May 15, 2024
Day 6 - Porto Cesareo to Gallipoli
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A much better day, despite no respite from the wind.
We ate breakfast at a restaurant across the street from “Bonaventura” using the coupons we were given. The breakfast was pretty meagre, so Rich had to supplement with some out-of-pocket spending. We needed more fuel than they were providing.
We rolled off around 1015, never having seen the keeper of the B&B. Our route took us further south along the coast, directly into the wind. Despite the challenge, we were in good spirits. We stopped at 10k to re-lubricate the bike’s drive chain since there were some strange noises. Success - no further problems.
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At around 12k, we turned inland to visit Nardò. A quick, not-too-steep climb away from the beach put us up on a plateau and with the wind at our side, we made good progress. As we entered town, we stopped at a supermarket for some supplies and a cash machine for some other supplies.
Fully supplied, we wound our way to the center of the old town, finding some amazing church fronts and attractive cafes.
As Robin was photographing the chiesa, Rich was engaged by a charming local who was interested in the bike and our tour. In Italian. Being forced to speak Italian is the best thing possible for Rich. He’s carrying a 900+ day streak on Duolingo in Italian, but never gets the chance to speak it.
After a nice conversation, which exceeded the limits of Rich’s vocabulary several times, we ambled off to the Cafe Parigi, where we ordered some drinks and, at the suggestion of the lovely waitress, some bruschetta. As we were sitting waiting for our drinks, the nice local guy came by on a bicycle and gave us 2 gifts - bookmarks that he has made himself from his own paintings of the architectur of Nardò and Lecce. What a sweet gift!
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And the bruschetta were really something special!
After finishing our early snack, we wandered around Nardò checking out the local architecture.
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We exited town to be greeted by more horrendous roads.
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2 weeks ago
But we persevered and eventually returned to the coast. Following more bad roads, we approached Gallipoli along the coast.
With a few navigational miscues, we eventually found our way to the heart of the old town of Gallipoli. We were about an hour and 20 minutes too early to check in, so spritzes and snacks were required.
We checked in to our B&B, “Palazzo Zacà”, along with 4 cycle tourists on e-bikes that arrived right with us. The B&B is really set up for bicycles. All 5 bicycles were easily stored in a large, covered, central courtyard.
After cleaning up, we went out for more nosing around. We checked out a few of the old churches and enjoyed walking aimlessly through the old streets. Gallipoli has the feel of a really ancient place. We spent a long time walking along the seawall, too.
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Dinner was pizzas at “La Corte | Palazzo Grumesi”. Nicely prepared pizzas, although Robin’s was a little lacking in flavor (yellow tomato sauce instead of red). Rich’s Diavola with extra arugula was very, very good.
Tomorrow the winds are supposed to peak at 55km/hr. Rich is feverishly trying to figure out an alternate route that will keep us away from the coast and give us some shelter.
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 305 km (189 miles)
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