May 17, 2024
Day 8 - Santa Maria di Leuca to Otranto
A perfect cycling day to follow yesterday’s disaster
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Puglia redeemed itself today. After yesterday’s wind-blown debacle, we had an absolutely magnificent cycling day. Blue skies, a moderate tail wind, almost no traffic, mostly well-maintained roads and beautiful vistas throughout the day. And we got a gelato at the end!
Breakfast wasn’t included in our night at Camere Assud, but we had access to the coffee machine and teapot, so we breakfasted on the oat bars we always carry along with us.
We rolled off at about 1015, which is becoming a habit with us. We swooped down to the beach, and were instantly met with a stiff climb up to the lighthouse plaza that marks the tip of Puglia. Pictures were required.
Up to now, we’ve only seen 5 other touring cyclists. During today’s ride, we saw another 7 or 8, plus more than 30 day or organized tour riders. We’ve definitely hit the sweet spot of Puglia cycling. The views and cycling explain why.
Even the architecture improved. The most common building material here seems to be the local stone. They build these round structures out of them, and basically use them for everything else. From the looks of things, they won’t be running out of rock around here anytime soon.
The route was up and down, with 11 climbs according to our Wahoos and 15 according to Robin. But the views kept our minds off the climbing. We also had a 20km tailwind, which helped a bunch.
We stopped for lunch in Castro Marina, and had amazing paninis on a piazza overlooking the sea at McPuccia. There were a lot of other cyclists in the piazza, eating and drinking. Nice to have company for a change!
After lunch, there were a couple of climbs where we were going about the same speed as the wind, which made things a little hot. But every time we stopped, the refreshing breeze quickly cooled us down.
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The run into Otranto was really fun. Great road surfaces, an almost flat road, and a tailwind. We dropped into our highest gear and motored to the finish line.
Otranto reminds us of the Cité in Carcassonne. It looks like an old military facility with houses and shops snugly hidden behind the walls and bastions.
Our first order of business was to get a gelato. Mission accomplished at the not-very-Italian-named “Natural Ice Cream & Delight”. Fondente and Otranto flavors for Robin, Fior de Latte and Caffe for Rich. Thank you, Puglia!
Our accommodation is at the “Palazzo de Mori”, where they happily put Schnooks into a locked courtyard. The room is delightful, and they even have an area in the sun equipped with drying racks for laundry. We’re taking advantage of that to wash and dry almost everything we’re carrying. It’s been 9 days that we’ve been riding so far, and the bike clothing was really needing a refresh.
After cleaning up, we went out to explore Otranto. The old city is tiny - you can walk across it in 10 minutes. We had fun exploring the twisty streets and popped into the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata. A very strange place - Romanesque architecture with Roman-looking mosaic floors and a chapel with a large collection of human bones arranged in “artistic” patterns.
The Aragonese Fortress was closed by the time we got there, so we contented ourselves with looking at it from the outside.
Dinner was at “Balconcina d’Oriente” and was very good. Pork in plum sauce for Robin, roast chicken and veggies for Rich. A nice burratta appetizer to start, and 1/2 litre of the house red wine. We were very happy.
On the way back to the B&B, we bought some crackers and sodas and spent some time on the B&B patio overlooking the harbor. Lovely lights and not much wind. It was great until the mosquitos drove us back to our room.
Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 412 km (256 miles)
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