Left Boston on October 1st for the loooong Alitalia rent-a-plane flight to Rome. On this flight, as well as on the later return flight to Boston, there were no stewardesses, only stewards. While waiting for the connecting flight to Bari, met Luther, Joan, Louis, and Karen who had also been on the plane from Boston. In Bari we were picked up by a van and driven south to Masseria Torre Maizza, the most luxurious accommodations that VBT has offered. Had lunch by the (heated!) pool, then had a dip, and later took a walk to Savelletri, the nearest town on the coast where I had the first of several gelatos on the trip. The masseria van picked me up and brought me back. The rest of the group arrived during the day, including my assigned roommate Malcolm. A group of us (mostly the Salt Lake City contingent) had dinner at Masseria Torre Coccaro next door.
The next day we signed the usual liability waivers and met our guides, Edoardo and Luigi, who by the end of the tour had met or exceeded all VBT standards! Our first day's ride was a short warm-up to the old Roman ruins at Egnatia. After wandering around the site for a while, remounted the bike and continued on a loop back to the masseria. On this ride, as indeed on all the others. there were endless olive tree orchards, a major agricultural basis of the region. A welcoming reception and dinner at Maizza that night. The next day we did a ride up the coast on a loop to Monopoli, a town to the north, with some interesting buildings and fortifications. Lunch at a local restaurant and, of course, another gelato. Dinner that night at the Maizza.
The following day was a ride to Ostuni. Back to the coast, then inland to our first stop, another masseria with an olive oil museum. Pushing on, we stopped at Il Frantoio, another masseria where the owner gave us a tour before a too extensive lunch. After lunch was the final leg of the day to Ostuni. Some heavily-potholed back roads to traverse here, until the outskirts of Ostuni, at which point it was all uphill. Missed one of my last turns and did some unnecessary climbing until it was apparent that something was not right. Didn't want to go back in case I might have to do the climb again, but fortunately some others from the group made the same mistake, and finally someone found a policewoman who got us on the right path again. It was a big, but rewarding climb that made reaching the hotel (the Ostuni Palace) a wonderful feeling. Freshened up at the hotel, then wandered over to the town square—another gelato—then walked up to the cathedral, which unfortunately was closed by then. Felt I should have a pizza once while in Italy, so I found a local pizzeria and had that for dinner. Picked up a couple of bottles of primitivo (a local red wine) to take home. Whether it was the pizza or something else, it was a bad night, as I came down with a case of Montezuma's revenge. (Over the next few days, others in the group were also stricken.) The next day I was still in pretty bad shape, and had to pass on the day's cycling, very reluctantly missing the trulli in Alberobello. Eduardo and Louis gave me some Imodium, which helped, and I slept the rest of the morning until early afternoon. I restocked later in the day—everything shuts down from noon to 4—at local pharmacy and was feeling better by evening. (Also got a new pack of Imodium each for Edoardo and Louis for their kindness.) Dinner that night was at a restaurant where the food had a medieval influence. I took it easy on most of it, as I was still unsure of my condition, but in the event there were no more problems.
The following morning we shuttled south to Melpignano whence we rode on to Otranto, an old fortified city. We wandered around the city seeing some of the fortifications, plazas, and bazaars. Had a brief lunch and another gelato, then dipped my feet in the Adriatic on the beach. Took the short route on to the next hotel, Masseria Montelauro, doing a healthy climb through some more olive groves. Time to relax and to enjoy their pool, not heated this time, but still warm enough, even in October. Luigi shuttled us into town that night for dinner at a restaurant named for the Turk that sacked Otranto centuries ago. Most Puglia meals were heavy on seafood, reflecting what's locally available, and this was no exception. And they all were delicious. The following day we had nice sunny skies for a short ride south from the masseria to Uggiano la Chiesa, a town where the grandmother of one of the VBT guides (not one of ours) gave a wonderful demonstration on pasta making using just a knife and cutting board. A priori I was not overly enthusiastic about this, but it actually turned into one of the highlights of the tour. Continuing on we came to the sea again at Castro where we turned and headed north, doing a short climb, then along the coast toward Santa Cesarea Terme where we were to have our trip picnic. Unfortunately maybe a kilometer from our stop, Kathy had a very bad fall, and she had to be taken away in an ambulance with Edoardo to help things along. (After several days in an Italian hospital she flew home. Her friend Barbara (1) stayed with her. Since then she's had surgery and dental work stateside and is recovering splendidly.) The picnic lost much of its potential joie de vivre as a result, but was at least not a total washout. Following lunch, some of us (including me!) did the long hill coming out of Santa Cesarea; some tried, got part way, and gave up; and some, older or at least wiser, decided to take the van to the top. The next stop was the Porto Badisco beach, where a few went swimming. I went wading briefly, getting some Ionian Sea water on me. After that was a long haul north to Otranto with a stiff wind blowing, passing the radar station at Cape Otranto (easternmost point of Italy.) It was a tiring ride, but like all challenges, was satisfying when successfully completed. From Otranto it was an easier ride back to the masseria, where we dismounted our bikes for the last time—both a relief and a bit of sadness that it was over. Our farewell dinner at the masseria that evening was bittersweet with the absence of Kathy, Barbara (2)'s indisposition, and the knowledge that we were almost done.
The next day we were bused north to the old city of Lecce, aka the Florence of the South, where we stayed in the Patria Palace Hotel. There we saw several Roman ruins, some under excavation, an archeological museum, the expected collection of churches and antiquities, and, of course, more gelato. This was the last day we were all together, and we said our goodbyes to those who would be leaving at different times. The following morning the Rome contingent (Barbara (2), Malcolm, and I) were on a van to the Brindisi airport, where we got on our flight to Rome.
Thanks to Suzanne Stensaas for allowing me to use a few of her pictures.