A WEEK IN CILENTO

Last week we went to the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano for 5 days. This park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was founded in 1991 and is located in the province of Salerno, Campania. It covers a large part of the geographical region of Cilento and the Diano Valley and comprises 2 protected marine areas, Santa Maria di Castellabate and Costa degli infreschi e della Masseta.

Monday morning we left early from Massa Lubrense with Mimi and Carmella to get to Cilento around lunchtime. Once in Cilento, we went straight to the accommodation, The agriturismo “La Gabbianella e il Gatto”, where we camped all week and spent such an incredible time. What to say about this place… It is a beautiful and quiet accommodation, very well located and with a really nice view. Not to mention the owners who welcomed us as a family… Salvatore, his wife Concilia and their son Giulio. Thank you so much for all that you provided us during the week! We all certainly wish to go back.
Later on, after a delicious pizza lunch, we met two park collaborators with whom we had a brainstorming on the activities of the following week – beach cleaning and fish underwater visual census monitoring.

For the beach cleaning we collected data through a methodology proposed by the Italian Ministry of Environment, where a very detailed categorization of different plastics and beaches is suggested. The goal is to have a representative view of the different waste that comes ashore, showing which types are the most present and therefore to put actions to reduce them.

On the second day, after cleaning beaches and monitoring fishes, we had a nice walk in Castellabate where we partied for the memorial of the fascist regime liberation (25th of April).

Wednesday Simona and Gaetano left the peninsula to join us on their free day. By the end of the afternoon we attended the procession of San Marco, in Castellabate, which has the particularity of embarking the saint for a maritime travel. After that we went home where a very nice pizza fritta evening lied in waited for us! Indeed, Concilia made no fewer than 16 pizze fritte, and we had the chance to assist her – at least a little – in the making of this typical and delicious dish! It was a very friendly evening with the owners and their neighbors!

Plus we had free time to snorkel some shores and to pretend we were lizards in the sun: we have seen dazzling fishes, posidonia agglomerates, a shy octopus and several other marine life forms. Unfortunately, we didn’t find a pirates treasure chest! Maybe next time.

Thanks guys for this AMAZING WEEK.