292-293: Ostuni, Locorotondo and Truilli

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Clunegapyears

292 – Saturday 6th February 2016: ‘ostelry in Ostuni

Despite the lack of visible appeal, the car park was really quiet and non-windy. K has been using Maps.Me to plot running routes of roughly the distance we want. Mostly this has gone to plan, but not today. Despite the scribbled on Post-It-Note with the twists and turns, in case she forgot the way, we missed a turn and out-ran the planned route. Maps.Me (Mini Madge on J’s phone) with a breather to get back to Chardonnay. So the planned 4 km became 5.5 for km and 6.5 for J – he has to keep doubling back to check I’m still staggering.

We stopped on the outskirts of Lecce at a massive retail heaven. Bought another external hard drive for the TimeMachine back up and a funky bright green 12 volt cigarette to USB as we keep having to hunt for one – always still attached to whatever device we were last charging. I used to say that one can never have enough freezer space … now it is enough 12 volt chargers! A quick food shop turned into a long queue to pay (a chat with well a travelled local couple who are convinced that Cameron and the Euro vote will break up Europe), followed by a coffee and cake. We drove from Lequile along the motorway, bypassing Brindisi… neither of our guide books inspired us to stop for the sights and one talked about the pick pockets. As we approached Ostuni, we both got a sense of excitement … one of those times when the guide books do not do it enough justice. It glowed white on top of a hill. j experienced the usual small hill town driving panic, however, the car park was well roasted and on our side of town. The car park even has services and is only a short walk up to the old hill town.

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The empty car park looking up to the old town.

We were looking for a cafe or bar with wifi so we could upload a couple of blog posts and check emails … and found a bar fairly early on …. the wine was delicious and so were the copious and regularly refilled bowls of salty snacks … three glasses each later we staggered around the town. It was dark by now, but the town glowed with all the lime washed buildings … it is called the Citta Bianca. Lots of really narrow walkways, steps up to front doors and bars and restaurants. The guide books do not really make enough of it as it is definitely worth a visit. We made it back to Chard and had a healthy salad for supper to compensate for the salty carbs.

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A short walk up to the Piazza della Liberta.

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A chic white town … ‘corse it has to have the black stuff!

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Our car park was virtually empty …. but at 9.00 p.m. it started filling up. At 11.00 p.m. cars were still arriving and having to park on the road. Ostuni is party town on a Saturday night … the guide book describe it as ‘rather chic’ … a lot of the bars were really modern inside their cave like exteriors … all leather poofs and chrome. Us Brits tried to sleep as people arrived, partied and left.

293 – Sunday 7th February 2016: Lunch in Locorotondo

Being rather hilly and having run a longish one yesterday we did only 2 km. A little steep at the start, but K was especially slow as I kept stopping to take pix!

Another use of plastic bottles … pear juice this time.

It really is the Citta Bianca sitting on it rocky hill.

The car park had services which we used. The water point was only just reachable with our 5m hose, but it must be good water. There was a steady stream of locals filling up here. One couple who spoke some English advised us that it was really good water for making coffee and pasta … two of the three Italian priorities. The third being football!

We ignored both Brad and Madge, who in their lack of wisdom wanted to take us through the town and under a narrow and shallow bridge we had run past. We still ended up driving a narrowish road out of the town towards a fuel station … J’s manoevring skills tested, as well as his nerve! A really pretty route along to Locorotondo … we had decided not to stop at Cisternino as the guide book did not say much about it. We started seeing the Trulli houses regularly along the road …

Like small mushrooms … some have the original round base, others have been extended.

A few had symbols painted on the roofs.

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Some in original form, used as farm buildings.

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Only one about turn as we initially decided against the route both GPS suggested and then ended up down it anyway … we should listen to the navigating pair sometimes! We had identified two possible parkings, but was we came close the town kindly signposted us to motorhome parking, the town side of the stadium. We decided to stay the night and have Sunday lunch in the village. We wandered the village first … nothing like as striking as Ostuni, but lots of white wash again…

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And another beautifully carved Church rose window.

We lunched at a reaturant in the old town … the menu really did not make sense to us, so we went for the set menu … a veritable meat fest. Starter of two types of salami (one was particularly melt in the mouth), followed by a mixed grill … actually three meats finished off in the wood pizza oven. A speciality of the area is the roasted and grilled meats; you can order your meat in a butcher and then they will cook it for you. A mix of pastries for dessert. Not a vegetable in sight! We stepped into the cafe by the parking, which was full of locals dining (we’d walked past earlier but thought it was just a cafe) and had a coffee and a Sambucca …. followed by a many nap!!!

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The view through the windscreen in the rain as we left Locorotondo …. sitting up above terraces.

290-291: Otranto & Lecce: Extreme East of Peninsula and Extreme Baroque Architecure

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Clunegapyears

290 – Thursday 4th February 2016: Otranto – Most Easterly Italian Point

We left the Agricamping EUR50 lighter … rather steep at EUR20 per night, but we made good use of the facilities (hot showers – note the plural! and heating on at will!). For the mathematicians amongst you 2 x 20 does not equal 50 … the additional 10 was for the husband / mechanic / taxi driver who replaced our head lamp bulb.

We drove to Marina di Leuca with the intention of having a quick walk and a coffee at the most southerly point of the heel, but failed to find a parking so got out of there and followed the coast north. As we approached Tricase Porto … men chatting on side of road / easy parking / and a ristorante … coffee time. One of the chaps kindly hollered into the restaurant, so that the chef came out to make us coffee. Had it been a bit later in the day, we may have been tempted to stop for lunch as it was a) cheap and b) an attractive menu and c) a locals’ place.

Another act of kindness was when we were road blocked with a lorry uploading choppings off olive trees … he gave us a dismissive hand wave to say ‘Find another route’. But a local driver stopped and approached us … with a few words of French and some more friendly hand gestures, we were to follow him. A 5 minute detour through a village and further instructions and then we back on route.

The scenery along this eastern side of the heel is much more interesting than the west of the toe and the instep. Cliffs, rocky outcrops, small bays, lots of stone towers and extensive olive groves. A new feature is the small round stone squat towers – the ground is so rocky here that local stone is extensively used to terrace the olives and make these towers, which look to be used for storage. There are also some Italian equivalents of Pill Boxes, concrete WW2 defences.

We parked up in Otranto by the harbour (no other motorhomes in sight) but it was right next to stairs leading to the centro storico. Interesting old town – beautiful cathedral – magnificent ceiling – and the skulls/bones of the 800 residents who refused to renounce Christianity – then killed by the Turkish invaders. The crypt is very impressive – most unexpected – a completely separate church.

Third act of kindness today was the enthusiastic TIC chappie, who pressed leaflets on us.

We had a nice glass of local wine – “does the fat dog…?” Sorry Amelia – I couldn’t resist !

We retired to our casa for the evening… the wind blew strongly during the night – not as bad as Castlemare del Gusto (renamed by K after our windy night there…..) But not a great nights sleep – we moved the van at about 7:30 am – much better – but too late for slumber….

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View from old town will … you can just spot Chardonnay. This port used to be the main port to the Orient for a thousand years … there were are few small naval vessels to give it kudos.

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Duomo ceiling was amazing … just like a wedding gift dinner service … and very unusual.

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This mosaic was first built by the Normans in the 11th Century and has since received face lift or two. The creator was a young monk who designed this fanciful vision of the tree of life, encompassing heaven and hell, lewdness and symbolism. It is amazing that it survived at all, as the invading Turks stables their horses here!

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A small chapel to the right of the main alter houses cupboards of bones … in 1480 during the ‘Sack of Otranto’ 18,000 Turks besieged the town and killed the 800 Christians who refused to denounce their faith. These are their bones. Not gruesome, but a tribute to them.

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The crypt under the main church with its frescos and columns.

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The old town walls with many Torre and Porte. All pedestrianised inside.

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As we returned to Chardonnay, the sky became stormy, but no rain 🙂

291 – Friday 5th February 2016: Martano and Lecce

we are now lean and mean athletes (here the reader needs a modicum of imagination) – so off for a rusty gun – sorry, gusty run! 2 kinometres later, we raced (?) across the finish line and gratefully accepted our prize – brekkie!

K trailing, as ever!, a quick whip out of the iPhone to catch a shot of the run around the old town walls and J disappearing!

Avoiding the picturesque coastal route due to more high winds, we went inland and stopped at Martano (not in the guide books but recommended by a chap in the Otranto Tourist Office).

We parked next to the new TIC and it did not look open … leaves and rubbish blown up against the door. But no … a young girl, wrapped up in woollens and beret, ransacked her cupboards for a town map … not to be found so we photographed the one on the wall, which she would have pressed on us. We suspect we were her only customers for the day …

A nice town – wandering along, we came across a 17th century (my guess – no carbon dating) imposing building – now these are invariably Palazzos or Museos or even convents (Sion Hill, Amelia?). This one – on closer inspection, was/is called “Morrisons” (not a northern English supermarket) – but (wait for it) – an Irish pub! Complete with Guiness signs, etc – see photo.

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Possibly the most interesting sight in Martano?

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Coffee and cake, of course!

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We would have course walked on by, even had it been open!!!

Lecce – next – or as Brad calls it – “Lex”. The parking app led us to a (Forum recommended) motorhome stop in the city centre – now a building site! We parked in another car park nearby – and perambulated (that word, again…) Lecce is known for it’s extreme Baroque buildings – it did not disappoint! 40 churches – K wanted to pray in each one – but I heroically dissuaded her! Lunch – antipasto shared – delicious dishes – glass of vino for J – Euro equivalent of £13! Will we afford living for the summer in UK/Ireland ?

Coastal bound for the overnight bivouac – parked at San Cataldo – “grande gusto windo” – doesn’t quite work – but you get the picture. Moved to a side road – not totally satisfactory – on the road again – destination Lequile – a very quiet car park – no gustos! Settled – Irish Times Simplex crossword – 1 across – anagram “drab” – it’s our very own “Brad”! Try creating an anagram for Marge? Answers on the postcard again…..

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Sorry, just love these Baroque balconies. Each is so different.

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Pedestrionised and mellow local stone … apparently it is perfect as it is soft on carving and then hardens off.

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The Duomo Piazza. Apparently residents used to barricade themselves in here when the town was under siege.

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Boobs or oranges? All a bit fruity!

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Yours for EUR12 for 2 people … yum yum.

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Basilica di Santa Croche … opulence gone mad.

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Being restored, but such amazing detail.

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Part of the Rose window.

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Madcap Baroque … love it!

288 -289: Sailing Soup & Gallee Pollee

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Clunegapyears

288 – Tuesday 2nd February 2016: McWiFi – and Flying Soup….

Marina di Piscci saw K running for 6 straight days equalling her previous record – and I ran for the fourth day in succession – hopes of a calf muscle recovery – spoken softly…. Brekkie and tidy up – MV Chardonnay took to the highway with a dodgy headlight – main bulb gone – we have spares but couldn’t immediately see the change method – never mind – note to selves to get to the nightly bivouac before dark. SSN (Synchronised SatNavs) set for Gallipoli – not the infamous World War site – that’s in Turkey, we think. No wars today – or any day.

Passing through one town about an hour into our trip, K’s eagle eye spotted a sign for an Auchan supermercato – her favourite ! I stayed house sitting – oh and when we stopped for diesel before Auchan, an Italian chap commented on how bellissimo our van is ! Anyway, one hour later, K emerged laden with goodies for at least a week – but hungry and needing the loo (does the reader need to know about our lavatorial requirements ?). McDonalds beckoned with free WiFi – and burgers and chips – and toilet…. We needed little persuasion – burgered, chipped and WC’d – and WiFi’d at length. To our slight surprise, it was 3 pm when we resumed our journey…..

Now then – everyone knows that K makes great homemade soup. What the reader may not know – is that K’s soups have some amazing qualities – including deliciousimmos. One little publicised attribute is (suspend your disbelief) – the soup can fly ! Not locking the fridge before departure greatly assists this aeronautical prowess (DFTLTFBD) – this anachronistic acronym defies explanation… Whilst driving, we are used to hearing bangs and other sounds from within the van – sometimes the wardrobe door opens and shoes get rearranged, etc. This was a big bang ! K (driving) suggested (gently) that I investigate cause of said noise. On making my way gingerly mid flight to the kitchen area, I was able to confirm back to the cockpit that an aeronautical event had indeed occurred. Now, one interesting fact about flying soup is that it leaves it’s home as a homogenous mass – but in flight – it breaks up and attaches itself in a number of subsidiary soups to any surface it meets en route ! This soup met many surfaces !

Surfaces mostly restored (floor included), trip resumed. Our SSN programmed night stop was reached in near darkness (dodgy headlight in play) – it was ‘chiuso’ – closed. We phoned the owners, but to no avail. We had passed closed campsites en route – but it was looking like a wild camping beachside stop – with no proper toilet (dare I tell the reader that K has ordered a purple Shewee ?). We tried one other Sosta by phone – they were ‘aperto’ – open – and off we galloped – on arrival, we waited 15 minutes for the owners to arrive and let us in – water, wc emptying, and grey waste facilities – we were the only occupants…. Services completed, fed (no flying soup), Marsala’d, we surrendered to ‘somno vinoque’ – (ask your Latin teacher) at about 11:00 pm…. Did we dream of soup ?

289 – Wednesday 3rd February 2016: Gallee Pollee

7 days successive running for K (a new record) and I managed a couple of KMs also. A sort of jobs morning – mostly K clothes washing – I did some bike maintenance and generally tried to look useful…

Lunched in the van on landed soup – thankfully in our bowls this time – I really don’t like eating soup off the floor… We biked to town. K navigated – with MiMi – Madge’s daughter from MapsMe (on a phone as against the iPad) – complicated… If Madge and Brad got married and had a child – suggested names on a postcard please -addressed to – James and Katherine c/o Europe somewhere…..

Now our redoubtable Brad SatNav insists on calling this town “Gallee Pollee”. Gallipoli is pleasant but not outstanding – the wine was ! We stopped for a glass (or two) before recycling ourselves back to base… Gallipoli reminded us of Ortygia in Siracusa … access via a bridge and sea on 3 sides – historical centre with narrow streets.

Castello at the bridge entrance to Gallee Pollee … and the new town, complete with a sky scraper … first we’ve seen in a long while.

The garage is smarter (and cleaner) than Chardonnay. We don’t have a chandelier .. only the knicker one for drying ones’ smalls!

Now why would you decorate a planter with plastic bottles?

Delicious … and only EUR 3 per glass 🙂

Another flying incident … K ‘dropped’ the 5ltr red wine flagon and it spurted red wine up out of its spout. Upholstery and carpets now a cacophony of red and orange (the soup was carrot!).

287: Matera

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Clunegapyears

287 – Monday 1st February 2016: Cave Dwellings – A Hidden Gem

Alarm clocks did their job and up and at ’em – revellie was military style at 0700 hrs – Sgt Major Clune (wo)manning the parade square! – in time to see the sunrise. And we even had time for a short run – thankfully without 20 kg back packs and rifles – before brekkie.

Our first destination was a Fiat garage in Matera (to investigate/remedy the engine issue) – skilfully navigated by by Marge and Bread – whoops Marge and Brad! On arrival at the GPS (no acronyms ? – just wait…) Right on the coordinates – J driving – K anxiously could not see the Fiat garage – enquired of three passing chaps – in unison and in Italian, they chorussed to her – “it’s behind you” !!! In this case, GPS must be Great Positioning Sense !

After a wait – and due consideration by very polite staff – they informed us that it was not possible to do diagnostic checks on a ‘commercial vehicle’ at their location – but a phone number was provided and we called – and called – could not get through – maybe something to do with our phones…..K’s sister Clare assisted from UK – but we were getting nowhere. Unbeknown to us – while we were trying to communicate with various numbers, young Chardonnay (she is only four) obviously got pissed off waiting – and cured the problem herself ! No sign of the engine malfunction light…..

Huge relief – a pay parking area found – huge – ticket bought and displayed. Nice parking attendant then told us “non parceggio camper qui” ! Back on the road – and some circular driving – motorhome parking two blocks away – luckily the same ticket worked.

We perambulated (?) on to the old town – beautiful Piazza and fountain – with this amazing water system – see photo. But – a little history…. 15,000 people lived in cave dwellings in Sassi (Matera) for hundreds of years right up until 1950s ! Only in 1956, did the City authorities move them to new housing – the move was completed in 1968. But their legacy remains – and is one of the most compelling sights we have seen in Italy. There was poverty – but close families (all living and sleeping in one room) – large families too – but the infant mortality rate was 50%+. Beggars requested not money, but quinine to give to their children to stave off malaria. It was Mel Gibson’s location choice for his film, ‘The Passion of the Christ’ as few places depict such basic human existence.

The photos speak for themselves – it is quite unique indeed.

Back to Marina di Piscci – and a quiet evening – only 8 vans tonight so far…..

Today’s Tour Guide masters the map and walking routes … well worth the EUR1.50 … for the map. The guide received NO tips!

Unfortunately closed …. amazing that it is so water tight that it still contained water in 1991 when it was explored.

Purgatory Church … not exactly welcoming doors!

Dwellings seriously piled on top of each other. Apparently a lot that clung to the ledges have been pulled down.

An artist’s impression.

Many of the original dwellings had water supplies, tanks in the habitation and holding tanks below. There were no natural springs so they collected rain water.

There were quite a number that we could just wander into. Some were being ‘done up’; mostly to be used as shops or small museums.

A vast vast area

One of the small museums, but at EUR2 each very worth it. The dwelling was described over a tannoy – in English (we were the only visitors). All the animals, adults and children in essentially one room. Part of this museum also had a snow cavern – snow was packed between straw to form ice and then sold. Another chamber was a meeting cave, which was too open to be used as a dwelling … important as there were few places (due to lack of space) where people could meet up and chat.

The ‘posher’ part of the Sassi, where proper houses are built into the rock.

Dry Monday … lovely lunch washed down with … water!

After a superb anti-pasti (8 dishes for EUR12), which we shared, this was K’s ravioli with porchini in a squash sauce with pistachio sprinkles.

280 – 286: Sad to leave Sicily & Steep Stilo

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Clunegapyears

280 – Monday 25th January 2016: Poorly and Hot Bedding

Little activity … K’s cold worsened a little and J has nasal congestion. We did very little other than sit in the sun for a while. Then we took turns for nanny naps … K’s was a major 2 hours.

Dinner could have been Dan’s Double Delicious Lasagne but we stayed away in case we ‘shared’ our bugs … so dinner was Spanish Pork casserole … Thank goodness for the freezer.

281 – Tuesday 26th January 2016: Chardonnay Jobs

Another beautifully sunny day, which makes it harder to move off site, but we managed it. Chard had a proper spit and polish exterior clean at the motorhome jet wash in Sante Croce. EUR5 bought 10 tokens which bought cycles of shampoo, rinse and self drying polish. She was cleaned in phases .. the ladder came out again and J did the roof, then one side and the front … about turn and he did the rear and the other side. K supervised (!) and put the tokens in.

Not content with that, we emptied the garage and cleaned it. The major nap, medications & vitamins and the sun have done their work … K feeling MUCH better 🙂 And delighted that the heavy leg stage experienced by others had not materialised.

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The weather has been so warm, we have been breakfasting en plein air 🙂

282 -Wednesday 27th January 2016: Packing Up

We investigated if Chardonnay urgently needed cam belt change .. a slight concern at translation issues as a mechanic we approached seemed to think he would need the van for two nights …. but we sleep in it? You can sleep at the garage? We extracted ourselves and J spoke to the Fiat dealer in Bristol. Bear in mind this is the same garage who has sent me two scary emails stating that if we don’t get the cam belt changed, the engine will blow up! The mechanic, at same said dealer, said not to worry until it is 5 years old. No great urgency after all then! Cynical marketing by the Fiat dealer? We had some good advice from people on the site to get it done as soon as we get home and to change things like the water pump too. Will do.

The rest of the day was spent doing a bit of a tidy and putting the bikes back on the rack etc.

We celebrated our last night with a BBQ, followed by a fire log (with the addition of Magic Flame dust that turned the flames blue, green and purple) under perfect stars. Way to go.

283 – Thursday 28th January 2016: Wrenching Away from Punta Braccetto

We have met some really lovely people on the campsite and will definitely stay in touch with Dan, but it was with a renewed sense of adventure that we set off. We had received an email from Frances and Edward that they planned to head off to Catania today, so we suggested they meet us in Aci Trezza at the harbour (we’ve stayed here a couple of times before).

However, we woke up to discover we had been rumbled by Three, whom both our phones and the wifi are with. We have been roaming with them for over 10 months and we know of people who had their free roaming switched off after only two months, so we did rather well. We headed for Aci Trezza via the TIM mobile shop in Ragusa to buy a data only SIM card. We planned to pay EUR20 for 5gb, which lasts one month. The girl in the shop was really helpful and suggested a special offer: EUR39 paid up front for 5gb of data for 6 months. I know we do not plan to be in Italy for another 6 months, but will be cost efficient as we will be here just over two months. The problem we will have is that we are used to checking satellite maps to check our route, 30 min FaceTime Calls, reading BBC news and the Irish Times (J only), Facebook (K only!), investigating tourist attractions etc etc. With only 5 gb / month, we are going to have to show a lot of restraint and hook up with free wifi whenever we can. James was quick to point out that MacDonalds has free wifi!!! Could that be justification enough for a regular burger and chips lunch? The blog will be updated less frequently now, for sure!

Frances and Edward were already installed in the harbour car park … really lovely to see them again. Real bonus for us, Frances cooked for us and gave us some books and a magazine 🙂 We will definitely be staying in touch with them. There is a good chance they will overtake our leisurely journey north, which could mean a return meal shared.

One of the books had a lovely inscription on the fly leaf written by Frances:

We do not receive wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves after a journey through the wilderness, which no-one can make for us, which no-one can spare us.

For our wisdom is the point of view from which we come, at last, to regard the world.

One of The Ciclopi from the small harbour

The harbour in the morning light.

Something we had not expected to see … just as we’re leaving Sicily, they start to cut back some of the growth that makes a two lane motorway feel like a one laner!

284 – Friday 29th January 2016: A new country!

K ran … lovely to have a final run along the coast past the Ciclopi rocks to Aci Castello. Always something to see …

– Street cleaners using shopping trolleys with a bin bag to collect their sweepings … obviously no municipal issue cleaning carts.

– An older chap who saw me and promptly started doing press ups on the railings … wearing his buttoned up coat and hood up.

– A snogging couple, who obviously did not move from my run out to the return leg … her cigarette, lit but unsmoked, had burnt down to the stub with a long curl of ash.

We said au revoir to Frances and Edward and headed to Messina. We were using both Brad the Sat Nav and Madge (Maps.Me on the iPad). Incidentally, J’s choice of name, I wanted Janet to fit with Brad … The Rocky Horror Show. One of the navigation aides (loose term) told us to turn off the motorway, we did. We should have followed the other navigation aide … we ended up driving through the centre of Messina to the port. As the passenger, K got to see the Duomo, the university etc.

We are both very sad to leave Sicily, but it was time. We’ve spent 83 days in Sicily and once we got used to the driving, we have really enjoyed it. We still feel there are places we’ve not seen, but we have done the main sights. The guide books say that Sicily is full of contradictions and the road system is crumbling…. both statements are true – but the scenery is stunning – and the people are lovely – very warm and welcoming – almost three months well spent – we’ll be back…sometime.

K has a flight back to see her Munchkin from Napoli on 17th February and we need to tour around the toe and heel of Italy before returning to the Spartacus Campsite in Pompei.

The oranges here are just amazing: sweet, large and juicy. Lots of road side sellers … 24 oranges for EUR5 … under 16 pence each. Shame I don’t have a juicer….

We followed the coastal road around the toe. Immediately we noticed an improvement in the quality of the roads, a lack of crumbling concrete structures and a more ‘normal’ driving style. We ended up at a super FREE coastal, flat and quiet parking … it even has WC emptying and water. Now wonder we are one of 20+ vans. We thought it would mostly be full of Italians, but the Germans are the main indigenous population. Some seem to be pretty well installed for a longterm stay.

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Loads of space, full services and a view of the sea … and free. What more could we ask for.

285 – Saturday 30th January 2016: Law-less and Steep Stilo

We completed our services .. I would like to say incident free .. a hole at the base of the tap, which looked as the obvious choice for the WC emptying was apparently not so. A local motorhomer came over and kindly told us where the correct emptying point was, but by this time it was too late. Oops – we still got a friendly wave from him as we left.

We stopped at Locri Epizephiri, A Greek archeological site. We really think we have seen the best of the Greek temples and cities at Paestum, the Valley of the Kings (Agrigento) and Silunente, but this was the first Greek city to have a written code of law 660BC. Whilst we, obviously mistakenly, thought this worthy of comment, the archaeological site and museum did not mention it at all. A disappointing visit. We skipped hilltop Gerace, which sounded interesting, but the roads up also looked ‘interesting’.

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Interesting to see the evidence of how much below ground level the Greek remains were … this Olive tree is hundreds of years old.

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Doing improvement works such was covering some areas form the weather, but the actual stones are at peril of being lost to view among the long grass and over grown vegetation.

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In the museum … Not seen one of these before … a bronze statue’s eyelash!

However, we both really liked Stilo. Whilst another hilltop town, we had the good sense to park up along the road side as soon as we reached it. Good call, as the roads were really steep and with lots of tight turns. It is a lovely old town clinging to a ledge on the mountain, with views out to the sea. The main attraction is the Cattolica – built in the tenth century by monks in Byzantine style, to celebrate the triumph of christianity over paganism. It is quite iconic and, even better, FREE. To get the best views, K clambered up what started as a path with steps then disintegrated into a narrow track – but worth it.

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Bus bottoms viewed on our climb up to the town

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On the railings … didn’t realise the Fiat Stilo had been around for that many years.

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Front of the Cattolica – 5 iconic terracotta domes.

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Would that be a young sapling rooted down there?

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Rusted to the spot!

Our night was another very quiet beachside parking. Actually on the compacted sand and it had water 🙂 Our only ‘disturbance’ was a couple of cars with courting couples … misted windows! Fabulous stars as virtually no light pollution.

286 – Sunday 31st January 2016: Driving … What is that Light?

We both ran and K pilates’d on the beach. Sun getting quite warm – is Spring here yet? The winter is definitely leaving this area of Italy, we have seen a lot of almond blossom and broad beans have been spotted on a roadside seller’s stall … unfortunately nowhere that we could stop to buy some.

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We had decided not to continue following the eastern coast of the toe up to the instep as a) the coast is flat and samey … long beaches, small towns with the road following the railway and b) the guide books did not inspire us to make any stops. Our intention accordingly was to get up close to Matera to another beachside parking. As we were going to be driving for about 5 hours, we followed both Madge and Brad and followed the motorway for a good chunk.

We had not long swapped drivers when the Engine Management System pinged at us and a warning light came on. Under bonnet checks did not reveal anything and a Google search implied that the 2012 Euro 5 Ducato engine often has issues with Diesel Particulate Filter sensors. Being Sunday, we were not going to be able to get a Fiat mechanic on the phone. We had lunch and set off gingerly again. Google had informed us of a Fiat concessionaire in Matera … so we stuck with the original plan. Tomorrow we will drive straight there and make sure we’re up in time to arrive ’subito’.

Again, the beachside parking has a cluster of mostly German ‘vans.

Clune Gap Years

A journal and reflections of our motorhome travels