We sailed into small harbours along the Calabrian Coast, finally arriving at the captivating and picturesque town of Maratea, Basilicata. It is two towns in one, Maratea marina, which is the area near the sea and about three kilometers straight up finds the hilltop village of Maratea.
We arrived in time for a wonderful lunch at Clubbino, best panini in Italy so far with a very friendly proprietor and staff. Then we walked around the area and found a spring of beautiful water which supplies the town, gargantuan caper plants cascading down stone walls and several restaurants. I led the charge on a path to the north of town, passing small mansions along the coast, but Frosty said let’s go down this little lane and it took us to a paved path along the sea.
We followed it back towards the Marina and it ended in a rock pool, which looked very old and very weather-beaten, but surrounded by ladies lying on the flat rock platforms or boulders along the path.
After siesta, we decided to wait for the bus to go up to the hilltop village. The bus never came and the friendly proprietor of Clubbino found a ride for us, as there were no taxis around either.
The old town was beautiful and still at siesta, but we wandered around and took copious photos and called a taxi to go back down.
No one answered the taxi phone number and so we walked at least about four kilometres, although we tried to get Eagle Man to give us a lift. (He was making eagle sounds as he soared along the valley.)
