go on an all day (9:30 to 6:00 ) tour of the local sea side area south of Lecce called the Salento with a guide, Roberto.  There was another older couple in the car, Cosimo who was about 4’10 and his wife, Aetna who was average size.  They spoke no English so Roberto would tell us about the area in Italian and English.  I had brought my bathing suit just in case I would be able to swim and was thrilled to be able to swim at two beaches.  

We left at 9:30 and headed to Otrando, one of the few sandy beaches in Italy.  It is also the home of 300 skeletal remains enclosed in glass behind the altar.  After a bloody siege and fight, the Turks took this section for approximately three years.  Many people had fled, but the some were determined to fight to the end.  After the surrender, the Turks killed all of the survivors and buried them in a mass grave.  When the Venetians liberated the area, they dug up the remains and buried them behind the altar in the ossuary as a monument to their steadfastness. The cathedral is very austere and the remains are located in a side chapel.  The church is very active with the services happening in the basement where beautiful frescoes have been uncovered.

The beachfront very much reminds you of a much smaller Myrtle Beach.  It has a wide somewhat white beach with a gentle surf, think Gulf coast FL, and hotels surrounding the beach. As is typical for European beaches, there are private beaches and the public beach.  We decided to do the public beach because I had only 45 min. to swim.  I changed in the WC for 0.50 euros and hit the water. The water was a murky green from a distance.  The water wasn’t the best I had been in, but it was the sea and very salty.  Unfortunately, I stepped in a couple of goo holes which always freaks me out a little bit, but now I knew where they were and knew I would avoid them.  There were so many Italian families having the best time in the water.  I loved watching all of them play with one another.  It was time to go so I paid another 0.50 euros to change and we got back in the car.  

Our next destination was Castro, we stopped by Cesare Terme, an area known for their waters.  I have never been somewhere that the entire town smelled like Sulphur and it is right on the ocean.  While some items are being checked off of the bucket list, some are being added and staying in this town is definitely on the list.

Then we went to Castro beach.  I had asked one of the girls at the information desk what her favorite beach was and she said Castro, but it’s rocks. After a 30 min. drive along the coast with stunning views we arrived in Castro where I was told I had an hour to swim.  I was the only one swimming and I was so happy I could do it the first time, that I said, no that’s okay, until I saw the water and knew I had to go swimming. I once again paid 0.50 euro to change at the public bathroon, but the nice young man didn’t charge me on the return visit because I think he saw how happy I was. The water was absolutely beautiful. It’s not like Nice which has a rock beach, it is a public landing that has been built that you take a ladder down and enter the water with perhaps a couple of rocks you can stand on, but after 5 feet, it’s all deep water rocks and absolutely beautiful.  The other way to get into the water is to jump from the other rocks surrounding the area which are about 15 feet. I decided that didn’t need to be part of the bucket list.  I had a great time watching people screw up their courage to take the leap and children run and jump as if they were born doing it.  I also witnessed a woman in her 70’s with long white hair and bikini loving every minute of it. Especially touching was watching a woman and man in their early 40’s helps a blind man in his 40’s down the ladder and into the water where they handed him a noodle. Absolutely magical.  The town has hotels and restaurants that surround the beach and it had many families enjoying this different style of beach.  So, now we have to decide if we’re going to Castro for a week or Cesare Terme, probably a combination of the two!

As you’re driving to these beach areas, cars are parked on each side of the road and sometimes only one person can pass at a time.  No one seems to be particularly bothered by this.  Then you’ll see these small gates which mark a beach entrance to a home which you cannot see from the road and which from the side of the road looks like it has to be a straight vertical drop.  

After Castro we headed to Leuga where some of the most beautiful villas in the world are located. (We found out during this portion of the trip that Cosimo actually spoke a little English so he and Cham had a conversation.  They were a delightful couple. She was wearing support hose so she was very hot the entire time, totally get it, but had the dress and accessories to match.  Quite the lady.) Back to the villas, unfortunately, you could only guess because you have to see them from the water.  Roberto stopped on the other side of this huge bridge so we could walk over it and take a look down.  Absolutely incredible!  The bridge goes over a deep gorge.  People walk down the gorge and enter the water which forms this gorgeous channel into the sea.  There’s also a grotto which I guess has some kind of barrier because people would only go so far into it.  Once again, some of the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen.

We continued to Leuga city which doesn’t appear have any beaches but an amazing number of boats. It’s also known as the white city as the buildings are all white.  Leuga is also known for two other things:

1. St. Peter landed here for his first visit to Europe / Italy and when his foot hit land, the Roman temple that had been erected to Minervacollapsed.

2. This is the very end point of the heel of Italy. You can spend your day just moving from the Adriatic to the Ionic sea.  It sounds corny, but it was interesting to see.  A gentleman was pointing out the horizon to this wife.  You could barely see Albania to the left and directly in front was Morocco.  We’re not in Kansas anymore . . . 

After Leuga, we headed to Gallipoli, which name means the beautiful city, again breathtaking views of the sea.It is a huge port and we entered by the fish market which must be a marvel when you’re there in the morning.  Gallipoli is actually an island connected by a bridge.  We were pretty tired by this point and I was very hungry because I swam instead of eating lunch.  We ended up getting a gelato and walking around the upper street.  The sunset is supposed to be amazing there, but we needed to get back.  Roberto told us that Gallipoli is a favorite spot for German tourists.  We had noticed a lot of Germans there, so we just confirmed what we had witnessed.  If you’re into boating I guess it’s a good place to go, but it looked like a big port city to me.  But, I’m glad I saw it.    

It was absolutely an amazing day.  We saw desolate landscapes and an Italian naval station where they watch for Chinese subs which occasionally surface.  But, then there were the seas, Adriatic and then the Ionian and the fabulous views. It is really neat to trace our journey on the map. I can only hope my pictures can do it justice.  It was a fantastic day and once again, I thank Cham for his fabulous research in making it happen.