Porto Cesareo in October - walking from Torre Lapillo and towards Sant'Isidoro

 On Monday morning we wander to the harbour in search of fishermen arriving with fresh fish, but the weather has been too poor. We get some extra vegetables and grapes instead and then stroll along the seafront until the sheltered bay in front of Hotel Paradise. The wind can’t quite get there and we sit a while to enjoy the sun. For lunch, back at the apartment, I cook a teglia of cherry tomatoes, potatoes, Bari olives and aubergines. With a ‘burrata’ each, I can’t say I miss the fish.

After lunch we drive to Torre Lapillo which only takes a few minutes. Torre Lapillo is mostly closed down for the season and I don’t regret our decision to stay in Porto Cesareo. Here in Torre Lapillo, the houses really have been built on the beach and not in an aesthetically pleasing way either. It’s a little too much, although the beach itself and the sea are beautiful. We walk as far as the tower and then continue in the direction of the regional nature reserve Palude del Conte. The sea is an intense ‘azzurro’ and the waves white against the rocky coast making for beautiful views although the path is mostly on the rocks which while smooth are not especially nice for walking. We get as far as a beach without a name (!) and then walk back to the car. By car we go a little further up the coast to see the ruins of Torre Castiglione and the Spirale Aurea, but the sun is getting lower and the wind is getting colder so we go back to base to watch the sunset from the apartment.

Tuesday morning is similar, except we buy a couple of fish from the fishmongers and walk a little past our usual beach to look at another apartment I had considered. It’s not as nice as where we are staying. In the afternoon, we park back at La Strea and walk south, past Torre Squillace towards San Isidoro because a couple we had met on a previous walk had said it was nice. Oh well. It’s interesting to see another stretch of coast but it’s not a place I’d return, mostly rocky but with two beach clubs literally built over the rocks. Also, the route to Sant’ Isidoro is blocked after Spiaggia Barzolla by a derelict factory and it feels too long to retrace our steps to a road which would allow us to go round it. We walk back, the wind getting stronger and colder. Not our favourite walk.