A Stop in Calabria

A family day in Calabria as guests at the summer home of family friends. Reluctantly we leave the kitten (two and a half months old) on his own. The road is rather long: first take the SS100 towards Taranto, then turn onto the SS106 known as the Jonica, and finally a stretch of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway near Mormanno before joining the provincial road. All in about three hours at a low cruising speed (110 km/h max). Scalea is a Neapolitan fiefdom; in fact many Campanians have homes there. Still, the sea is crystal clear and the beach is made of very smooth pebbles. More important is Praia, from which you can see the island of Dino.

By and large these are places not rich in cultural attractions but enchanting because they rely heavily on nature that is still fairly unspoiled and on colours: intense blue of sea and sky, yellow of the sun, green of grass, grey-brown of the rocks....