Rocks of San Vito

I have loved rocks since I was a child. I had a collection of cool shapes and shiney ones then one day they disappeared. I'm sure my parents had something to do with their vanishing. In any case, I didn't grow out of  my admiration of cool rocks as they hoped I would. I was naturally thrilled to visit San Vito beach which is rocky.

So many smooth rocks!

San Vito Beach is has the clearest water in the Abruzzo area. Part of this is because it is a rocky beach and the rock, unlike sand, doesn't dust up the water making it blurry. We went to San Vito several times, enjoyed their 3 euro parking for the day, and set up camp under the sun.

Setting up the beach umbrella and where you will be for the day is much like being a cave man and carving out your spot on the rocks.

The idea is to spread out as much as possible so that fewer cave men will move into your territory. San Vito really invites the cave man in men to come out and pile smooth rocks around the base of the beach umbrella. He piled and piled his little mountain of rocks while I thought of the rocks in a different way: they are therapeutic! Have you ever received publicity for some fancy massage place and see some skinny model with smooth rocks on her spine?

Hot stone therapy

Exactly. Well, this place had the sea salt of the Mediterranean, and hot rocks baked in the sun. I enjoyed jumping in and out of the water all day and building rock sculptures.

Great way to hold down your beach towel.

I spy Marco Polo!

The letter "H". Steady steady

toppled over. let's try again. I felt like there was some purpose to this activity.

Building a house out of rock, like the wise man

We've got walls!

As I built my mind wandered off to the ancient Italian cities where the castles were built in rock. How did they do it? My little sculptures toppled off after reaching a mere 6 inches. There is no way I could have built a strait wall to protect the women and children of my town with my rock building technique.

my tallest

The other question I had with the rocks were comfort. The water is clear from the rocks but sitting or walking on the rocks proves to be really hard. Literally hard.

not the most comfortable

When we first got to San Vito I vaguely remembered the issue I had before walking on rocks to get in the water so wore my almighty Keen sandals which float in the water but are heavy duty. The only thing is, when you walk into the water with your Keens they want to float away from your feet so swimming is hard. I put them on my hands and paddle but its not as free as swimming with no shoes on. The second time we went I wore flip flops, my feet cursed me for it, and the water and waves carried one away while another got buried under a rock. Anyway, the best way to deal with rocks on the beach is to just tough it out, use your sundress to sit on and be careful when rolling on your towel. Or you could bring a soft padded kitchen cushion or a yoga mat. On second thought, that yoga mat isn't a half bad idea.

My pink house of dreams was waiting for me there. I didn't even know I had it!

Cornetto on the beach.