Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August, Santa Maria di Leuca

We’d only intended staying one day here but with strong winds forecast for Sunday, we decided to make it a couple. This is apparently where Mussolini finished off an aqueduct that had been 100 years in the making to feed a waterfall and flight of steps at the southern ‘entrance’ to Italy. All that remains now is a dry water feature illuminated some nights with coloured lights, a headless column at the bottom and steps up both sides of the waterfall. At the top is one of the most important lighthouses in Italy and a basilica, which on Saturday was hosting a wedding, which seemed to continue for the rest of the day, culminating with fireworks at a quarter to one Sunday morning!
The other notable feature of Leuca is the yacht ‘parked’ on the rocks just outside the harbour. Apparently it ended up there last December carrying 28 migrants, all of whom managed to reach safety.
The forecast for the morning looks OK, so an early start as we aim for Greece.