May 20, 2024
Day 11 - Ostuni to Monopoli
With visits to Locorotondo and Alberobello
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Today was a tougher day than the route planner expected. It had a lot of up and down. And it was pretty hot today - in the high 20’s. All of that made for a challenging but fun day.
The “Panta Rei” room came with breakfast fixings, so we breakfasted in the room. We finally tore ourselves away around 1015, ferrying the bike and the bags down 2 flights of unusually high stairs. We rolled the bike out of town on the only route we could find that didn’t have stairs.
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A bit of quick navigation and we were out of town onto really empty roads. The roads were beautiful (if you ignored the road surface). Rock walls along the edges, olive and almond trees in the fields, and white houses and trulli dotting the countryside. Almost no car traffic made for great riding.
There was a lot of up and down, and some of the hills tested us a bit. But we really enjoyed the riding. Just beautiful countryside on empty roads. And the trulli! Robin’s camera got a workout.
We were loving the cycling despite the up and downs and twisting roads. But we felt like we needed a break when we reached Cisternino, where it looked like a weekly street market was creating a lively scene.
We walked up into the old town and had drinks and a small shared sandwich while we watched the e-bike tourists come and go from the small Piazza Vittorio Emanuele.
Back on the bike and out once more into the beautiful countryside. It was only 10km more to Locorotondo, where we took our lunch break, eating a dynamite panino and a foccacio proudly made with local ingredients at “U PZZU'L”.
Back again on the road, Robin’s camera was working overtime as the number of trulli increased. We were headed for the center of all that is trulli - Alberobello. We were planning a gelato stop.
When we got to Alberobello, though, it was a little off-putting. We came out of the countryside into what looked like a tourist trap. Full of tourists, busily snapping pictures and shouting at each other in a range of languages. The trulli village was impressive, but we contented ourselves with walking through part of it. We were happier by ourselves on the road.
We rode out of Alberobello, past some really cool trulli that were not part of the theme park. Real people seem to live real lives in these houses.
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We had a nice downhill run outside of Alberobello as we turned toward the sea. We had one steep climb to negotiate, which we walked most of. It hit 15% on our Wahoos and we were pretty tired.
Then we had the most beautiful long run down to sea level on beautiful newly-laid pavement. What a treat! The Wahoos say we hit 55km on the descent. Don’t tell Robin!
A run down to the beach, a left turn, and we were on the home stretch.
Our Wahoos counted 16 climbs today but Robin wants credit for at least 20. There was a lot of up and down and we were pretty cooked by the time we rolled into the old town of Monopoli.
Our accommodation, “Suite 31”, is beautiful. The owner was waiting for us (we were 45 minutes later than we predicted). She checked us in and disappeared in a hurry. We cleaned up and did our usual walkabout. Robin picked a “pinsa” restaurant called “Pinsotti” for dinner and we sampled the house specialty.
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5 months ago
After dinner, we ambled home through the ancient streets of Monopoli. It was a warm evening with a light fresh wind. What a beautiful place!
Tomorrow is our last day of cycling! It’s hard to believe it’s coming to an end!
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 606 km (376 miles)
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| Comment on this entry | Comment | 6 |
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I'm really enjoying reading about your adventures!
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