Italy and a slight change of plan....

After a final swim at Palataria we managed to exchange a couple of 907 cylinders in Igoumenitsa before lining up for the sailing to Brindisi where Mandy had to board separately after we had checked in for the boarding cards. We were loaded 90 minutes before departure and with only a daytime crossing hadn't bothered with a cabin so enjoyed exploring the ship which was one of Grimaldi's flagship vessels and very stylish. A meal in the a la carte restaurant was unfortunately nothing particularly special but the seas were calm and the sunset memorable. At Brindisi we were soon off and round to the Aire near the old port we had used before and with the hour's clock change enjoyed a walk down to the waterside and a welcome ice-cream as it was still very warm.

After a quiet night we moved on up the east coast to Torre Canne where a simple park up under large nets provided some much needed shade and access to a beach along with hook up and a reasonable price of €20 compared to €80/100 per night at the more sophisticated sites. Later we walked in to the village passing a large spa resort and were amazed at the number of people crowded on to the small beach. A small restaurant run by a very friendly lady squeezed us in for a memorably good pizza before a large pre booked group arrived and back at the van we slept soundly.

On Mandy's birthday we diverted inland slightly to enjoy the cool and cavernous depths of the Grotti di Castellana west of Bari which were extensive and beautifully decorated and accessed by a vast open roofed chamber.

A good restaurant at Castle del Monte also allowed overnight stays with hook up included and the terrace had a perfect view of the lofty castle high above us. It was an excellent meal washed down by a decent bottle of wine served by friendly staff and we dined outside on a warm evening with a perfect breeze. After a quiet night we walked up to the octagonal castle with two impressive doors, eight towers and numerous rooms with vaulted ceilings spread across two floors.

We then followed the coast round the 'spur' of Italy's boot known as the Gargano on a superb if twisty road high above the blue sea and pulled in at Parcheggio Mare Azzuro near Monte Sant Angelo. This simple site amongst olive trees provided shade and access to a small cove and beach via a steep track. The clear waters invited a session of snorkelling with the limestone rocks and deeper channels holding a good variety of fish species. Mandy mastered the kit and enjoyed a good look round before we returned to the van and called in at the house to buy 5l of their own olive oil and order bread for the following morning. This was duly delivered with four croissants and a huge tomato foccacia arriving still warm. Moving on round the coast however, as we had found in northern Italy on a similar road, the driving style of both Italian motorbikes and cars combined with lumbering motorhomes struggling with the many tight hairpins encouraged us to pull up early by following a dusty track down to a limestone headland near Peschichi. There was one other van parked up and a caravan used by the owner and no services available which weren't required anyway. However the location and view were amazing and ten minutes walk away we could reach a sandy beach and have another enjoyable dip before returning to watch the sun set behind one of this coastline's numerous defensive castellis. The sun rise the following morning was sublime and we slid open the sliding door whilst still in bed to get the best view. 

Further round at Peschichi itself we parked by the marina and walked up to the old part of the village that surrounds the cliff side castle. This contained a macabre museum of torture with all manner of grizzly devices designed to punish the possibly guilty or extract confessions from the possibly culpable. From an external balcony we had a good view over the small port and spotted a dolphin down below. More twisting roads, quieter now being a Monday, led us around the final stretches of the Gargano before we headed inland towards the Apennines and the small village of Biccari. Here the council provide a fully serviced aire for €10 on the edge of the village with access controlled by a barrier. We had to ring Angelo who turned up promptly and showed us how to access the key safe to get to the remote control for the barrier and gave us a card to use the recycling facilities. He didn't seem to mind that we had interrupted his siesta and gave us a few pointers for places to eat later on. We dealt with the water and waste, plugged in a few pitches down from a friendly Dutch couple in a corner with shade and later walked down to the village to visit a spectacular church. Unfortunately being a Monday Angelo's suggestions were closed so we picked up pork chops from the butchers, wine from a small shop and headed back to cook at the van.

En route to the old Roman fortified town of Saepinum we stopped at Riccia which had just held a folk festival before reaching the ruins where due to an extensive redevelopment project access to the site was free of charge. The amphitheatre, walls and gates were remarkable and work was underway to create museums and interpretative displays in the mediaeval buildings that later occupied the site.

However something had been occupying my mind for several weeks and a few thousand miles as I had detected an occasional clunk and groan in the area of the OS front suspension. As many of the roads over the last 20,000 miles, particularly in Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and rural Turkey have been challenging I suspect anti roll bar bushes or similar to be the issue. The van drives, steers and brakes smoothly but occasionally something gives a bit and I felt uncomfortable at the prospect of driving the final 2,000 miles through the Apennines and the mountains of France.

Thus we decided to cut out almost a thousand miles and stick to smooth straight roads by retracing the route I had followed earlier in the year. A ferry to Barcelona from Civitaveccia was booked and we headed north west to stop at a shady parking area alongside the old cathedral outside Venafro, half way between Naples and Rome. A walk down through the old town brought us to the more modern part where it proved surprisingly difficult to find a pizza restaurant. Eventually however we found a place that met our needs and after walking back up to the cathedral we had a comfortable night despite a few local kids hanging out nearby.

We used the toll roads to pass Rome without issue and with plenty of time to spare stopped an hour short of Civitaveccia on a stretch of sandy beach. At the port we found Terminal 1 and I queued for our boarding cards armed with both passports only to be told they needed to see the V5 as well, not needed by the same ferry company on the crossing from Greece to Italy.

Whilst waiting on the quay side there was some drama as an HGV tyre burst with an almighty bang - a fate that looked likely to affect a couple of heavily overloaded vans that we assumed were heading to Morocco via Barcelona, a journey we had done a couple of years ago. Our vessel, the Cruse Roma, had been extended by 30m in 2019, a YouTube video on the process is well worth seeking out but for tonight's sailing the vessel was less than half full and with a 20 hour overnight crossing we had booked a comfortable outside cabin. We dropped off our bags, had a cabin key card reprogrammed to work properly and then stood on the stern observation deck to watch as we cast off. Italy slid away from us and whilst I was happy that for reasons of safety and convenience we had made the right decision I was very much aware that this amazing ten month trip is drawing to a close. It has been a long and at times demanding trip with a dizzying number of countries, languages, currencies, cultures and experiences to address and the prospect of getting home with much of the responsibility lying with the captain and his crew was hugely welcome.

We'd taken fruit and a pasta salad on board but did indulge in ice creams on the sun deck during a calm and uneventful crossing. The huge ship docked neatly in a tight space at Barcelona and we were straight off and heading north in the late evening to a park up an hour away at El Papiol on the edge of the village. Here we found a small bar and enjoyed a couple of drinks whilst watching local life pass by. As is usual in Spain people generally eat out late and we were tempted by the simple menu before heading back.

Lleida was worth a couple of hours to break our journey from Barcelona to Bilbao as we have five days to cover less than 400 miles. Up at the Seu Vella (the old cathedral) we had a good meal at the Baluard restaurant overlooking the town before moving on to a new concept for me. This was an Aire run by the Camping Car Park organisation who are mainly spread across France, Italy and Spain and have largely taken over the running of the old 'camping municpal' sites that villages used to provide. At the barrier we followed the instructions, downloaded the app, topped up the newly created account and after some confusion with various SMS codes persuaded the barrier to lift. A dozen or so other vans were parked up on the gravel surface with a few small olive trees, a service point and hookup at every pitch. For €12 it seemed good value, as did the option for a five hour 'service stop' with access to power, water and waste facilities @ €6. An English couple recommended the wine tasting available at 7pm at the vine yard that accommodates the Aire so we duly presented ourselves outside a smart new building set alongside the huge storage tanks, bottling plant and associated store rooms. Another English and two French couples joined us as the friendly and enthusiastic Pierre took us through the whole process. As he used French I translated what I could to the others and we all tasted various wines at their different stages. A wide range is produced from Cava through Vermouth and Sangria to a table wine and we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The vineyard is owned by a local who has a chain of boulangeries and patisseries that use the olive oil and almonds also produced on their land and the Aire is another avenue of diversification.

This morning we picked up 3 Cava, 2 Sangria and a decent red for under £40, thanked Pierre for his tour and said goodbye to the English couple who are now both retired and heading south on their first long trip in a nice Wildax van. As we were leaving a German couple in a huge van unloaded two enormous Indian motorbikes via two power assisted ramps from their cavernous garage, all very impressive but a lot of faffing around.

We have passed Zaragoza and are parked up looking across to the Bardenas Reales, an area of unusual geology we visited a couple of years go, having moved from another Aire ten miles away that had no shade and a plague of flies. A young German couple with a delightful ten month old are taking advantage of the German scheme to help young parents and hope to get down to Morocco for the winter.

Despite my looking forward to finally returning to the UK and an intention to undertake various trips to slightly more local destinations there is a feeling that we are heading the wrong way and no doubt by next September I will have new ambitions and plans. Meanwhile we have two more days to get up to Bilbao and with luck will be back in Sheffield next Thursday. Thus the next post will be from oop north....

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