Matera - the start - Wheelin' Round the Heel

October 7, 2024

Matera - the start

After a 22 hour trip to get here, we arrived last night in Matera. We were rather exhausted but excited about getting the trip started.

Marjory waiting on luggage, helmets at the ready.

It was rather pleasant though, that we did not have to put the bikes together, pump tires, and find our way to a hotel. Instead a driver outside the sliding doors had our name on a card....and whisked us to Matera.

Today was a rest day, and began with an orientation and bike fitting from Antonio from Puglia Bicycles. The bikes are Cube Trekking bikes, and seem well appointed (low gearing, yay! says Marjory). Then we are out to explore the town.

It looks a bit daunting, but we were determined to see the church built into the rock which was....somewhere out there. First we had to enter the rabbit warren of stairs.

And you know what comes after going downstairs, right?

These stairs wrapped around and between all the residences that are built out of this limestone. I bet it is hot during the summer months, but it was a great temp now - about 20 C, even though the sun was intense.

Finally, we find the church built into the rock. Apparently the inside is not worth much, but the outside looks pretty cool.

From the church, you can see the canyon that edges the town, and our destination back to the hotel.

We then needed to find a our way back, which wended its way through a plethora of restaurants on the streets.

These entrances look like residences, but they are just pathways through town.

Sometimes we found ourselves going down (oh no!) and not up, but eventually there would be path heading up. Lots of options at each turn.

There were some pretty strange looking entrances to peoples' houses, but I guess when you live in a place where the stone was carved out centuries ago, you make do. At least the stairs look new.

Can you imagine getting a sofa delivered here.

We did finally find a pleasant restaurant, and of course finished it with a gelato stop. Strangely, most of the gelato shops are now "auto gelato" places. Maybe they have difficulties finding employees now too? We, however, were served by a human and had wonderful Italian gelato.

Now, fighting jet lag, we asked how early we can go to dinner. The receptionist said "no problem, many places are open at 7:30 "- a pause - "or maybe 8 at the latest". Can we make it?

Tomorrow we start riding and head to Castellaneta. See you there!

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Kelly IniguezWhat is the name of the company you contracted with? Inquiring minds would like to know!
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2 months ago

Patrick ParnoPuglia Cycling. I also contacted Basilica biking, but they didn't get back to me after a couple of questions. They were recommended by friends but seem happier to deal with set tours.
In contrast, Puglia were eager to assist with our custom tour and had no trouble setting up the route. They lend you a phone with the route on it, every day set out with restaurant recommendations on the route. Very impressive. The gps takes you straight to the next hotel. Nice.
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2 months ago