2:06 Call from unknown person. A joke, a mistake? But you certainly can’t know, the mind works, falling back to sleep is certainly not easy. That’s why I asked my son and daughter for permission to see their location on Google Maps. I see that Michele is still in the theater where he played, he must be dismantling the equipment, Martina is at home. Somehow I manage to fall asleep. It’s 5.40, I’m awake, it would be my usual wake up time, in this case the time change creates more confusion. I go down to the street and take a photo to dedicate to my phone jammer, I take a nice selfie in front of the work that invites me to go to hell. I walk around the town of Sapri until breakfast time trying to understand if they only have those two statues there and nothing else. I find that the Specola, built at the beginning of the twentieth century, has a remarkable resemblance to the towers of Miramare castle in Trieste.
1 Sapri. The monument to the 300 young people who died during the Italian Risorgimento
2 Sapri. The ancient Roman house
3 Sapri. Ancient defense and sighting tower
Nearby is the monument that indicates the point where Carlo Pisacane landed, almost in correspondence with an ancient Roman house. I can’t find anything else and will be back for breakfast. I leave from Sapri towards Maratea. Climb, but spectacular views, which many runners enjoy with a nice morning jog and someone, with a good engine in their legs, overtakes me on the climb. The view of the midnight tower is worth the effort. Today the sea is less rough and blue dominates. Numerous spots to stop and take photographs, a nice excuse, don’t take a breath! I pass three landslides that can be bypassed with traffic lights with alternating traffic.
Once I enter Basilicata, I stop a runner to ask him if I had already entered Basilicata. Let’s take a photo together, thanks, nice memory Giancarlo!! I feel like I’m in Corsica due to the extraordinary nature of the landscape, the continuous ups and downs, the sheer walls above and below the road! I continue towards Maratea, where from the top of Monte San Biagio, the enormous statue of the blessing Christ stretches out its arms to protect the town. At a crossroads the signs point to the left for Reggio Calabria while the SS 18 continues on the right. I continue along the 18, but a sign immediately warns me not to pass through. With the experiences gained in the field of “landslide management”, yesterday and today, I am convinced that I can continue the march. After a few hundred meters I see that not a living soul passes by, even if this doesn’t worry me, but to be more calm, when I meet another Runner I stop him and ask for information on the passability of the road. The answer is absolute: I cannot continue, the landslide has truly completely devoured the road and does not leave even a small space for a bicycle to pass, the situation has been like this for more than a year. What can I do? Climb the mountain and take the highway, which is not passable by bicycle, also you have to climb very high and do almost a 50 km ride.
The only solution is to get off at Maratea station and take the train to the next Praia a Mare station. I feel a bit like a defeat, but on the other hand I have to accept, I have no alternatives, I almost have the feeling that the adventure could be considered a failure. So I take courage and accept the solution without any other options. Retracing the entire climb already made in reverse, I arrive, obviously downhill, at the Maratea station.
4 State Road 18. The magnificent views
- The midnight tower
- State Road 18. The magnificent views
- State Road 18. The magnificent views
- Me and Giancarlo, the runner
I waited for the train for an hour and a half, and that was already fine since it was Sunday. After a sandwich, just to break my hunger, I get on the train, which quickly catapults me into the tunnels that make up the railway line of a few kilometers between the two stations. I deduce that the spectacle I missed due to the landslide would have been unparalleled, but unfortunately that’s how it went. In Praia a Mare I follow the navigator’s directions to reach state road 18 which I had abandoned due to the landslide. However, I see some large viaducts above and that is clearly the road where the map tells me to go. This is definitely highway 18 var where bicycles are not allowed.
All this is also confirmed to me by a native who, hearing my Venetian dialect, states that he likes me because he works for a company in Vicenza: “I work for Maltauro, I give you all the information necessary to go to Scalea without going through the state road, but the road is all up, down, up and down, also passing through the interior”. I have no alternative, I follow his directives. As indicated, I continue along the Praia seafront. It is a fantastic place, an immense beach, an island a hundred meters from the shore, a medieval tower in short, all mixed with turquoise water, making the landscape fairytale-like. Before finishing the seafront I see a group of cyclists and, not having no longer afraid of stopping anyone, I stop them too.
9 . The gigantic statue of the Redeemer Jesus Christ overlooking Maratea
- Maratea railway station
I ask for clarification on the route and they tell me to take state road 18 where bicycles can also access as there is no other feasible route. I’m almost relieved, even though I have to get up several meters if I want to reach state road 18, which is that beautiful road up there, but it doesn’t matter, I’ll continue! And along the climb to reach it I take the opportunity to take some beautiful images, I hope, of Praia beach. I think it would be a really nice place to vacation here.
I had indicated Sangineto as the evening arrival point, where I arrive around 2.30pm, therefore a little earlier than the time I had set. I’m hungry and thirsty, I’m looking for a bar where I can refresh myself. The beach of Sangineto, apart from a turreted castle undergoing restoration, is practically deserted, it is clear that it is for use and consumption only for the two summer months. After wasting 20 minutes looking in vain for a bar and the only one that should be open, the waiter is absent, I decide to continue. Yet another climb to rejoin the state road, but after a couple of kilometers I find an open restaurant. I go in and try to pity the waiter by asking him for a plate of pasta. They are satisfied without too many problems, here we eat quite late and everyone is at the beginning or so. I gorge on pasta and pizza, which is a real pleasure. In the meantime, I’m looking for a hotel a little further away where I can spend the night, but it’s not easy, practically everything is closed. I manage to find a hotel and without asking anything I book. The hotel is 10 km further on, I haven’t checked prices or reviews, what arrives will definitely be fine.
- Maratea Railway Station
12 Praia a Mare. the beach
- Sangineto Castle
When I arrive I find that they also have a restaurant, which is one less problem. It’s almost sunset time, one hour less light is not of little importance in the economy of the trip. So, before taking a shower, I wait for the sun to disappear below the horizon in a sunset without the usual cloud that hides our star, preventing us from seeing its dive. The whole sky is an intense orange, the sunset is sublime. It’s a shame that the traffic noise completely drowns out the sizzle of the water as the sun sets over the sea. 
- The sunset
@LuigiZ @TravellerG @DeniGu @renata1 @PattyBlack @ErmesT @AntonellaGr @helga19 @CAAG1959 @DENIT33
I get to see those places maybe i may not go so i enjoy the post and the photos. I especially like looking at the pictures. Nicely taken.