In Calabria — Camp Out

Before leaving Bologna, we went to Decathlon together and one of the main purpose of going there was to buy a tent. So after a week of stayi...

Before leaving Bologna, we went to Decathlon together and one of the main purpose of going there was to buy a tent. So after a week of staying in Calabria, we left for our first camping trip, all the way up to Scalea, near Basilicata, the neighbouring region.

Why there? Because it was close to a place in the mountain called Orsomarso where we wanted to go rafting, and I saw a photo of Arcomagno on Instagram which looked very beautiful.

After 3 trains lasting over 4 hours or so, and a bus ride, we arrived in San Nicola Arcella, where we had to walk up and down the rock, in the afternoon heat, to this Arcomagno beach. It was hot, and the back was heavy, especially my beloved pink backpack Antonio was carrying which had like 4 litres of water and also a tent tied at the bottom.

He was cursing me inside, I knew it.


At last we arrived at the place and jumped straight into the water. To be honest, I much preferred the water at the beach in front of his house in Saline. It was much clearer and cleaner there, and less crowded obviously. But after being all hot and sweaty all day long, jumping into that water was the best thing we could ask for.

After the sunset, people started leaving, but we stayed. We stayed on a big long beach near the entrance of the cave. Full moon was a good natural light for us as the night creeped over the sky. We lay on a towel, watching the stars and snacking on taralli and toasted chickpeas.

Yes, toasted uncooked chickpeas.

There were only us on the beach, and it was amazing. We went skinny dipping at around midnight before coming back up to dry ourselves and called it a night.

It felt so liberating. That was my first time camping with anyone but my parents.




The next night, we slept next to a small river in Orsomarso, a cosy tiny village up the mountain. After rafting that morning, we found ourselves with 10 euros cash in for the day because the rafting place didn’t accept card. There was no ATM in Orsomarso, and only one shop that accepted card there.

We were dancing like children when the lady came and open that shop, almost half an hour later than the ‘opening time’. At least we knew we would not starve to death.

And Antonio went crazy. He bought like 3 different kinds of deli meat and cheese, beans, bread, tuna and stuff. Then we walked out of town to put our tent up before walking on the trail along fiume argentino.


The trail was lovely, and walking along the stream really reminded me of my dad. We walked and talked and stopped to pick berries or explore varieties of tree. There was a small medicinal garden in there, and they even had fern!

We headed back after the sunset and got a little terrified because of stray dog and a pair of animal eyes staring at us from the woods. Then as soon as we got into the tent, we ate.

That was probably the most memorable meal I had in the whole of Calabria, not because of the food but the experience itself, where I was and who I shared that meal, that hike, and that journey with.

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