With the knowledge that in less than four weeks we’ll be doing an Arnie, we decide to stay put. Blue skies. Warm sea. Soft sand. All too tempting.
We awake to discover an invasion force is preparing to march. A Roman army of a micro scale. Scouts appear from within minuscule crevices, laying down their odour trails. One, then another, then another, then another . . . Excited, one millimetre long. A regiment of tiny soldiers following invisible lines. Looking to plunder and loot. Silently scouring for hidden treasures. They’ve done this before. Trained and honed. Precise and orderly. The scouts occasionally falling back to pass on valuable information. Their intentions are in vain. One by one the on-board giant gains the upper hand. Squashing them as easily as Gulliver squashing Lilliputians. There is no escape. They don’t have a plan B. One hour later the few remaining stragglers get picked off. The sniper’s thumb is relentless.
Later we go back in time – 2,500 years. Visit the ancient Greek ruins at Paestum. A twenty minute walk. Three massive temples majestically lording it over the Roman city ruins that lie scattered around their feet.
Following day we play dead. Lifelessly lying. Like browning burgers. Turning occasionally. Not quite well done. The warm waters help to cool and soothe, before more of the same. A wave-side walk brings us to a small sandbank. Thumbnail sized sand crabs, oblivious to our birds-eye view, tantilise and mesmerise us with their interactions. Chin-wagging wonders, before their sideways scurries see them nose dive out of sight. The evening sky brings on a different type of wonder.
Or does it? . . . .
Wednesday 4th and we’re Scooting high up into the hills. A couple of thousand wiggly feet up at Trentinara. It’s well known Cilento’s Terrace gives us fabulous hazy views before we tumble down to explore Agropoli and then back to base before sundown.
We abandon the notion of heading further south to Sicily. Too far and too little time left. One more beach day and then we’re heading east to Mantera.