Since we had nowhere to go this morning, just for a change, we stayed in bed, although we’d both had a great night’s sleep. Then, since it was a lovely bright, sunny day, we dinghied ashore for a nice long walk along the beachfront and to see “Torre della Specola”, a Astronomical Observatory built in 1927, at the far end of the waterfront, as well as a few other historical landmarks dotted around the little town, including the Neo-Gothic St. Crux's Church, “Statua della Spigolatrice”, “Casa del Buon Pastore” (House of the Good Shepherd) and “Monumento Bronzo di Carlo Pisacane”, the latter dedicated to Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni, born in 1818, who was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. Research revealed that he argued: “Violence was necessary, not only to draw attention to or generate publicity for a cause, but also to inform, educate and ultimately rally the masses behind a revolution”. These propaganda ideas have exerted compelling influence on rebels and terrorists alike ever since and, sadly, there are countless examples of this dangerous method widely used today, in the form of disinformation, circulated on numerous social media platforms.

The town was definitely more alive today compared to yesterday; the rain obviously having had something to do with that. People were out enjoying the sunshine and that meant all the cafés and restaurants along the beachfront were open too, where we stopped for a coffee; no baked delights this time, but we found another bakery during our wanderings and picked up a few pastries. If nothing else, we were eating our way through Italy.

As we strolled along we got to see more of the beautiful park that runs the full length of the waterfront, with plenty of benches to sit on and while away the day under a shady tree. This little town had definitely started to grow on us, considering our rather poor opinion of it initially.

Located in the “Area Marina Protetta Costa Degli Infreschi e della Masseta” (Infreschi and Masseta Coast Marine Protected Area), Sapri, together with the neighbouring small towns of Villamare and Scario, are known for the numerous hiking trails and Mount “Coccovello” dominating the skyline of the area, as well as its popular beaches and beach clubs.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to get a glimpse into ordinary Italian life with very few tourists around, including their very quirky “supermarkets” that literary have one of everything they stock, spaced out on the shelving, with about a foot / 30 cm between items. We weren’t altogether sure if this was because the owner couldn’t afford to stock the shop fully or indeed if this was entirely normal. We settled for the latter when every “supermarket” we stopped at was exactly the same.

Deciding to enjoy dinner ashore this evening at one of the local restaurants, after our dismal attempt at an afternoon nap, precluded by the swell rolling into the anchorage, we stumbled upon a food fair, combined with a children’s funfair, where hundreds of locals were out enjoying the festivities and surprisingly, most of the food stalls had barbecues burning.

We settled for a barbecued meat combo-meal for two, eaten at one of the numerous picnic tables that had been set up, following which we strolled back to “Piazza Plebiscito”, the main town square, where a most unusual band was planning and people were out enjoying the warm evening air as they browsed through the many stalls. Roy, of course, could not resist the sweets stall, filling a bag, much to the delight of the owners, who probably made their entire income for a day in one foul swoop.

From there we walked back to the beachfront to enjoy a gelato and where a bird pooped on Elaine’s head, apparently a sign of good luck in Italy, before returning to Paw Paw. She wasn’t impressed though!

Our evening outing didn’t commence, though, until we’d moved Paw Paw to the opposite side of the bay after Roy spotted a lot of activity setting up more fireworks on the beach closest to us. Dinghying ashore to chat to the folks, he was informed that a major fireworks display would be taking place at midnight and the rockets were basically all pointed directly towards Paw Paw.

Wanting to see the display, we set our alarm for a few minutes to midnight and headed to bed, but, at midnight, nothing happened. After hanging around for about ten minutes or so, we returned to our beds. However, we’d barely drifted off when we heard the first bang at around 0035 and what an impressive display it was, lasting nearly thirty minutes, leaving us clueless as to the odd time the fireworks were set off and wondering whether or not this kind of celebration takes place for every Saint’s Day.

It was, however, another unexpected, but very pleasant visit to a little town along the Italian coastline.