During my holiday in Italy, I spent a few days at the beach in the area called Madive del Salento (The Maldives of Salento). Famous for its amazing blue waters and golden sandy beaches, this area stretches from Torre Pali to Pescoluse and all the way to Torre Vado. My hotel was situated in Torre Vado, but you can’t really tell where one seaside resort ends and the other one begins. There’s not much to say about the place itself — it’s just a bland seaside resort, suitable for families and for relaxation. But the sea — oh, the sea! As a friend once said, it shines in fifty shades of blue. The water is clear and clean, with a long shallow stretch; surrounded by sand dunes covered with trees, it can be accessed from multiple locations and it has all the facilities one would need.

The beach was a little bit too crowded for my taste, and there were quite a few beach vendors walking up and down selling everything you could think of. I managed to avoid most of the crowds though by arriving early in the morning and leaving before 11:00, and then returning in the afternoon after 17:30. My favourite moment was the sunset — the sea turned a pink-violet colour that looked amazing! The water was a bit colder, but who cares when you’re swimming in a violet sea?

In the evening, there wasn’t much to do except taking a long walk along the seafront, watching the moon shine its light onto the water, a pizza dinner, ice cream and then reading a book before falling asleep from the exhaustion of a long day of swimming.