This was a pretty major operation with lots of big dump trucks rolling through. They're building a high-speed rail line between Napoli and Bari. I didn't see any signs that they had torn up the road, just that they had commandeered it for their own use. Returning to the site to beg more was on the list of things to try, but in the end, bailing was the best decision for us today.

Dodie has a rule when faced with a problem official being obstructive in a foreign language, she immediately "forgets" any language except English, bats her eyelashes and carries on. Seems to work about half the time.

That’s a peck of peppers!

Even with so much photo evidence, our theories regarding the collapse of the conveyor belt should be taken with a grain of salt!

I empathize with Dodie. I think one could avoid dog worries by sticking to larger roads, but in that case you're just trading one problem (dogs) for another (drivers).

Glad you mentioned the dog encounters, but really sorry to hear about them. We have been considering southern Italy but Dodie absolutely will not travel anywhere there may be loose dogs, so.....

Can you believe it? I took a photo of the same spot four years ago when we passed it the first time. It hadn’t collapsed yet: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/palermo2019/manfredonia/#17148_to3vq47jb2a782cj8dl13ut8dcq

Interesting! It looks like they hauled off a lot of that salt between April and October. Maybe the collapsed happened more recently than I suspected. Also, we're jealous that you got to see water buffalo! We were just talking about them today.

I recognize this spot! We biked past it going the other direction this spring. I took a photo of it from the other direction, but it didn’t register that it looks collapsed: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/primavera23/to-manfredonia-the-ride/#45701_rgysfu9vg23gis4l78zlrmiszi6

Correct! And the fruits are ripe and ready to eat!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opuntia_ficus-indica

I'm sure we would've just passed this town by had it not been for your timely tip. Thanks so much!

Phew!

Ooh, I’m so scared! Don’t hit me, I’m an old man!

Thanks! I'm vegetarian, but I appreciate the recommendation!

Holy moly, I should have just used your trip as a template for ours! I'm going to have a closer look at it, especially since we're thinking of heading further south after Bari.