Manfredonia

April 13, 2025

Sunday

After the last two days, neither of us minds in the least that today was so normal, with little to report. The ride from Margherita to Manfredonia is physically quite simple - roughly 25 miles, almost completely flat as we bike north along the Adriatic coast with the mountainous Gargano Peninsula gradually rising in the distance. Manfredonia is a large fishing port that sits right at the base of the mountains, so our destination is clearly in our sights the whole way as we approach it.

This is the third time we’ve ridden this stretch, so we’re well familiar with it. The first was in 2019 on our Kingdom of Two Sicilies tour not long after we went vagabond; and the second was just two years ago on our way north from Palermo to Calais on the first third of a previous nine month tour - the one where memorably we were left all but penniless about a week earlier when I lost my wallet and all of our debit cards and were rescued when Kelly and Jacinto Zoomed us a mountain of cash to right our ship again. - an act of generosity we’ll never forget. This was also the last tour before my life-changing ablation surgery, and my arrhythmia episodes were so severe that there were several major changes to our plan because I was unable to climb much of a slope at all without finding myself collapsed in the ground.

We had fabulous weather and were quite taken taken with this stretch two years ago. Both previous posts have many photos that interest me still and led me to looking forward to riding it once more. Today though is grey and we focus more on the fact that most of it is on a straight, narrow road that’s just a bit too busy to relax on. So we pretty much put our heads down and plow through, hardly stopping at all and arriving in thpime for lunch. If you want a better look you might look at last year’s gallery.

The salt lagoon just across from last night’s hotel. These first two miles on this path along the lagoon and the final three on the spur into Manfredonia are both delightful stretches. In between though it’s just a bit of a heads down slog.

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Monday

And just as we didn’t mind yesterday’s low-drama ride, today we really don’t mind relaxing through our first layover day. It’s a delight to start out by relaxing around the room before and after breakfast for a change rather than the rush of packing up to depart. And the timing couldn’t be better because the weather has turned south and the day is off and on wet, leaving us only a few breaks to fit activities into.

The first break comes at nearly noon. Rachael starts off for what’s planned as an eight mile OAB into the hills, a repeat of the fabulous hike she took two years ago; and I take my first chance at birding by heading out on the bike down to the waterfront and fisherman’s pier. After Rachael’s doubled back into town we meet up and head move on to the marina for lunch before retreating to the room before another round of showers sets in.

Rachael started her walk first but I quickly overtook her. A quarter mile down the road she caught up to me, sneaking up behind my back while I’m checking out the birds.

And she’s off, but not as fast as it would look from this shot because it’s one she took.

#130: Pygmy cormorant, a lifetime first. I wasn’t even aware this was a species before studying the photo.

On the fisherman’s pier, obviously still an active place.

Looking out to the lighthouses at the mouth of the harbor.

A toast to a tour on the upturn. I generously offered half of my Heineken 0.0, but it came back unquaffed as soon as the photoshoot ended.

Another two hour break from the showers opened up in late afternoon, just long enough for me to backtrack the last three miles of yesterday’s ride into town. I was especially eager to explore this road because last year I saw a squacco heron here, the only time I’ve ever seen this species. I wasn’t lucky enough to see one again today, but what I did see was even better a loose group of about a half a dozen birds that reminded me of falcons, but not of any I remember seeing before from the way that they would converge at the crowns of trees, fly off and soar aloft again, and then reconverge. And although their coloration resembled the kestrels I’m familiar with, that seemed off too. It wasn’t until later when I researched it that I discovered that this too was a lifetime first for me, the lesser kestrel. Lesser kestrels are generally similar in appearance to European and American kestrels, their characteristic grouping behavior is distinct.

So that makes a pretty remarkable first day of birding in Europe, with two lifetime firsts, neither of which I was even aware of as a species before. And after these last three positive days we’ re feeling upbeat and finally beyond the grip of this year’s chaotic arrival and departure.

#132: Lesser kestrel. Another lifetime first and a bird I didn’t know of. Pretty great start!

A pair of them. Their range map covers the southern margin of the western Mediterranean, all the way from Portugal to Turkey and beyond; so it’s likely that I’ve seen them before and misidentified them because I didn’t have a powerful enough camera to bring them in closer.

#133: Wood pigeon. Also added to the list today but not photographed: rock pigeon, Eurasian collared dove, Eurasian coot, jackdaw.

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 100 miles (161 km)

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Kelly IniguezA satisfying day all around!
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4 days ago

Patrick O'HaraSounds like a pretty nice day! Nice one!
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4 days ago

Lyle McLeodGreat to see that you’re back on track. Hope this trend continues.
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3 days ago