Puglia in September 2023 Porto Cesareo Day 5

Thursday is market day in Porto Cesareo. This will be the third market in just a few days so we don’t look in a lot of detail, but I do happen upon another pair of sandals. There’s a little of everything and it’s quite big, from the first car park near the harbour, all along the harbour to the avenue at the other end, more clothes and household items than food. We walk all the way along to the pescherie and get some fish, lampuga, which we remember from Siracusa. 

After taking it back to the apartment, we head for the beach nearest us in the hope of fewer people since it’s market day and also still mid-morning. In fact, there’s quite a bit of space so Andrea sits on a tree trunk and I have a swim. The water is beautiful, warm, transparent and shallow for quite a way out. I dry off a bit and then we both wade out together. By 11.30 people are starting to arrive so we call it a day and head back to the apartment to cook lunch. The lampuga is good but not as good as we remembered it.

After a rest we head out along the seafront towards the harbour. There’s a shop specializing in pasticiotti so we try two different types. Hmm. Good, but not a patch on Andrea Ascalone’s in Galatina. We continue our stroll, this time continuing beyond the ‘island’ , right past the small ‘urban’ beach in front of Hotel Paradiso and as far as the ‘promenade’ takes us. It’s incredibly relaxing, no traffic, just a few people, mostly locals enjoying the beach and the sea. Calm transparent water, the sun lowering in the sky towards sunset. Fantastic.