Day 6 – Pizzo and Capo Vaticano
Our bed was very comfortable and in spite of some noisy late night revellers we managed to sleep ok.
It is marvellous to eat breakfast on a beautiful terrace overlooking the sea, so we forgave the very mediocre repast we were served, ( shocking coffee, we are now connoisseurs ) packed up and got in our taxi to get to the airport and collect our hire car.
Our driver had to take us a different route as there was a transport go slow on the motorway protesting against the price of diesel. We were entertained all the way by his chat and ebullience. Obviously being a complete extrovert is the number one requirement for taxi drivers.
Our hire car collection was fine until the young lady informed us our car would be an “upgrade” to a Jaecoo. In case you are unaware a Jaecoo is a similar size to a Range Rover I.e bloody huge. Seriously no-one needs a big car when exploring Italy. Driving along tiny, windy roads with cement mixers hurtling towards you , a Fiat 500 that fits well into a ditch is what you need.
After complaining about the size of it and requesting a downgrade, we stopped mentally torturing the hire car representative and accepted the car.
Left to fend for ourselves, we eventually found the car in the huge compound but then Steve couldn’t get it started. After googling how to do it , it transpired that he hadn’t fastened his seat belt. Once he did that, we were off.
It was a smooth journey to Soverato and it was nice to see Andreas again and collect our luggage.
Next stop was the supermarket where we bought basic provisions for the next few days.
The journey to Capo Vaticano was a peaceful one with reasonably wide roads and apart from a couple of tight squeezes in Vibo Valentia when the kids came out of college, we arrived intact.
The geography of CV is quite different to what we’ve been experiencing- no woodland, and more reminiscent of Devon and Cornwall’s green rolling fields and steep cliffs/hills.
Casi de Berto is a small gathering of holiday homes at the tip of Capo Vaticano, very close to the lighthouse. Giuseppe Berto was a famous Italian writer who bought the land because he loved the views and its location helped him with his writing and mental health issues. He saved the tip of CV from over-development and built a few small villas tastefully strewn throughout the piece of land.
I read about Casi Di Berto in a travel article and was immediately hooked on the idea of staying there, especially as from one of the villas you can see Stromboli erupting if it’s active. Steve and I visited Stromboli in 2015 and hiked up the volcano at night to see it erupting. Unfortunately you can’t do this anymore.
Antonia, Giuseppe’s daughter showed us to the villa which was down a long and extremely narrow track – way too narrow for a Jaecoo. The nemisis had been met. This is why Italians drive Fiat 500’s and Pandas.
Steve inched along, the car touching the shrubs on both sides. I resisted closing my eyes and clenching my glutes.
After an eternity we arrived at the villa and parked. This car will not be moving again until we leave.
But it was worth it. Rustic but stylish in that classic Italian way, Villa Antonia has a glorious outlook onto Stromboli.
Steve cooked an epic spaghetti bolognaise, we opened our welcome bottle of Prosecco and ate and drank while watching the sun set behind a smoking volcano.
Wow.
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