In Italy places exist whereby the sea sounds louder than life, where umbrellas extend infinitely on the sand and beach bars beat with the tunes from morning to night. And then there is Puglia. When I went the first time down the toe of the Italian boot I had imagined the old familiar buzz of active summer beaches.

Rather I encountered something totally unexpected. The shore, here, is moving on her own time, and murmuring, not yelling, embracing, not crushing.

It greets you like a relative greets you when it has been long since the last time, with a friendliness which has no claim upon you.

What struck me most was not only the landscape, but the silence, the silent beating without everything which appeared to slow down my own beating.

As I started my trip at a relaxed pace because I booked Heathrow airport cheap parking, it helped me even more to enjoy the calm environment.

Mornings and Olive Trees and Adriatic Light.

The initial Puglian dawn found me traveling on a small road, with olive-trees that were older to the memory of man. Their trunks went round stretching like story-tellers, full of secrets and mushy words. The morning sunlight penetrated between their silver leaves, and made designs upon the ground which changed according to the wind passing between the branches.

Just as the road finally led to a spot where it emptied into the Adriatic Sea, it was as though to be walking into a story. The sea was as smooth as to seem to have a mirror in the sky, a blue water to meet a blue sky.

Torre Guaceto and the Beauty of Doing Nothing.

Torre Guaceto has been a topmost memory of mine as compared to all other beaches. It is located within a conserved reserve, distant from the conventional tourism attractions.

It is a walk that takes you through a small path, paved with sand, along the bushes and wild flowers of low growth. This little input ensures that the beach is never swarmed even during the season.

Note: Make sure to check Airport parking Luton before travelling and book according to your travel needs.

Coupeaux, Villages by the Sea and Their Everyday Magic.

Not only beaches are the magic of Puglia. The small seaside towns are less rough and are more personal. San Vito with its little harbor and whitened houses.

Marina Serra in which the sea occupies an artificial rock pool whose contours have been formed into a perfect swimming pool. At one of these villages I encountered a great old fisherman, sitting on the water, at twilight, as he was unweaving his nets, with hands that seemed like clockwork.

He was a poor talker of English, and I only spoke Italian butcheredly, but we made each other well enough that he told me, We take the sea with us even at the departure. It remains in the pockets of our clothes.

Deep Seawater and blue Noon in Pescoluse.

Further on is Pescoluse which is commonly referred to as the Maldives of Italy. The name seems fancy until you are presented to it. Water is clear and steamy and extends long into the horizon of turquoise and pale green.

Families assemble here, though, despite the children romping on the bank, it has the closeness that one can come to without feeling oppressed. I got to sit there in the water in the afternoon, and the little waves were running along, and the sun was dropping down.

The Secret Hideaway of Porto Badisco.

Among my most pleasant finds was made in accordance with the choice made by a cafe owner in Otranto. And when he saw me glancing at a map, he stooped down and indicated a little knoblike notch on the coast.

Go here, he said with a smile. Porto Badisco. It is tiny yet memorable. He was right. The water of the cove is so transparent that it is surreal to believe that it is real. I slid in the sea and felt that I was swimming in a painting made of water.