Our final crazy trip to the beautiful beaches of Puglia took us to the aptly named, Maldive di Salento: translation--the Maldives of Salento. That's a big name to live up to. Never having been to the Maldives, I can't say for certain that it does indeed live up to that name. But for what it's worth, the beach WAS stunning. Lots of squeaky white sand, clean, clear water and fantastic people watching.
In what seems to be typical Italian beach style, the sand was dotted by vendors who'd already staked out the sand with umbrellas. We paid the going rate, 25 euros, for the day and set up shop on a particularly lovely stretch of sand. There were locals who'd driven, bringing their own gear, which is also an option.
With our final moments of the trip resting our heads in Gallipoli, we spent days on the beach and evenings in the city centre. Our hotel in Gallipoli Old Town cut a deal with Bikini Beach Club, one of the local beach clubs just outside the city. I'm sure we could have got a taxi or bus to these local beaches but our local travels finally got the best of us so we opted for easy. This particular beach club, entry 25 euros for an umbrella and two chairs, came with a free shuttle and the Italian man who drove it. It turns out that Paul's Italian is slightly better than conversational; he got our driver's life story--from his brothers' professions (one's an engineer, one's pit crew for Ferrari) to his views on immigration (slightly less PC).
The weather made a brief turn for the worse and so everyone retreated to the open air restaurant to watch the storm roll in. We watched games of poker, briscola, dominoes unfold whilst the clouds rolled, lazed and dropped a brief shower.
And then almost, as if by magic, the clouds rolled back out and the sun returned.
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