Thu 12.Jul.2018
Maratea, Basilicata, Italy
Maratea, the place I went to serendipitously in southern Italy.
The region was sort of misty and brokenly cloudy the whole week I was
there, giving this remote corner a slightly mystic feel.
Maratea is the collective name for a dozen or so hamlets, scattered
from waterside to 5 km or so up on the heights. I never did get up to
the biggest of the bunch, up top. My digs were walking distance from the
ocean, and I rarely climbed higher than the train station, perhaps half way up.
Why stray far from the harborside hamlet of Porto? It had at least two
outdoor cafes, a tiny general store, a souvenir shop, a gelato shop, and I think
a hotel, but if so it wasn't where I stayed.
Up the mountainside, by the little train station. At the end of this street,
I found a stairway that led - eventually - all the way down to the little port.
I followed it down once; I wouldn't come back up.
Without a pack, I walked up here a couple of times from "home", using
the main road. That said,
I am grateful that my landlord drove me when I had my luggage with me.
To me this looks like Yanni's Concert at the Acropolis. Maybe somebody
figured that if they built a huge statue, it would happen here too.
An aptly-signed side road.
My B&B (without the breakfast) was in the tiny village of Fiumicello,
walking distance from the porto, and higher up from the water. The name must have
come from this creek flowing through.
Home away from home - the good cafe/bar Da Zio Pino ("From
Uncle Pino"). I learned the Italian word for lizard (lucertola),
so I could remark on the pair of green ones that lived outside my room.
Uncle Pino's (grown) son said that there are lots of them around.
A literary theme in Fiumicello!
The Old Man and the Sea
This one is a restaurant.
Deja Vu and Mama mia!
Years ago I found
restaurants by these same names
in a similarly small town
on an
island in Croatia!
Let's end up the page back in Porto
hanging out over coffee...
... savoring the picturesque little harbor.