As has become almost common when we set off
the GPS took us onto the same road we had driven last night, when what we
presumed was a faster road was ignored. You lose faith after a while. However,
it was a perfect day weather-wise and the trip along the Gargano east coast was
spectacular. On the outskirts of Vieste we stopped at a lookout for a fabulous
view down the beach toward the old town perched on a hill – just magic. We were
going to stop at the other place recommended by Enzo, but we never spotted it.
Our first real stop of the day was in Trani, a delightful small coastal town
renowned for its church right by the sea. The brilliant sunlight makes this
place really stand out. We spent rather more time there than we should have, as
we had a long way to go to Lecce, but
it was so pleasant we didn’t mind.
Being mistrustful of the GPS I decided to be governed more by road signs pointing us back to the Autostrada. That was a mistake as my sense of direction is now more a legend in my own mind than a practical reality, so we wound up retracing our route needlessly, but eventually trusted the GPS to get us back on track. I kick myself that we do not have a map of the proper scale. Map+GPS+signs = more likely to find the way.
The route south from Foggia is quite unexpectedly very
flat indeed, all the way. We had intended to have another stop in Ostunia, but
this turned out to be unwise as the road to it from the Autostrada was way too
slow, using up valuable daylight. When we arrived in the centre we stayed only
to buy cold treatment at the chemists, have a gelato and coffee, and visit the
WC. This region, on either side of Ostunia has many many olive groves featuring
very old trees – probably more than 200 years old. Many had dead parts of their
gnarled and twisted trunk (some over a metre wide) but the plant was still
alive to bear fruit. It seems that they must trim the trees aggressively to make
them more manageable. I wish I could have stopped – these groves are very
attractive.
As we approached Lecce the light began to fade, but we made it there before it got
dark. When we arrived at the hotel we were informed that although we were at
the right location, we could not stay there – they were transferring us to a
sister five-star establishment (an upgrade from four-star) elsewhere in the
city. These rooms are quite spacious and comfortable. The four of us went out
to anearby restaurant found by Anit and endorsed by the hotel reception. We all
rated it as 50% as only one of the two courses was any good. The local wine we
had as very good though.
Being hot and thirsty, I dropped into a
corner shop to buy some bottles of beer to help me compose this journal/blog. The
dehydration here is incredible. While fiddling for the change, I started a
conversation (in English) with the attendant who hailed from Sri Lanka. Several
of his countrymen also walked in. He said he had been there for two years, so
most likely one of the many Tamil refugees who also wash up on Australia’s
Christmas Island. This man had only one arm, so one can only speculate what
happened to the poor chap. At least he’s in a safer if not better place.
What delighted us on our walk to and from
the eatery was the large number of people including small children who were out
and about even after 11pm. Lots of young people sitting on steps, door steps
and stone walls. It’s so sad that have lost all contact to this aspect of
social living in our urbanised environments. The cynic would say maybe they
haven’t got any work to go to in the morning.
We took a quick tour around the main
square. For me the star attraction was a wonderfully restored and well lit
building from 1674 that was now the Tourist Info Office. There are some what
appear to be Roman ruins, possibly an amphitheatre that warrants futher
investigation tomorrow.
On returning to the hotel we were informed
that our upgrade was going to be only temporary, as they wanted to
transfer us back to the original hotel in the morning. We’ll see.
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