Days 22-32: Vieste, Baia degli Aranci – rest at last(?)
It is high time for some rest. We have been on the road for a while, but so far we have had no chance to switch off and recharge our far too empty batteries. So here is our “summer holiday” by the sea – in the end we will stay here for 12 days.
Baia degli Aranci
Baia degli Aranci is a villaggio turistico consisting of a hotel, an apartment complex (that is where we were last year) and a campsite, right on the beach of San Lorenzo west of Vieste. Thanks to this particular combination the place is very beautiful and more spacious than you first think. Aromatic plants grow everywhere, along with palms, pines, olive trees and glowing bougainvillea. There are two swimming pools, a mini market (the best we have seen so far in places like this), bars, a restaurant and an underpass that takes you straight to the beach, where you can choose between the sun loungers and parasols typical of Italy or a free beach right next to them. In the first week we treat ourselves to the comfort of the loungers, and on the days after that we go with our beach shelter into the free section (considerably closer to the water). We spend little time there with the children anyway, because we are usually in the water or in the area where the sand is damp and building castles works better. The beach is very wide and the sand is perfect for the children to play in. The sea shelves very gently and is crystal clear. Sometimes it is almost a mirror, sometimes properly choppy. Always pleasant and perfect with the children. As an alternative to the beach we go to the weekly market, which is held on the ground right next to the Baia degli Aranci, and to Vieste with its beautiful, widely branching old town. We learn something about a terrible plundering of the town by pirates and let the many small lanes work on us. For lunch there is paposcia and panzerotti.
Baby dance and AcroYoga
As a villaggio turistico, the Baia degli Aranci also has a very extensive entertainment programme with a team of around 13 animators. Most of it we cannot use yet, and Lavinia does not want to take part in the activities with the other children, but the baby dance is a fixed part of our daily programme – once at midday on the beach and then in the evening in the arena, although 21:30 is unfortunately a little late for the children. That shows itself in regular moments of imbalance and a lot of whining and shouting – a high price for the fun. But the children are crazy about the Nuvola Club with the Danza della Spiaggia, Danza della Panza, Zigo Zago and so on, and I am reminded of my own childhood with the Snoopy Disco in the Canaries. On top of that we take part, as we did last year, with an AcroYoga performance in the talent show in the evening programme – pretty much the only thing we really do without the children (although of course they are there anyway). We refine our choreography from last year and match the individual figures and flows even better to the song “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay. This time we also add lighting effects. A complete success. The execution was cleaner last year, but the show as a whole is considerably better and so in the end it is even enough for first place and we win a bottle of Asti Spumante 🙂 The really wonderful thing, though, is the chance to perform on a stage in front of a completely full arena. Something we both tend to shy away from, but bringing ourselves to do it and experiencing and feeling the enthusiasm of the audience is breathtaking.
Everyday life on the campsite
Our day consists essentially of beach in the morning, a midday break (and nap), beach in the afternoon and the evening programme. Sometimes barely achievable, because certain members of the family do not play along as we would always like. We are not always lucky with the weather, so now and then we do alternative things: an afternoon of crafts, a visit to the beautiful old town of Vieste. It is very easy to reach by bike, although we are always very careful… people here are not that keen on cycling and do not really know how to deal with these road users. And the bike trailer, well…. A kind of spaceship, which rarely goes without comment. Day by day we settle better into the routines of camping and spot new tricks and inspiration from the neighbours for how to solve things. We also learn how dynamic it all is. In the morning many people leave, so that each time we think….right, now it is emptying out and the season is coming to an end….and in the afternoon it fills up again. Neighbours we had grown fond of leave, and so do the ones we grew less fond of, and new ones arrive – every time a small readjustment. And it brings the smell of diesel at mealtimes and hammering and clattering during setting up. We have not quite got used to it yet 😉
Happy place and time for myself
As I did last year with the walks with Lavinia for her nap, this year too I have created a lovely ritual out of the walks with Valentino. In doing so I put into practice the tips from the very last parents' evening at Fioretti: that children wake up after about 45 minutes of sleep, and that if you settle them right at that moment they carry on sleeping for a good while longer. I do a lap through the nicely laid out part of the site around the pool and then up into the area that the fewest visitors to the villaggio ever get to see. It climbs steeply to the upper part of the apartment complex and then on into the olive and pine wood. The whole site used to be a campsite that extended all the way up there. Today only a few abandoned and decaying mobile homes and washrooms remain, along with a good deal of rubbish and bulky waste. The pigs from last year no longer live there. At first glance that does not sound very inviting, but the area next to it stretches over several terraces, where there is a fitness trail. A heavenly quiet reigns there, it smells of the trees and the plants and you have a beautiful view over the bay and towards Vieste. That is my happy place. Valentino sleeps until we have arrived at the top and I have time for myself. I begin with high intensity interval training and afterwards move into the Wuji posture of Qi Gong (at least I try) or sit down to go into the silence. For me one of the greatest highlights of the Baia degli Aranci….one that very few people get.
Rest?
We have a lovely time in Vieste and I manage to revive a few rituals that do me good. We can breathe out a little and a certain everyday rhythm sets in. But the rest is not yet quite where we imagine it. Waking up in the morning completely refreshed and as if newborn….we are still a good way from that.
