Back on Track - Sperlonga

10/27 - Terracina to Sperlonga - 13.07 miles

The Monday following my Rome weekend, Greg, by now very close to reaching guardian angel status, dropped me off near the train station, and I was off again on my journey. I think I even earned a rung on the "becoming a true Roman ladder" when I found myself tranquilly walking through a full-blown demonstration.

A few hours later, I wsa back at the Terracina train station, and off again down the Lazio coastline. Again, nothing to report about this walk, except that I ate lunch on a rock looking out at the sea, and walked the last three miles on the sand.

Sperlonga was truly beautiful, clean and orderly and thoroughly uncharacteristic of this area, from what I had seen. The streets were clean and free of litter, the grass was cut, the buildings nicely painted, everything in its proper place. I liked it here, and was excited when I saw that they had a hostel. That is, excited until I arrived at the doors to the hostel and found them closed. So, walking instead to the center of Sperlonga, I went to look for the tourist office, found it closed, and had similar results with the Municipio (town hall). The next step was to ask at a nearby bar, and they directed me away from Sperlonga, saying that there was nothing affordable in the area. They sent me on a bus to Fondi, a bit inland, where I could supposedly find cheaper lodging. So, as the sun was setting, I took a thirty minute bus ride, sad to leave such a pretty little town.

Fondi was not exactly a tourist town, and I think I must have been the only non local there. By no means beautiful, it was modestly attractive, like many other small to mid-sized inland towns I had seen so far. I found a bed and breakfast as darkness fell, realized it was not much cheaper than what I would have found at Sperlonga, and let it go, since there was nothing I could do about it now anyways. This 5:00 sunset thing is really tyrannical!