06/08/16 to 09/08/16

We have spent time in Taranto, much of which is quite run down. It has several museums and a  castle. The Ethnographic Museum and Castle had free guides to show us round, but as it was all in Italian we struggled to understand much of what was clearly very interesting.

We used the train to get out to see the trullie houses in Alberobello and Locorotondo, at least that was the plan. But the journey to Alberobello took four and a half hours, it’s a long explanation ….. replacement bus was involved! So the time we had was limited and we just saw Alberobello.

4/8/16 – 6/8/16

Following the coast from Santa Maria de Leuca northwards towards Taranto where we will be catching our train to Milano in northern Italy we passed the holiday coast of Puglia in high season…… very few foreign tourists apart from a few Swiss and Belgian  families but packed out with Italian families.

Our campsites in Gallipoli and Porta Pirrone were both extremely busy, but fortunately had plenty of camping spaces under the shade of pine trees….. however the ground was really hard requiring the use of gathered stones to hold our tent vaguely into shape….. luckily there was very little wind! Ants proved a problem though, and we discovered that they had nibbled lots of small holes in our footprint groundsheet and living area groundsheet!

The coastline was low lying with lots of long sandy beaches full of bathers and sun worshippers. The roads were busy with cars going to or from the beach. We saw quite a bit of creative parking as we peddled past.

Our stop at Gallipoli gave us the opportunity to explore this historic town.

We looked round the extensive   “Arroganaise” Castle and some interesting small museums telling about the production of lamp oil from pressed olives in underground workshops which had been carved out from the stone underneath the city to provide the constant temperatures required for the process. The introduction of petroleum oils in the mid 19th century put paid to what was a source of considerable wealth to Gallipoli….

Our last night under canvas was at Porta Pirrone, just 12km from Taranto…. we had planned to camp a bit further from Taranto but the campsite marked on the electronic map appeared not to exist….

We celebrated our last night camping by cooking our supper beside the sea which was just outside the campsite.

31/7/16

We managed to make a reasonably early start, for us, at 9.30 and headed south. Initially taking an inland route, but soon turning towards the sea and following the coast road. This was beautiful with many gorgeous views. The road undulated through a rocky limestone landscape but we never went higher than about 120 metres. However we dropped down and climbed up again several times which, in the heat, made for sweaty progress.

An olive grove made a good stopping point for lunch in the shade with a wonderful view along the coast.

On getting to Santa Maria di Leuca, we followed the road, down hill, into the town. Finding the tourist information office closed, it is Sunday…. so restocking with cold water, we then headed out of town towards the campsite we have found on the map. This was again up hill and at the end of the day we were both tired, hot and sweaty ….and we also had a head wind.

The campsite is a busy site, with almost all Italian families. Tent pitched we discovered the site has a restaurant and shop. The latter selling cold beer, so once again it was beer o’clock!.

We stayed a couple of nights to explore the area and took advantage of a boat trip round the coast to explore the caves both on the Adriatic and Ionian sides of the peninsula.

26th to 30th July

The road to Otranto from Lecce followed two very straight roads via Martano. We stopped in Martano for coffee and to have a little look around. Initially it seemed an ordinary town, then we turned into the historic area.  A small, but perfect network of narrow streets. Again balconies, doors and carvings abound.

Onwards to Otranto and we arrived at a campsite during the siesta, so nothing was going to happen in a hurry! This gave us time to look at the price list and we decided that €28.50 per night for the two of us in a small tent, plus tokens required for a hot shower, was expensive. So we peddled on and found another site, some 5k outside Otranto on an ‘Agriturismo’ farm. Having pitched and then explored the area a bit, we decided to stay just one night here and move to an alternative campsite, also in an Agriturismo farm nearer Otranto the following day.

Move made, we pitched our tent in the shade of an extensive olive grove and then went in to explore Otranto for the afternoon.

Another town with an attractive historic area of narrow streets.

We had lunch dangling our feet in the sea, in the shadow of the castle battlements – very pleasant.

Among the gems the town had to offer was a delightful cathedral with a beautiful ceiling, a floor completely covered by a series of 11th century mosaics telling bible stories and a lovely crypt.

But it also had some glass cases in a side chapel containing the skeletons of some 800 men, women and children massacred by the Turks alledgedly for refusing to convert to Islam.

Makes a change this time for it not to be the Crusaders responsible for the slaughter; why does humanity never learn!

The following day we took the tandem inland for a 30 mile spin down quiet roads through olive growing country to visit a couple of towns that had been recommended to us to visit –  Castrigano de Greci and Corigliano D’Otranto, both in an area populated by the Greeks in 600 to 400 BC and still with some people speaking in a Greek dialect.

Corigliano  D’Otranto had an unusual “Aragonaise” Castle in the centre of the town, dating from the times when the area was ruled by Aragon in Spain.

Built as protection from the Turks, expanded, then adorned and used as a residence in the 16th century when it was considered the Turks were no longer a threat.

Returning to Otranto we decided to find the ‘Lagho Alimini’ , an old flooded quarry that used to be a source of Bauxite. Some 4km outside of the town we came across an interesting lunar landscape with multicoloured layers from the different minerals present.

Because Diana decided to try scuba diving, we stayed at the campsite an extra night. Another new experience for Diana, who enjoyed the underwater adventure very much. Seeing lots of fish of attractive bright colours. Touching some of the underwater plant life, big black cushions and seeing the fronds of anemones wafting in the water. Her guide found this shell on the seabed, a little token to keep.

Feeling refreshed and ready to ride, we found our way out of Brindisi towards Lecce. This proved more tricky than expected, seems here you are expected to be in a car. We came to a junction where every option was fast dual carriageways with no bikes allowed. We retraced our steps and (eventually) found our way on a minor road to head south.

A stop by the sea to buy provisions and then eat them was a pleasant lunchtime. A pleasant change from the extensive industrial area we had passed. Power plant and desalination plant seemed to be what it was.

Arriving in Lecce we found a cafe with wifi and set about finding accommodation for the night. Booking.com came up with a place not too expensive and fairly close to the centre.

Once we were settled in and went out to explore, we soon realised Lecce had a lot to see, so we decided to stay another night.

This gave us a full day in Lecce; however our plans to do a sight seeing tour were not straight forward. We wanted to hire an audio guide, but when we requested this, we were told there were no maps available to accompany it. An English tour in the afternoon was our next option, but this did not go ahead due to insufficient people.

So in the end, we managed to get a place on the little sight seeing train, which trundled through the narrow streets and was very popular. This was only accomplished by finding out how the system worked at 3pm and failing to get a place. Then at 4pm, Diana used her small stature to ensure being at the front of the queue for tickets on this ride and off we went.

Lecce is very photogenic and dripping with Baroque architecture, cherubs abound.

There are also many narrow streets, each with fascinating balconies, doors and windows.

Lots of tourists and busy with shops offering souvenirs of all types. A lovely place to look around, we felt we could have stayed longer.