Mare Adriatico

We hung out at two beach spots over the course of the week: Torre Canne and Torre Santa Sabina. In Torre Canne we spent time at both the public beach and a private lido; no private lidos exist (in late June) at the small Torre Santa Sabina. I convinced Richard that we should haul our umbrella and chairs from Vicenza, and he reluctantly agreed. I say reluctantly because my man, my wonderful man ... he is many things, a beach lover is not one of them.

He loves the ocean, the water, the lake, the river, the babbling brook . . . mostly from a distance, or from his fabulous balcony in Pozzuoli that had the views of Capri and Ischia. The good old days.

Sand? He despises it. As a result, his idea of an okay time at a beach includes a private lido with a covered walking path to the lettini, or lounge chairs. Oh, and there should also be a sharply dressed attendant to take drink and snack orders. Who wants to carry all that stuff, anyway? 

Young One and I are much more flexible.

I like the public beaches.
I like for him to haul our stuff.

We did both styles of beach visits.

Compromise, that's what makes it work.
In the end, he usually compromises the most.
I'm lucky. I know.

We really enjoyed the beach scenes in this area of Puglia. With the high winds, the open waters at Torre Canne were perfect for fun with the tube, while the protected cove at Torre Santa Sabina allowed for a bit of a calmer experience. In both cases the water was crystal clear and the beaches clean. The high winds did keep us away from Torre Canne a couple of times.

I liked it because it was simple, and at Torre Santa Sabina, very natural and entirely low key. These beaches were full of Italians, locals and those on vacation, and we didn't hear many foreign voices like our own. We had plenty of space at the public beaches and didn't have to fight for a spot. At Torre Santa Sabina, nearly the entire beach cleared at lunchtime as people returned to their homes or rentals for lunch and rest. The new crowd started arriving at about 14:00.

People were in good moods. They were relaxed. They were happy. They were worshipping the sun. Life was good. The best part? Not too many people. Yet.

Reportedly, Puglia has much more to offer in terms of beautiful beaches; the further south one travels, the better. Or so I am told. Friends visited the Gargano peninsula, which is a bit north of where we were, during the same week and reported excellent beaches there, too.

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