Salento in October - walking along the coast from Otranto

 Friday - to the south

The forecast for Friday was good, so perhaps that’s why we wake up to torrential rain. It rains all morning, while I catch up on messages to friends, plans for the rest of the trip and reading a little. It starts to clear at about 11.30, but by then it’s time to cook lunch, which I do, and we eat and have coffee and generally dawdle and by the time we decide to go out it has started raining enthusiastically again. Didn’t the forecast say dry and sunny in the afternoon? By three o’clock, rain or no rain, we’re fed up of staying in, so armed with umbrellas and waterproof jackets and shoes, we go out. It’s too blustery for the umbrellas and we are quite damp by the time we make it to the cathedral. 

The cathedral is busy with other damp tourists, mostly groups with guides, so we retreat down to the crypt to sit and muse and take in the details. By the time we come, out it’s stopped raining so we walk towards the port, just to see where the road goes. It continues, becoming a muddy lane along the coast. It’s still windy but mostly sunny, how not to be tempted? 

We set off, dodging the mud and the puddles, heartened by the fact there are a couple of fisherman and even a couple of other walkers. It’s spectacular along the coast, rough bue sea, white spray along the rocks and cliffs, fantastic. We try not to notice the enormous black clouds which have again gathered over Otranto behind us.

We are going in the direction of Spiaggia dell’Orte. This track is also part of the Via Franchigena and so maybe also the Camino Salentino? I don’t know. Anyway, we get as far as where an agritourism has closed off the easy route down to the beach. The new public footpath takes the longest possible way round. We’re tempted, but we set off late and there’s still the dark cloud factor. In the end we turn back along a lane in the direction of a cross which takes us back to Otranto quite quickly, also walking a few hundred metres along the side of the road but there’s no traffic. 

An exhilarating and unexpectedly panoramic walk on a rainy afternoon.

Sunday - to the north

Sunday is our last day in Otranto and I was hoping in weather warm enough to sit on the charming beach in front of our apartment. But there’s a cold northerly breeze, so we decide to walk north along the coast. We are stopped in our tracks after a couplke of hundred metres because the lowish cliff has fallen a little and the private fencing and signs are right on the edge. We’re reluctant to go back and go all the way around so we clamber along the slippery and awkward rocks at sea level. This is not a good idea, but we are extra extra careful and make it safely to where the path along the coast starts. It's a beautiful day despite the cold wind. Especially looking north, the sea is deep blue and the sky mostly free of clouds and the rocks and cliffs and deep inlets are spectacular. 

The path is quite clear along the coast but sometimes goes through tall reeds so we have to bend down and squeeze pass a wall at one point. It’s worth it. We get to Cala della Grotta della Monaca and then continue until there’s a good view of Grotta Sfondata just the other side of the bay. Perhaps because it’s Sunday there are one or two people about, a helpful lady who gives us directions, one or two people fishing, a few other walkers. At about 11 we stop for a drink of water and a couple of taralli and then walk back. We can see from Google maps that we can take a path to the lane behind the coast to avoid the slippery rocks. Google fails to tells us that the road is closed by a gate, only at this point it’s to stop us getting out not to stop us getting in, since the path from the coast had no gates or barriers and no access or private signs. It’s nearly lunchtime and the idea of going all the way back to the coast and still doing the slippery rocks doesn’t entice. Next to the gate the wall is about chest high, but a convenient pipe gives us a leg up and then it’s just a rather too high jump down the other side. We make it, and scurry home for lunch.

In the afternoon we go back to Alimini beach - Baia dei Turchi to see the seascape with the sun, spectacular. I paddle and we sit in the sun and try to ignore the wind until suddenly we are both freezing and then hurry back to the warm car. Back at the apartment we drink ginger infusion to warm up and then go for a last walk around Otranto where the Sunday afternoon passeggiata - movida -spritz is in full swing. It’s nice to see some life. The foreign tourists seem to have disappeared as it’s mostly Italians in their Sunday best. We make it to the church, a little late, but it was meant to be.

We liked our days in Otranto.