The Mediterranean Sea
San Felice Circeo to Naples, 29th - 30th April
· 97 km this leg · 1013 km so far
For breakfast, I ate a kiwi from a street stall. Who knows - maybe it's from the same farm I was at. Ahead of us along the coast were a few towns that had been recommended by the farmer: Terracina, Sperlonga, and Gaeta. All three were supposed to be gorgeous and I had no doubt they would be with the sun beaming down as it was. However, we also wanted to make some progress today along the coast (Clem was especially feeling a need for speed) and we skipped visiting Terracina, just passing along the urbanised seafront. Sperlonga earned a more extended stop with some excellent straciatella though, which made up for it.
Our road became less 'quiet seafront' and more 'major goods route' after that, unfortunately. I'm not sure whether to blame our proximity to Naples or just geography making the coast the only flat route, but I didn't enjoy the increase in large vehicle traffic, and I entered my first road tunnel of the trip. These are quite scary on a bike: not much overtaking space and much reduced visibility means you're constantly worried about passing vehicles. I was wearing my bright orange jacket and turned on my lights for extra safety so even the least attentive driver couldn't miss me, but it was still not a fun experience.
My family had made concrete plans for Naples and would now arrive on Wednesday 30th, so I had accepted the fact that I'd probably take a train to get there on time without madly rushing. Seeing the road now, I was actually quite happy to be skipping the final section to Naples as I was pretty sure it'd only get busier and less pleasant - especially coming into the city, which everybody tells you is an awful experience. Entering Gaeta, on the other hand, was lovely. After earlier intermittent climbing, it was a long downhill with blue sea views, and Gaeta was the prettiest town of day in my opinion. Sadly, it was also the place where Clem and I would finally separate. Having met first met in Florence two weeks ago, we'd become solid travelling partners but with my family coming to visit soon it was the right time to go solo again. Perhaps we'll meet again at some point, as we're going in approximately the same direction. With one final picnic lunch, Clem cycled on and I stayed in the beautiful town.
By myself again, I felt somehow lighter. It's nice to have a companion but there's something special about doing whatever you like without consulting anyone else. I explored Gaeta's scenic backstreets and sat down for a single Aperol Spritz, which naturally meant I also received four bowls of snacks. At sunset, I wandered my way up the hiking trail on the wooded hill (the reason I'd stayed in Gaeta), attempting to recreate our good fortune the previous night, when we'd found a large, flat picnic area for hikers. No such luck this time - my best option was to drag my bike through long grass and bushes to a somewhat flat spot (mostly achieved by trampling, partially by a big rock in the ground). In terms of terrain, it's one of the worst campsites I've ever chosen. In terms of vibes, it was amazing. I had a sunset view of the town and the bay, with a lighthouse swinging its beam above me and fireflies dancing all around.
In the morning, I realised I was even less hidden than I'd hoped: there was a break in the foliage where I'm sure the top of my tent could be spotted from the walking path. Thankfully, people aren't usually looking for that kind of thing, and would anyway be distracted by the bay view on the other side. It just meant that when I heard voices I froze in place to avoid crunching any grass and attracting attention, which is fun in its own way.
Wednesday had arrived so I was due in Naples in the afternoon, but I wanted to continue along the coast a bit more before cheating with a train. The road was a little kinder than the previous day, with no more tunnels or hills, and the weather was warmer. Warm enough, in fact, that after days of staring at the beautiful blue sea I was ready to finally take a dip. On a tiny beach by the road, I enjoyed the refreshing water and the feeling of being clean after two nights of wild camping. Lovely. This trip is actually only my second time on the Mediterranean, which is kind of strange for a Brit, but it's nice to have these moments.
I kept going along the coast with the idea of finding somewhere nice to eat lunch when I was hungry, then catching a train to Naples. Unfortunately, when the time came, I seemed to pick the single worst town in Italy to find a seafront promenade. Baia Domizia had apparently sold all of its coast to awful private lidos and resorts, forgoing the usual path along the beach with a handy flat wall to sit on. Zero out of ten and I genuinely hate this town. I'm incredibly stubborn about not eating in ugly spots, though, and I was determined to find somewhere with a view of the waves crashing to cook my pasta. As I was on the verge of giving up, I found, through a small alley, an outdoor restaurant on the beach which was deserted except for the owner doing some renovations. I didn't want to bother the owner by using a table, but I happily occupied a bit of concrete paving nearby. Beach view acquired! Asking the owner (in broken Italian) if I was ok there, he gave me a 'you idiot' look and indicated for me to just sit at a table, which suited me perfectly.
Lunch with a view accomplished and Baia Domizia defeated, I was able to make my way to the local train station and wait a mere fifty minutes for a slow regional train about 65km to Naples. It'll be fun to hang out with my family, and I've also taken the opportunity to get some logistical support - changing a couple of clothes, ditching my thermos, and most significantly, adding a bag to my setup.
I'd been quite happy before I left to leave behind my old rack-top black bag and just keep everything in my panniers, but now I'm convinced again that it's a good idea. Having huge bulging rear panniers is aerodynamically ridiculous when I'm not making any use of the space behind my body, and they've gotten a little bulgier since Rome when I picked up a camping chair (inspired by Paul). I'm already using bungee cords on the rear rack to strap my shoes on whenever I wear sandals so I'm not significantly saving on faff either. Hopefully once I start using it again my panniers will not look so comically large.
