Lecce to Ostuni

November 25, 2023

Wet, windy, and cold

Despite the comfort of my apartment, I woke up early today. There was a clock chiming every 15 min all night long, longer on the hour and half hour than on the quarter hours. It wasn’t inside my apartment, but nearby. Who can live with that? It’d drive me mad.

When I looked outside, I could see blue sky. What??? Could I have made it to a Ostuni before the rain started? It was too late to change my mind. And the forecast still looked terrible. Not wanting to arrive in Ostuni much before my check-in time, I booked a train for 2:20 pm.

I went for a short walking tour under now grey skies. I saw the ornate front of the basilica and had a peak at the Roman amphitheatre that’s undergoing some work. Then a couple of chores - I went to the grocery store to pick up lunch supplies for tomorrow and Monday, and I thought I’d better buy myself an umbrella for walking to the train station today. Walking will be more pleasant than biking, I think, given the promised rain and wind. It also looks like Rome might be rainy when I get there, and I want to do more exploring on foot. I found a nice cheap umbrella.

I rushed back from the grocery store to my apartment to make the 10 am check-out time. Pouring rain started about 9:58 am. It figures. My place was booked for tonight, so no late checkout was allowed.

Thunder and lightening started as I walked through the old town. The thunder didn’t last long. But, oh my, the rain! I learned that the storm drainage system in cities that are hundreds of years old involve water running deep in the streets. I stopped at the first cafe I saw, with soaked feet and legs, but a dry upper body. An opportunistic wandering salesman was offering up umbrellas for sale. Smart guy.

I lingered over my cappuccino and cornetto (filled with both custard and nutella!), but left when I got cold because the cafe door was open. My train wasn’t scheduled for a few more hours, but I hoped the railway station was warm.

I don’t know how long the walk to the train station took. Maybe 30 minutes? Since I had an umbrella in one hand, and was steering my bike with the other, I had to stop every time I wanted to look at the map on my phone. It was super windy, and my umbrella went inside-out a few times. It’s still functional though. My lower body and feet got soaked again. The station was busy, and of course all the doors were propped open. I was glad to put on my puffy coat. The temperature was 12 C at that point. I switched to an earlier train, carted my bike down and up the stairs to my platform and waited briefly outdoors shivering before realizing that my train was sitting right in front of me. It originates from Lecce, so was sitting there 30 minutes early. One bit of train news - I finally mastered validating my train ticket electronically, which is a good thing, since a conductor actually came through the car to check. I noticed a guy sleeping in my train car who I think was homeless. The train must’ve been a nice warm refuge for him on a day of such awful weather. The conductor didn’t ask to see his ticket.

The Roman amphitheatre of Lecce. It was once completely buried, and was rediscovered in the 20th century when they went to build a bank.

The view from my cafe seat. Shut the damn door!

Pretty, but not a great looking radar for a bike ride.

My host in Ostuni graciously allowed early check-in, responding that in weather like this, he’d even invite Osama bin Laden indoors. I dunno about that one.

I saw lots of dead and dying olive trees from the train. And very soggy fields. Plus solar farms that didn’t produce many kilowatts today. After a 50 minute train ride to Ostuni, I disembarked just as a nasty downpour started. I waited it out.

Ostuni is a classic European walled town on a hill. It was 3 km straight up from the train station, with water running down the streets. Ostuni looks like a cool little spot - it’s 8 km inland, but since it’s up high, you can see the ocean. I didn’t explore much, first because of the afternoon rain, then when the rain stopped it was dark and only 6 C with strong winds. Maybe I’ll have a better look in the morning.

Since Ostuni is on a hill, people have thought it to be a great place to live for a very long time, starting with the Neanderthals. It’s been occupied by all the usual suspects, like the Greeks, Romans, the post-Roman ‘barbarians’, and later the Spanish. The Normans were here at one point too. Hannibal sacked it during the Punic Wars. I wonder if he still had his elephants then. At some point all the buildings were whitewashed, so Ostuni has a bit of a white villages of Andalucia feeling.

My apartment is small, but newly renovated and a really great rental spot, with a very good heating system and a hobbit-like entrance to the kitchen. There are no windows though. It looks like a best-case scenario of what happens when people buy a long abandoned Italian building and fix it up. It has exposed brickwork on the arched ceiling. The only thing I don’t like is the tricky lock, which needs wiggling to get around its two turns. Like most Italian doors I’ve encountered, you lock it from both the outside and inside with the same key. That’s molto illegal in Canada, because of the potential for people not being able to escape a fire if the door has been locked from the inside. I leave the key in the inside lock, and try not to think about fires or the multiple mentions of earthquakes on the interpretive signs…

Before the sun set, I got a look at the town hall, which is in a former monastery built in the 1300’s.

My first look at Ostuni, and the start of my 3 km ride. Note the river running down the side of the road. 💦

It’s a nice looking place. Not many people out and about today though.

Ostuni city hall is in a former monastery.

Dinner didn’t turn out as planned. I had noticed a restaurant open at 5 pm when I did my loop around town. I thought it must be some unusual Saturday deal where it stayed open all afternoon and evening. When I went back at 7 pm, it was dark and locked up tight. And another restaurant across the piazza wasn’t opening until 7:30. I didn’t feel like waiting 30 minutes, so I got a very good takeout pizza from a nearby spot instead.

My takeaways today: I’m so glad I didn’t bike. And the umbrella was the best 12 euros I’ve ever spent.

Today's ride: 3 km (2 miles)
Total: 1,106 km (687 miles)

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