2009/6 Rest of Italy

Our last week in Italy has been spent exploring the south, on both coasts and through the countryside of Puglia. The coast varies between miles of flat, boring, beaches lined with umbrellas that you have to pay for, can be E25 for an umbrella and two loungers – we have invested in a E5 umbrella and sit on the sand, and wonderful rugged coast with the road carved into the cliff. Heart attack stuff to drive along. but the views are breathtaking. Joanna has honed up her navigational so she is now indispensible and unavailable to drive on these roads!

We met an English couple who were returning from Reggio down opposite Sicily and they convinced us it was worth the extra effort to go right down there. However after stopping for a swim at the next (Free) beach, in full view of us, about 50 metres away, Stan was broken into. Thank goodness for our newly installed alarm. As David raced to the van, the guys took off, and got nothing. However, they broke the lock on the door and we spent the next day organising bolts and then someone to install them. Not easy in a small town with our rudimentary Italian. David manages to draw on his time in the Sudan with Italian tunnellers 40 years ago. Joanna just speaks French with an i or an o on the end of each word. Stan is now a bit like Fort Knox with 2 magnificent brass bolts added to the door. Anyway it somehow put us off heading further south, so we headed cross country instead.

 

 

 

It was welcome relief from the hot, dry coast and as we moved up into the hills the countryside became more green and interesting. Spent time exploring the town of Matera, a troglodyte town built into the cliffs. Some quite elaborate houses and churches. The population of 20,000 were forcibly removed in the 1950s but it seems that it is being smartened up and quite a few moving back in. We enjoyed the visit but it was interrupted by an amazing thunderstorm that turned the streets into rivers and enforced us to take refuge in a handy bar – yet another beer! 

 

 

 

 

We passed through Martina Franca, an area with the unusual trulli houses (conical thick walled dwellings now having a bit of a comeback as holiday homes), and on to Ostuni- yet anther hill town ( we think that we have seen enough now!), but different architecture and very white. There must be a subsidy on white paint.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that we couldn’t help ourselves and back down to the coast to work on the tan! We are really enjoying the swimming and do a lot of reading on the beach. Actually we spend a lot of time just looking. The beaches are very different from ours. Row upon row of umbrellas, a multitude of sellers plying their wares – jewellery, hats, sunglasses, dresses, towels. Some of them wheel huge clothes racks along the beach. They are good at their job and seem to do quite well. Joanna got sucked into buying a couple of sun dresses. 

We have continued up the coast staying at a couple of different resort towns – San Margherita and Vesta. All Italian. We are wondering where all the other foreign tourists are. We thought we might bump into more at Ancona waiting to catch the ferry. But no – lots of Italians and us. We came here a day early to pick up our insurance Green card from the Post Office. Good old Poste Restante. David trudged downtown to the main PO this morning to find it hadn’t arrived. However after some anxious moments we have heard that it is there and we can pick it up this afternoon.

Have managed to fill in the day exploring what is known as the Conero Riviera, a  pretty stretch of coast just south of Ancona with countryside which resembles Tuscany, with a long leisurely lunch of lots of local seafood and a bottle of the wine of the region. Ancona is a surprise being clean and well laid out with pedestrian promenades and very animated,very nice. Catch the ferry to Zadar, Croatia late tonight.