Today was principally about getting to Brindisi to catch the ferry. However, we didn't have to be there until 17:00 and the journey was only one and a half hours, so we were able to have a very relaxed morning that included long showers basking in the glorious waterfall of hot water in our private bathroom without the concern of using too much water or running out of hot. When we paid the bill, it came to €17, including electricity and private bathroom – a real bargain and €1 per night cheaper than the basic, but pleasant, Camping Nameste that we stayed at the two nights before. Jane plotted a route via an abbey (Santa Maria di Cerrate) and we called in just as it was closing. The custodian kindly let me in for a quick look around the small abbey church and museum. The church (no photographs allowed) was intriguing – my guess is that it had partially collapsed and been rebuilt. On one side it had faded frescoes that had been deliberately chipped in order to roughen the surface so that plaster could be applied. The other frescoes on the same wall had almost certainly been covered with plaster. The opposite wall had random pieces of frescoes that were in excellent condition, much brighter colours but, as a whole, they didn't make any sense. I then noticed that many of the pieces were upside down. The wall had probably collapsed (earthquake?) and then reassembled without any regard for the original fresco. I guess that the intention was to plaster all of the walls and therefore there was no need to take any account of the frecoes. The museum, with more preserved frescoes and a folk museum section was also good but I only had a very short time to look at it.
This area has its own version of Truli-like dwellings, stone built without mortar and we saw many of them scattered around in the fields. They are more like the original Truli buildings, generally low to the ground and lacking the sophistication of the multi-Truli complexes. We were told that they were used as very basic farmhouses and were now either abandoned or used for storage. There was one of these buildings, together with a large covered well complex near to the abbey and almost certainly connected with it.
We stopped at a hypermarket in Lecce and stocked up with typically Italian food and drinks before continuing to the port. We wanted to top up with LPG because we knew that it would be difficult to get hold of if Greece and it had been three weeks since we had last filled up. We had seen quite a few fuel stations that stocked LPG as we travelled through the south of Italy but, of course, we didn't find any today. We arrived at the port at 15:30 to be told that we were too early to check in but we were able to ask about LPG and were directed to a garage 2 miles down the road. Unfortunately, they had run out of gas but directed us to another garage further on. This time we were successful and now had enough gas to last us approximately 50 days – enough time to find a source in Greece, we hope.
We collected our tickets and drove into the port. We had purchased 'Camping on Board' tickets that allowed us to park the motorhome on an open deck and stay in it during the voyage. At €201 (£160) it wasn't cheap but we didn't have to pay for a cabin that we would otherwise have needed for the 16 hour crossing. We were directed to park as we would have to wait for most of the vehicles to be loaded before we could take up our appointed position. I never cease to be amazed at how many lorries can be fitted into ferries like this. Large articulated lorries, some with trailers, tankers, vans, four coaches and a very few cars arrived, parked and were then called forward for loading. They all disappeared into the ferry's mouth, mostly backwards and were swallowed. As more and more arrived and disappeared, we began to think that there wouldn't be enough space for us. At last, we were called as the first of the motorhomes because we were going to Patras and the others were going on the shorter crossing to Igounamitsa. We were placed next to large holes on the side wall of the deck giving us excellent views out to sea and the other motorhomes were positioned on our inside. The last of the lorries filled the deck obscuring our view out of the other side of the ship.
We went to investigate the ferry and came across the four coach loads of 16-18 year old students finding their cabins and inspecting everyone else's. We were glad that we weren't staying in those cabins – very little sleep was going to be had! We found the 'Deck Bar', equipped with very comfortable cane furniture including a couple of cushioned settees, one of which we occupied. We sat with our first, but certainly not our last, ouzo in Greece and watched the entertainment. This consisted of a constant stream of students coming up the stairs, through the bar and out onto the deck. Random and posed photographs were taken and in one case a video camera was used to record the whole trip, which must have produced a riveting spectacle! We saw some groups many times and then there were individuals,separated from their group, obviously trying to find them again. Fascinating – Jane was in people-watching heaven!
Then it was time for the ferry to leave and we were able to watch from outside the bar as the sun set and Brindisi faded into the distance. We went back to Henrietta and had tea whilst we rocked gently with the motion of the sea.
Photos: Poppies on the way to the abbey; The Tulo-type building next to the abbey; Sunset leaving Brindisi.
This area has its own version of Truli-like dwellings, stone built without mortar and we saw many of them scattered around in the fields. They are more like the original Truli buildings, generally low to the ground and lacking the sophistication of the multi-Truli complexes. We were told that they were used as very basic farmhouses and were now either abandoned or used for storage. There was one of these buildings, together with a large covered well complex near to the abbey and almost certainly connected with it.
We stopped at a hypermarket in Lecce and stocked up with typically Italian food and drinks before continuing to the port. We wanted to top up with LPG because we knew that it would be difficult to get hold of if Greece and it had been three weeks since we had last filled up. We had seen quite a few fuel stations that stocked LPG as we travelled through the south of Italy but, of course, we didn't find any today. We arrived at the port at 15:30 to be told that we were too early to check in but we were able to ask about LPG and were directed to a garage 2 miles down the road. Unfortunately, they had run out of gas but directed us to another garage further on. This time we were successful and now had enough gas to last us approximately 50 days – enough time to find a source in Greece, we hope.
We collected our tickets and drove into the port. We had purchased 'Camping on Board' tickets that allowed us to park the motorhome on an open deck and stay in it during the voyage. At €201 (£160) it wasn't cheap but we didn't have to pay for a cabin that we would otherwise have needed for the 16 hour crossing. We were directed to park as we would have to wait for most of the vehicles to be loaded before we could take up our appointed position. I never cease to be amazed at how many lorries can be fitted into ferries like this. Large articulated lorries, some with trailers, tankers, vans, four coaches and a very few cars arrived, parked and were then called forward for loading. They all disappeared into the ferry's mouth, mostly backwards and were swallowed. As more and more arrived and disappeared, we began to think that there wouldn't be enough space for us. At last, we were called as the first of the motorhomes because we were going to Patras and the others were going on the shorter crossing to Igounamitsa. We were placed next to large holes on the side wall of the deck giving us excellent views out to sea and the other motorhomes were positioned on our inside. The last of the lorries filled the deck obscuring our view out of the other side of the ship.
We went to investigate the ferry and came across the four coach loads of 16-18 year old students finding their cabins and inspecting everyone else's. We were glad that we weren't staying in those cabins – very little sleep was going to be had! We found the 'Deck Bar', equipped with very comfortable cane furniture including a couple of cushioned settees, one of which we occupied. We sat with our first, but certainly not our last, ouzo in Greece and watched the entertainment. This consisted of a constant stream of students coming up the stairs, through the bar and out onto the deck. Random and posed photographs were taken and in one case a video camera was used to record the whole trip, which must have produced a riveting spectacle! We saw some groups many times and then there were individuals,separated from their group, obviously trying to find them again. Fascinating – Jane was in people-watching heaven!
Then it was time for the ferry to leave and we were able to watch from outside the bar as the sun set and Brindisi faded into the distance. We went back to Henrietta and had tea whilst we rocked gently with the motion of the sea.
Photos: Poppies on the way to the abbey; The Tulo-type building next to the abbey; Sunset leaving Brindisi.
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