Italy - Cropani Marina(2)

The seven days in southern Calabria have become 13 days and counting. The weather remains mainly sunny with daily temperatures reaching 25C and the sea remaining a wonderful swimmable 22C, and we've gone swimming almost every day. At the end of October!

Owner and dogs (Laika with puppies)

 

Our daily schedule is very laid back, starting with coffee in bed and breakfast / brunch from 09:30 onwards, reading and /or spending time on-line on the laptop, walking to the supermarket, cycling around the area and sometimes a midday siesta (we are in Italy!) then a walk to the beach spending a couple of hours enjoying it all, before returning to the 'van for a sundowner and supper.

It becomes habit to saunter down to 'your' strip of beach when staying any length of time at the same place, so too was it with us. The fishing boats and the palm trees became our surroundings on a 200m strip of beach at Cropani Mare.

 

'Our' strip of beach

Beach furnishings around us

When cycling around the town we often marvel at the very laid back lifestyle this far south in Italy, the region of Calabria. It is quite an arid area with olive trees everywhere, some bits of vineyard and citrus and not much more. I also had the impression that 'red tape' and bylaws and general interference by officialdom was minimal here, bearing in mind that we are in a spread out town. There is a large Carabinieri (Police) station a few miles away and various shops spread over a large area, nothing crammed and concentrated and we have seen no large shopping mall.

Olive trees abound

An aspect of life that I find interesting is that you can inhabit a house regardless of its state of completion. You can use the yard to hoard or stockpile as you like, much as one would on a smallholding, except this is in a built up area. See below, this dwelling is semi complete but has inhabitants and the yard is used for stockpiling wood. It seems to be an apartment block of some kind, so who does the wood belong to? I suppose in Britain one is so conditioned to council bylaws and officialdom, to the point of interference with your life, that this kind of freedom comes as a (welcome) surprise.

Typical backyard in Calabria

 

Economic downturn or not, construction work is ongoing and new residences are appearing regardless. It is as if this was a hidden backwater which is now being (re)discovered. Some properties however have no workmen progressing the unfinished state of affairs with the result that there is a feel of emptiness in parts of the town.

 

Ongoing construction

 

Then again you will come across some properties that have been finished to a high standard, with some innovative design features enhancing the surrounding area.

 

New residence

 

The change of season has also been heralded in here by what has been a windy and dull weekend with a choppy sea and heavy swell. But it does not detract from our enjoyment of the site whilst reading, going for walks, watching the five puppies play and preparing meals in Fifi with a glass of something before supper time. And the mercury still reaches 22+ .... !

 

Grey and lonely sea and beach

 

All to ourselves

 

 Awaiting your visitation.

 

To be continued ....