We decided to go on a day trip to the beach town of Praia a Mare, located on the northern part of Calabria, about 2 hours drive south from Salerno. We decided to leave around 9am, and following the highway southwards, we reached the beach at around 11am. I had been here in July before, so I had looked around for nice beach locatatios; I then believed Buddha Beach would suit perfectly my mom and dad's resquests. Though quite expensive (about 20euros for an umbrella and 2 beach loungers) it was much better than the surrounding ones which were much closer to each other and filled with kids. It greatly reminded us of the beaches in Spain and so my dad was really happy, plus the view was amazing, with the Dino island jutting out from the water right in front of the beach. After dropping out stuff at the umbrella, my brother and I decided to swim towards the island and explore its waters and coastline. The water was crystal clear and there were many fish species and interesting plants all around; we also found out an amazing sea cave that went deep under the island and managed to swim in it for a while before other people started arriving and we decided to swim on. After the swim we headed back to our beach lounges and decided to rest and sun tan for a while. Included in the price were some drinks, so my dad and I decided to have mojitos while enjoying the late afternoon sea breeze. After much relaxing we decided to get back in the car and head towards Salerno stopping in the town of Maratea along the way. Only 30 minutes away from Praia a Mare but already in another region, Basilicata, the town of Maratea sits on top of cliffs overlooking the sea. At its highest point on Monte San Biagio at 623m stands a 31m statue of Christ the Reedemer built in 1965 by Bruno Innocenti with Carrara marble. The ticket cost 3 euros (which I though was quite stupid because you were basically paying to walk on a mountain) but the view was amazing, with sea cliffs looking north and southwards and it was particularly great at this certain time as the sun was just setting behind the horizon. After a great sunset we got back in the car and headed back towards Salerno feeling very hungry but definitely happy for this relaxing day at the beach.
 |
| Buddha Beach in Praia a Mare |
 |
| Sunset from Maratea |
 |
| The coast south from Maratea |
 |
| The statue of Christ the Redeemer |
 |
| View of the statue |
No comments:
Post a Comment