Maratea ... a surreal landscape
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But only a lunatic would rent an apartment on the coast of the sea to hike inland, right? The sea at Maratea is beautiful and extremely clean and the coastline is composed of some of the strangest rock formations imaginable, in may cases resembling imaginary worlds in the solar system. Caves and grottos are quite common along the coast though access to the water is not always easy. Once you start to putter along with a raft or flippers and a mask, you will easily lose track of time and burn the hell out of your back in the process!

Days in Maratea are easily spent jumping into the sea and exploring the amazing rocky terrain of the coast until lunch and then returning, maybe to a beach for a change, in the afternoon. Every beach we visited shared the interesting quality of having a cold fresh water stream running down from the mountains into the beach area. This made the sea near the shoreline a mixture of warm salt and cool fresh water. The streams were also very handy for cleaning off the salt and gravel from the beach. The beaches in this region are composed of water-worn pebbles, some containing fairly large stones up to near the water's edge. A pair of water shoes can greatly enhance the fun of poking along the shoreline but are absolutely imperative for walking along the rocky coastline.

The salt from the sea is everyplace. The house we had rented was only 100 meters uphill from the sea. After four days, our bedroom and bedding began to feel like the inside of a submarine. The air was hot, humid and motionless. The sheets were so sticky from salt air that rolling over required a conscious effort ... no sliding motion was possible. Italians do not believe in room fans or window screens and air conditioning is very uncommon. Thankfully I had anticipated this and brought a few small battery operated mini-fans. When the terrace doors from our bedroom to the patio had to be closed at night to keep out the many hungry insects, that still hot air quickly became suffocating to someone from a temperate climate.

Yet, until actually going to bed, the balmy evenings enjoyed from our patio overlooking the sea were incredibly relaxing. The deafening sound of the Cicadas that cluster in groups of larger Carob trees softens in the dusk. Occasionally the small local fishing boats would concentrate in the area just offshore below our patio. The slow circular movement of the boats, each with a small light and softly chugging engine became mesmerizing. The result of the night's harvest was available in town the next day along with other local specialties such as mozzarella and ricotta cheese.