Weekly blog #146: A week in Puglia

In my previous blog, I described how I, after arriving in Puglia in the deep south of Italy exactly a fortnight ago today, took a break from social media, the never-ending stream of text messages and even my email. A digital detox, so you could call it. And even though I shared the odd update on Instagram last week, I continued my digital detox for the most part. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t undertaking anything. Quite the opposite! 

Entire families had settled on the rugged cliffs and, every ten seconds, children jumped from the cliffs – which were at least five metres high – into the water, to the loud encouragement of their parents and friends

At the beginning of the week, we were in Lecce, a beautiful baroque town in Salento, the southernmost region of Puglia with the most beautiful beaches in Italy that I have seen so far. On Sunday, the day before Ferragosto and the night when nobody seems to go to sleep, we were in Gallipoli, a coastal town with a beautiful old port, narrow winding streets and long sandy beaches. After two years of social distance, it was packed once again and you were literally pushed against the people standing next to you while the procession with the leaden statue of Mary moved through the streets. It was overwhelmingly busy, but I enjoyed it. The following day, Monday and the day of Ferragosto itself, the whole of Italy was closed. Literally. So, there is basically only one thing left to do: to go to the beach! This time we went to the other coast, where we swam in the crystal-clear water surrounding the Grotta della Poesia. Entire families had settled on the rugged cliffs and, every ten seconds, children jumped from the cliffs – which were at least five metres high – into the water, to the loud encouragement of their parents and friends. And then the week had only just begun.

There is no place in the world where I feel more at peace

You may have heard that the weather has been a bit unstable in Southern Italy these past two weeks, and on Tuesday afternoon, very dark clouds passed over Lecce. It was a day that we therefore spent resting a little. During the sultry summer evening that still followed, we had an apericena (an aperitivo that is so well filled that it serves as dinner) on our beautiful rooftop. On Wednesday, we went up the coast and visited Polignano al Mare, one of the hotspots frequented by every single tourist who comes to Puglia and especially known for the beautiful, narrow beach at the foot of the cliff on which the white houses were built long ago. The following day, on Thursday, it was time for another beautiful place: Monopoli. For me, it offered the perfect combination: relaxing on the beach during the day and walking up into the beautiful village in the evening, when the sun goes down and the sky turns spectacularly golden. Meanwhile, our ‘home base’ was now Bari, the capital of Puglia and a bit to the north, so when thunderstorms moved over the city on Friday, I decided to do a bit of shopping on the beautiful, large boulevard. On Saturday and Sunday, the weather was truly sunny, and that can only mean one thing: yours truly put on her brand-new bikini to install herself on the rocks of Bari’s generous city beach. There is no place in the world where I feel more at peace than when I am swimming in the sea and, about fifty metres from the shore, I watch the busy scene on the beach. Every year I experience exactly the same feeling: in the water I get my very best ideas, and my chaotic mind suddenly becomes crystal clear. A summer without sea would therefore feel hopelessly incomplete to me.

I had not booked a return flight yet until only two days ago

And now it’s Monday again. Yesterday evening, I arrived in Brindisi, another beautiful Italian town and my final destination. I didn’t plan to come here however, as I had not booked a return flight yet until only two days ago. But it’s the highest time now, and you can feel it all around you. The Italians are returning from their holiday, the shutters of coffee bars and shops were swung open again this morning, and there’s that bittersweet, collective feeling in the air that summer is fast coming to an end now. The same goes for me. After this final day in Brindisi, I will say goodbye to Puglia. A region to which I have lost my heart for the second time now.