August 7, 2019
Near Choggia
Another day of magic
The thought of the unknown ferry crossings we needed to do today made us make a very conservative choice and book here. I am so glad we did because it was a wonderful ride. The sort of ride that makes us fully realise how lucky we are to be doing this.
We didn’t hurry getting going with such a very short distance to travel. We had to travel the length of the long skinny island of Lido. It had rained heavily overnight and the place looked well polished up for another day of tourists seeking the beach and good food. The entire length of the island we were riding through was very pleasant urban development Because of its island nature there are relatively few cars on the road and the bicycle is the common means of getting around. In this environment ruled by water it seemed that many people must have boats as a means of everyday transport - all along beside the road were little canals cut in and boats moored. After about 10km we came to the end of the habitation in a scrubby looking area with a ramp for a ferry. There were no buildings or places to get tickets but there was a timetable posted. We just sat and waited the in a little while along came a couple of cars, then a bus and then 3 more cyclists. A large ferry pulled up and then we, including now 2 buses piled in for our very short ride to Santa Maria del Mare on the island of Pellestrina.
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Arriving on the island you are away from the glitz of tourism. It seems as if you are back in a less hectic time. The island is only 11km long and has a maximum width of 500m and around 5000 perminent residents. It is an island where the men are fishermen and the women lacemakers. What first hits you is the kaleidoscope of brightly coloured houses. The are almost all colours of the rainbow - red,orange, yellow, pink, lime green... the only colour that seems to be missing is blue. Immaculate Snow White washing hangs from the upper windows and on one line I counted 10pairs of white knickers. Do they have a large family or do they wash infrequently. We stopped for at a friendly bar for a coffee. She asked our age and expressed extreme surprise that two people from New Zealand aged over 80 should be cycling along her island - did she think we would be better off tucked up in a rest home? Anyway we had a good laugh with her. Fishing boats are moored all along the sea wall and there is a delicious smell of fresh fish in the air. We stopped and talked to one fisherman who was sunning himself outside his house. He said he only caught small fish the big ones were on the other side in the Adriatic. Bikes are the only practical way to travel around and we saw an amazing collection of rusty old ‘fixeys’
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All to soon we were waiting for the ferry to take us back across to Chioggia on the mainland. The colours have all faded when you get to Chioggia but the man street was alive with people and there was a market going on. We found a little cafe run by two old people and had a tasty lunch in the shade. By the time we had finished eating everything was quiet I think that the whole town was having a siesta. It was only about 1km to our hotel and we could join in.
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Tomorrow we must do some serious cycling
Today's ride: 22 km (14 miles)
Total: 630 km (391 miles)
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5 years ago