The countryside train for Gaeta waited at the platform, passengers taking the last draw from their smokes before moving onto the next stop. Fumare; the explanation with a quick smile & shrug of acknowledgement from the train conductor. Only in Italy.
When In Rome
When in Rome, do as the Romans do – leave. The Romans built grand villas & magnificent buildings anywhere they could. This makes hiding from the crowds easy. It’s a short train ride from Roma Fiumicino to Formia, then a bus to Gaeta. Still in the Rome-Lazio region, close to Naples.
The train will take you past flashes of scenic expanse. The purple hue of flowers blooming in the sun, an Italian family sharing drinks on a rooftop, in a small, close-to-deserted town. The train screeches as it makes its stop, the smell of sewer pipes & bluebells melting in the heat. I devoured it all.
Sleepy Fishing Village of Gaeta
Gaeta meets the Tyrrhenian Sea and encompasses a mountain, beaches, the old town, an abundance of rustic vico (Neapolitan term for their narrow streets). The presence of the US Navy. Dash your expectations of quick directions in English. I love the Italian pace of life. If you’re late, you’re late. No point in rushing. If something is on a hill (most of the time) and twenty minutes away, it’s too long to walk. Those same qualities anywhere else in the world, I abhor. I’m a walker. I want it all to be within walking distance. Here it’s different.
Jump off the bus from Formia once you see Triestina; the gelateria on your left, walk straight down the road to Serapo beach. Beautiful rugged cliffs on both sides, and on a spring weekday you’ll find a dog walker, some workmen & a sand tractor. Far from the crowds of Rome.
People who crave the sun, they’re masochists. Nothing will satisfy them other than the burn of the sun on their eyelids. The need to squint out into the world. Cheeks burning, lips slightly cracking. Making the most of the sun before it escapes us, so we don’t leave it to go inside & quench our thirst. Of course, I spent a few easy hours here.
Split Mountain
The beach is next to Monte Orlando, home to a big split through the cliff, Montagna Spaccata. After several attempts at searching for the entrance and being told it’s too far, I gave up. Instead asking another sun gazer where the closest toilet was; we became fast friends. She drove me up the mountain, passing school kids on a long jaunt. Finally, in awe & at a vantage point of the Gulf of Gaeta, the sea on either side of the promontory.
Later she advised me to walk Via dell’Indipendenza. See all the vico leading off the main street, which was abuzz with activity at night. Reminiscent of Naples; small streets with neighbours hanging their washing on shared lines, tied across their balconies. Salty air from seafood stalls, chatty butchers and the locals bringing Gaeta to life after a deserted day.
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