Porto Cesareo

Travelling north up the Ionian coast of Italy's boot heel we passed through Galipolli (not the famous one) and saw its long and urban island stretching out to sea. There were also several pop up stalls selling sea urchins ready to eat.

The colour of the sea was an amazing azure blue and where the waves weren't crashing you could see how very clear it was. We persisted in searching for an overnight spot by the sea but out of a town and had the privilege of turning down a few good ones that weren't quite what we were looking for. Luck was on our side when we pulled in to Punta Prosciutto, a small village on an outcrop of low rock. At the end of the small headland we found a gravel car park with a view of the sea on 3 sides. To the left was a long arching beach, ahead were hard, pebble pitted rocks and to the right, a smaller secluded beach leading to a narrow canal cut at 90° to the shore to moor the 2-person wooden fishing boats. The spot wasn't quiet, but the only noises we could here were natural. The wind roared and buffeted the van, the rain lashed against its side in sheets. Large waves relentlessly thundered against the hard shore ahead but broke before they reached the end of their passage to the two beaches, where their white surf shwooshed into the sand. Small purple ground flowers were blooming at the border of the gravel and rocks and daisys had scattered themselves along the narrow grassy tracks to either side. We stayed two days watching the mesmerising sea and felt truly refreshed by the time we departed.Read more