As fate would have it, the weather took a turn. Daytime temperatures dropped from the mid-twenties to the high teens, and with the cooler air came adverse conditions. We had torrential rain, and in a town built on an incline, that quickly became a problem. The roads turned into fast-flowing streams, and I now understand why the curbs are so unusually high.
After the rain came strong winds, along with the occasional sharp shower. Unfortunately, it also meant we had to give up our daily swims. Still, we can’t really complain. We haven’t been grounded too often on this trip.
We had planned a weekend visit to Matera, followed by a bike ride inland the next day. We took the train to Bari, but discovered that our connecting bus to Matera wasn’t at the location we had been given. As we made our way to where it should have been, we spotted the bus passing us in the opposite direction. It was another case of poor directions, and we missed it.
So we found ourselves with an unexpected day in Bari, which turned out to be surprisingly rewarding. At first glance, it looks like a fairly standard urban centre. In fact, it is the largest city and metropolitan area on the Adriatic. But if you scratch the surface, there’s a lot more to it. The city was once a prosperous trading port, and signs of that history are easy to spot.
There’s a castle near the entrance to the old town, which itself feels more like a maze than a city centre. Towering above the sunken streets are tall Venetian buildings that add real character. And as with much of this Italian trip, there was a fair amount of walking involved. We don’t mind that. We enjoy wandering and watching the world go by. To add to the pleasure, the sun reappeared, even if the air remained cold.
We found a good spot for lunch before returning to Monopoli. We weren’t too disappointed. Puglia will still be here next time.
The following day was meant to be for cycling, but the wind and rain had other ideas. That pattern continued through the rest of our stay. Then, on the day we were due to fly out, the weather cleared completely. The sky was blue, the sea was calm, and the temperature climbed again. Typical. Still, it gave us a few more reasons to return.
We made it to the airport in Bari with time to spare, and after an hour’s delay, we were finally on our way to Barcelona. The flight took just over two hours, and we landed about 7:30pm.
There were no direct flights to San Sebastián, so Barcelona was the best option for getting into Spain on the 9th October. After collecting our luggage, we picked up the hire car and began our journey north. It would be around 560 kilometres to our destination.
Rain was falling heavily as we left Barcelona, but after an hour or so into our journey, it began to ease. Since we were driving at night, there wasn’t much to see, apart from the long line of lorries. They came in all shapes and sizes but were, to their credit, very respectful of other drivers.
Just under five hours later, and shortly after half past one in the morning, we finally arrived at our hotel, checked in and promptly collapsed into bed.
Dream Chasers 