Next day we eagerly pressed on southwards on the “Autostrada del Sole”, by-passing Rome, to Frosinone.  Then we headed off the motorway towards Priverno and Terracina and on to our final destination, the beautiful seaside resorts of Sperlonga / Gaeta.

Sperlonga, South Lazio

We had nowhere pre-booked to stay, so we drove up and down the coast road  until we eventually succeeded in locating a campsite, positioned next to the sea, which was willing to accommodate campers with dogs.  As it was still April, the large site was virtually uninhabited – a ghost town of parked touring caravans, yet the price for a plot was rather expensive none-the-less.  Here we made camp for two nights to give us time to consider our future options.  During this time the weather was proving to be very changeable and one night we weathered a terrifyingly turbulent thunderstorm. “Thank heavens we were not just sheltering under canvas” we declared as we huddled together for comfort, still feeling a tad vulnerable as the deluge of rain battered down on the caravan’s tin can roof. 

Mercifully, by morning all the leaden rain clouds had been whisked away by the blustery wind.  We had decided to “up sticks” and drive along the coast road to a smaller campsite  near to Gaeta, which had been recommended to us by Guido.  The owner, Salvatore, warmly greeted us and generously invited us to remain there, at least in the short term, since his site didn’t officially open until the month of June.  The scenic backdrop to the site was the steep rocky cliff face of Monte Moneta that dominates the bay and just a short stroll across the coast road was the vast expanse of golden sand, Sant’ Agostino beach.  That evening, after a day’s work, Salvatore returned home to his family apartment in Sperlonga, leaving us to have the place just to ourselves. 

Sant' Agostino Beach

Early each morning Paul and our “olde sea dogs” enjoyed going for a romp on the deserted sands and would return dripping wet from retrieving sticks and doggy paddling in the sea. By day our son enjoyed lazily basking like a lizard on the golden shore.

 

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