From: Bari

To: Molfetta

Miles: 17

Total: 383

We went to eat at a nice restaurant in Bari last night and John had a pistachio, ham and cheese pizza. I had a bite and it was very tasty. I might have to try to make that back at home.

After the best night of sleep I have had since I left the states we had a good breakfast and hit the road to Molfetta. It took a while to get out of Bari since it was a large city and then we were in the surrounding suburbs. We again were able to spend a large portion of today’s walk on a nice bike path away from traffic.

Around lunchtime we went though a town and planned to grab lunch there, but never saw anyplace that we were interested in. Unfortunately we didn’t get to another town until we were an hour and a half from our destination at 1 PM. We were both pretty hungry by then but as we walked through town most of the cafes and restaurants were closed. We finally found a place near the center of town by a big plaza. It was a nice Italian restaurant that specialized in seafood.

That’s when our lack of understanding Italian and the waitresses misinterpretation of English got the best of both of us. John ordered a cheese ravioli without mushrooms. I asked her about the same dish and whether she recommended that or the fried seafood plate with french fries. She explained the best she could in English about both and I told her I just wanted the fried seafood.

When the food came out John and I both got cheese ravioli with artichoke hearts, with no mushrooms on either plate. I really loved the dish because I’m a big artichoke fan. John is not such a big fan of artichokes, but enjoyed the ravioli.

I thought we were done, but they brought more plates and a stand for more food. I realized then that I was going to get the fried seafood plate too. John was full and isn’t really a big seafood fan plus they had already brought us bread, prosciutto and fresh ricotta cheese as an appetizer right after we sat down. The appetizer and ravioli would’ve been plenty for me but of course to be polite I ate all the fried seafood. (Actually I ate all the fried seafood because it was really good.) So I was stuffed and ate twice as much for lunch that I wanted to but the food was wonderful.

Lunch took about an hour so we hit the road and got to our place for the evening around 3:30 PM. It is a Bed and Breakfast right along the water in town. The hotels in town were either really expensive or rated poorly so we took a chance on this B&B.

When we arrived there was no one around but there was a phone number on the door. We called and the lady answered and said she would be there in about 20 minutes after picking up her kids from school. When they arrived she had two young boys maybe three and five years old. The younger son came in with us and was really excited to meet us. He gave John and I a piece of candy from the candy jar on the desk. Then he went into my room and grabbed a bag of snacks and opened it, ate one, and then gave me the rest of the bag. He then grabbed a glass from my room and acted like he was drinking out of it. He was really a cute kid but mom wasn’t too excited about him doing all those things.

The B&B is right on the water in the old part of the city. It almost looks like it’s built into a wall. Right next to it is an old cathedral. Around the corner there were two Coast Guard cutters and there are lots of small cafés and businesses in the immediate area. On the inside the rooms are really nice and modern so again John and I found a great place for the night.

It was our last day of walking along he Adriatic Sea before turning inland so we are happy to spend our last day here overlooking the coast. We’re heading off to eat around seven although I really don’t need anything to eat after my huge lunch. Have a great day and I hope you get a chance to continue reading our journal. Thanks!

From:  San Vito

To:  Bari

Total:  366

Miles:  20

Greetings from Bari, Italy. Today’s walk was fairly straightforward, but had its share of little irritants that we have learned to just let slip right off our backs. 

The day started in San Vito with breakfast at our hotel. We hit the road about 8:30 with 20 miles ahead of us to Bari. The route was straight up the coastline, about half of it along the freeway service road; the rest along some scenic coastal roads and even a couple of long bicycle paths. We like the bike paths because they keep us separated from the automobile traffic. 

About halfway into the day we stopped for lunch at a gas station that had an attached cafe.   While there we met three people dressed in what Dave and I thought were bicycling clothes. I took the opportunity to ask one of the guys if they were from Bari and did they know of an outdoor store where I could perhaps get some new shoes. They showed us on our phones where there was a store along our route that might have what I needed. You might wonder why I already need new shoes after only 366 miles. I normally can get 600-700 miles out of a pair. Unfortunately, I made a bad decision before I left home to buy my normal hiking shoes, except in a waterproof version. It’s the first time I’ve done this, and will now be the last. Because these shoes don’t let wetness in, they also don’t let wetness out. I’ve had blister problems because my shoes are not “breathing.”  Luckily, Dave brought an extra pair of shoes just my size that are not waterproof, so I’m wearing them until I can buy a new pair. I really need to get that taken care of or else Dave will wear out his current shoes and then need his new pair to wear himself.  Unfortunately, the store the guy at lunch recommended did not have what I needed. I’ll keep looking. 

Right after our lunch break, the skies started to darken. While there was no rain in the forecast, it started to come a shower. We can walk OK in a light shower, but if it comes a steady rain, we have to get somewhere and get our rain gear on pronto. This time it started to come down pretty heavy.  We saw an abandoned building ahead and all but sprinted to get under cover before we got drenched. After suiting up and waiting another 15-20 minutes for the heavy stuff to move through, we headed back out. Five minutes later the sun was out. So at the next convenient place, we stopped again and took off the rain gear. None of this really matters in the big scheme of things; it’s just a pain. 

So after all this stopping and starting, we finally got into Bari around 4:00. Bari is the largest Italian city on the Adriatic coast. With an area population of 1.3 million, it is also a Provincial capital. We found a nice little boutique hotel in the city center and will head out for some dinner when the restaurants open around 8:00 PM. Tomorrow we may try another outdoor store for my shoes as we leave town headed further up the coast. So that’s about all for Day 22. We’re still running a day ahead and owe ourselves a day off soon. We’re waiting for a day with some real rain to take a rest.  Thanks for following along. 

From: Fasano

To: San Vito (South of Bari, Italy, not to be confused with San Vito dei Normanni near Brindisi)

Miles: 17

Total: 346

Today started off with another great breakfast at the hotel. It was a sunny and warm day so in less than a mile I had my jacket off and was walking in short sleeves.

Today’s walk was mainly through urban areas. The towns and cities in Italy so far are clean and the houses and business appear well constructed. Instead of 30-40 year old Mazda and Toyota trucks that we saw the farmers use in Greece, we mainly see nice Mercedes, BMW and Alpha Romeo cars and SUVs.

We came across a large Remote Contol car racetrack where men were racing some really fast and probably expensive cars. (The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys). It was neat to see. I’m sure John will post a video of it.

We also saw some trulli houses with conical roofs. My friend John Compton told me to be on the lookout for them. They are very unique. They date back to at least the 14th Century. Here is a link that explains more about them: http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/apulia/poi/the-history-of-alberobellos-trulli.html

We stopped at a nice cafe in Monopoli for lunch that had lots of fresh pasteries and sandwiches but I enjoyed their version of “Piggies in a Blanket”, which was basically a breakfast sausage in small croissants.

Next we came to the town of Polignano a Mare. The town was set stunningly on cliffs overlooking the Adriatic Sea. The roads downtown were closed to vehicles and the townspeople were out enjoying the sunny day at shops and cafes. The people in the town as well as the rest of Italy have been very friendly.

It was only a few more miles to San Vito, our town for the night. Our hotel sits just outside of town by about a mile and a half. When we walked up to it there were some large gates and they were closed. We were again concerned that we picked a hotel that was closed for the winter. There was a call box and as soon as we pushed it someone answered. That was a relief! The hotel is a bit dated but the rooms are nice and big. Unfortunately the restaurant is closed for the winter so we will have to head into town by taxi to grab dinner tonight, but they will have breakfast for us in the morning. We’re hoping for many more sunny days like today.

From:  Torre Santa Sabina

To :  Fasano

Miles:  22

Total:  329

Today was one of those typical days you get when you’re backpacking like Dave and I. Basically you never know what the day will bring so you just go with it. 

First, the day started with the most amazing breakfast. As is typical in these foreign hotels, breakfast is included. But that can be very wide ranging from just some bread, cereal and coffee or juice to a full spread that you could not possibly do justice to. This morning, Dave and I were the only guests in the dining room and the hotel owner just kept bringing out all this food. We ate all we could hold but there was just too much for two people. 

Next, you’ll remember in yesterday’s post that the hotel owner’s “mama” was going to do our laundry last night and we could get it at breakfast this morning. While we were eating, I noticed our clothes sitting in two bags on a nearby table.  After we had filled up on breakfast, we decided to sort through the laundry so we could go pack our backpacks before checking out. While doing this sorting, I noticed I had one sock missing. To most of you that wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But I only have four pair of socks.  And like you, if you lose one sock, you may as well lose two socks. So I was about to be down 25% of my socks. I informed the hotel owner and he showed great concern. He was obviously as concerned about my missing sock as I was. After all, his mama’s reputation was at stake here.  So he promised to find my sock. So we went on up to pack and would check on the missing sock a few minutes later when we checked out. When I came back down to the lobby all packed up and ready to go, still no sock. He asked me to give him five more minutes. Sure enough, five minutes later up drives a man who came into the lobby grinning and holding up my sock. I was happy, the owner was happy, and mama was happy.  Somehow the missing sock caper had been solved. 

We spent the first hour of this cool, windy day walking along the service road of Italy’s version of an Interstate Highway. Then we turned onto a more rural road that immediately headed into olive groves. The road was lined with low rock walls on both sides. After walking several miles along this winding, one lane road through many olive groves, we happened upon a sign that gave a description of the road. Known as The Trojan Way, it was part of a road system built during ancient Roman times around 244 B.C..  It is also part of a series of bicycle trails used for races in Italy similar to the Tour de France. Unfortunately, it appeared the ancient Romans weren’t so concerned about their roads draining off after rains because we spent part of our day going around very large pools of water that went from wall-to-wall across the road. Sometimes we could hug the edge of the wall and get by, but other times we had to scale the wall and find our way through the olive grove to get around “city lake.”  

Finally we found our way off The Trojan Way and back onto a two lane main highway for the last seven miles of our day. Now we’re at a most amazing Bed & Breakfast in the town of Fasano. When we got to the B&B, it was locked. However, we were able to get someone’s attention on the intercom and despite the fact that the owner doesn’t speak a word of English, his teenage son was able to accommodate us by using his cell phone and a language translation program on the internet to get us taken care of. 

So after a long, cool, and windy 22 mile day, all is good with the world in Fasano, Italy. We can’t wait to see what kind of excitement we can get into tomorrow. 

Eight hour ferry ride from Igoumenitsa to Brindisi starting at midnight

From: Brindisi

To: Torre Santa Sabina

Miles: 18

Total: 307

After sitting in the Ferry terminal most of the evening, we finally boarded the ferry a little after 10:30 PM. As we were going up to security we saw people were putting their bags through the scanner and walking through the metal detector, so we assumed we would as well. When we showed the security screener our tickets and US passports she just waved us around the security screening systems. It was nice not to have to open up our backpacks and go through everything with the security people.

It took a few minutes to actually board while we waited on the last trucks to pull off the ferry that were arriving from Brindisi. There wasn’t a lot of direction on what to do, but when we entered the ferry there was a reception desk. When we showed the guys at the reception desk our ticket they were excited to take us to the Vasco De Gama suite. It was a great suite with a living room, bedroom and bathroom with a shower. After walking that day we were very happy to have the nice room, but there was only one double bed although there was a large couch. I told John the couch was perfectly fine for me. I slept on plenty of beds or cots in my time in the Air Force much smaller than that and the couch probably has more room that I do most nights with our labrador Maggie sleeping in the bed between Lisa and I. The receptionist brought extra sheets and blankets and it was nice and comfortable.

The ferry trip was mostly smooth and we both slept fairly well. We arrived in Brindisi a little past eight but it was probably closer to 9 am when we disembarked. Again, there was not a lot of direction of what to do so John and I just walked off toward what appeared to be a terminal building. When we got to the terminal building there were some uniformed customs agents/police, but they just waved us right through and we were in Italy!

It was raining lightly as we made our way downtown. I had my first fall of the trip, slipping on an old poster that was lying on the sidewalk. Other than embarrassing myself and scraping up my hand a little bit I was fine. It won’t be my last fall in over 2300 miles I’m sure.

Our morning in Brindisi was a very fruitful. We stopped at a Vodafone store and got new Italian Sim cards for our phones. We hoped to use our Greek Sim cards but it was just too much trouble. We also stopped by the bank and post office to exchange currency and restock our euros. We dropped by a pharmacy as well and got some Band-Aids for the scrapes on my hand and for any future blisters we may get.

On the way out of town we were starving as we hadn’t eaten since the night before and we stopped at a small Italian café. The food was really good. We both had a baked pasta dish.

The downside of getting things done downtown meant that we didn’t get started walking out of Brindisi until almost noon and we had over 5 hours to walk. Luckily the walking was easy with almost no hills. When we arrived in our town for the night I was a bit concerned it was going to be another one of those ghost towns along the beach. I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the hotel and walked in and it was open. The rooms are very nice as well as the receptionist. I believe he may actually be the owner. John asked him if there’s a place to do laundry and instead his mom is going to do it for us tonight and have it ready for us in the morning. You can’t ask for more hospitality and it’s exactly what we needed. For dinner I think we found the only place open in town, but again the food was great. It was a wonderful first day in Italy and we can’t wait for the ones ahead.

From:  Margarita

To:  Igoumanitsa

Miles:  15

Total:  289

Today was our last day in Greece.  The walk was very enjoyable with good roads, good weather except one brief shower, and a descent of about 1000 feet down to the sea port in Igoumanitsa. 

After a weather day off yesterday, we woke this morning to clear skies above a thin layer of fog and temps in the high 30s. We bought some pastries yesterday so after eating breakfast in our apartment, we were out the door at 8:00.  We walked about two hours and decided to shed some layers of clothing as the temperatures warmed up. We had not walked five minutes after taking off our jackets when it started to rain. Nothing heavy but enough that we stopped again and put our rain gear and pack covers on. That shower lasted about ten minutes.  So after it stopped raining, we stopped again and took the rain gear back off.  After a quick break at a gas station for a snack, we headed down hill all the way to the port. It was a breeze. After all our climbing the last few days we gave it all back in two hours. 

After getting to the dock in Igoumanitsa we checked in at the ferry ticket counter to ensure they had our reservation. They did so we then had to find something to do for 10 hours before the ferry leaves tonight at 11:59 to take us to Brindisi, Italy.  Dave reserved us a twin berth cabin so we can get some sleep during the nine hour ferry ride across the Adriatic Sea. When we get to Brindisi around 9:00 Friday morning we plan to walk on down the road about 18 miles. 

Our 289 mile walk across Greece has been more than we ever imagined. The scenery has been amazing, the food very good, and even the places we’ve found to spend our nights have been better than expected.  And the people here have been very friendly and accommodating.  We’ve walked 16 of the 18 days we’ve been here and averaged a little over 18 miles/day. My feet have been sore most of the way but are on the mend. Dave hasn’t had any blister problems but has been understanding when I’ve slowed us down once or twice. Overall, we’re looking very much forward to getting to Italy and it’s 845 miles from bottom to top, but who’s counting?  So it’s off to the ferry boat now. We’ll post again from Italy tomorrow. Thanks for reading. 

From: Margariti

To: Margariti

Miles: 0

Total: 274

After looking at the forecast this morning and weighing all the pluses and minuses of walking or not walking, we decided to stay put in this small town. In hindsight it looks like we made the right decision. It has been raining almost all day and there is supposed to be heavier rain later today.

It is a great place to take a day off. The apartment is really spacious with heated floors which keep your feet nice and warm and the overall temperature in the apartment is very comfortable.

Our biggest concern was finding food for today but we found our guardian angel here in town. The lady we are renting the apartment from was kind enough to drive us into town during the rain and showed us the restaurants in town as well as the mini markets where we could buy additional food.

She told us of one café that made pizza. If you just looked at it from the outside there’s no way you would’ve expected the place to make any hot food, including pizza. We decided to try that place and it turned out to be really good. John and I both got a pizza and have leftovers for tonight. We also went to a bakery and picked up some pastries as well as a mini market for additional groceries.

After we finished eating we didn’t really want to walk back to the apartment in the rain with our groceries and leftover pizza so we asked the lady at the restaurant if she knew the lady renting the apartment to us, and if she could call her to give us a ride back. They were both already a step ahead of us and our friend at the apartment was just waiting for a call from the restaurant to pick us up. We tried to offer extra money to the lady for running us into town and back as well as showing us around but she refused.

We bought enough food for tonight as well as in the morning and plan to just hunker down and relax. The forecast is much better for tomorrow morning so we plan to be on our way to the port around 8 am. That should get us to town by 2 pm before the heavy rains start again.

John will update you all tomorrow on our last day in Greece. Have another wonderful day and thanks for following along!

From:  Vrachos Beach

To:  Margarita

Miles:  17

Total:  274

Today was a real challenge from start to finish, even though we only walked 17 miles. 

We intended to start walking this morning at 8:00 because there was rain in the forecast starting about 2:00. We wanted to get finished or close to it before the rain started. As Dave said yesterday, we were lucky to find a hotel open at all in Vrachos Beach. The hotel we stayed in was OK, but our rooms never warmed up during the night despite the little heaters in each room running full blast. I finally got up in the middle of the night and got my sleeping bag out and jumped in it to get some warmth.  So this morning we went down to the front desk with our packs on, ready to check out and leave, when the owner said she had some breakfast for us. Since we had no idea where we would eat otherwise, we said OK and we finally got off at 8:30 having gotten one grilled cheese sandwich each. 

As soon as we left the hotel we knew we were facing a steep 700 foot climb back up to the main road. While the route wasn’t quite as bad as yesterday’s adventure through the jungle, we still were walking on very steep gravel switchbacks. After making a few stops to catch our breath we finally made it to the top.  Later in the morning we had a steady climb for several miles but it was manageable. 

When we were within about five miles of our destination, the skies started to get dark blue like there was rain in our future.  We picked up the pace in hopes of beating the wet stuff.  Then we started meeting cars on the road with their headlights on, then their intermittent wipers on, then their steady wipers on, them we walked right into a thunderstorm. When we got to within about a mile of our town, it was pouring buckets and lightning close by. Luckily, right on the edge of town was a small cafe; the only place we had seen all day to eat. We ran into the cafe soaking wet and ordered some lunch. After about an hour the rain let up and we saddled back up and headed to the only place in town to stay; a place that advertised itself as apartments for rent. 

This is where I have to give credit where credit is due. Dave keeps finding these amazing places for us to stay on the internet. We have a two-bedroom studio apartment that’s clean, warm, has WiFi, and only costs 40 euros ($45) per night, total. While there isn’t anyplace to eat dinner nearby, we planned ahead and it will be nutritious candy bars and water for us tonight. 

Tomorrow the weather is forecast to be pretty bad. If that holds true, we may take a day off here and walk to our last town in Greece, the port city of Igoumanitsa on Thursday. Otherwise, we’ll walk tomorrow and take the day off Thursday before catching the ferry to Brindisi, Italy Thursday night. 

So today is a wrap.  Despite the hills, rain, and lack of significant nutrition, we’re hunkered down here in our little apartment looking forward to what tomorrow brings.  Thanks for reading. 

From: Preveza

To: Vrachos Beach

Miles: 20

Total: 257

After a nice day off to rest our feet and breakfast in the hotel we were off again. We had great walking weather all day with abundant sunshine and no rain.

We reached our planned lunch stop town a bit early and it looked like nothing would be open. We noted on google maps there was a gas station at the outskirts of town and we have come to find out that they usually have a café with food in them. Luckily we were right. The gas station attendant made us a large hot pressed ham sandwich that we split. We also had a bag of small round corn puffs that we think had some type of peanut butter flavor in them, but we weren’t completely sure. The gas station attendant split her duties between feeding and talking to the locals in the café and running out and filling up the cars and trucks at the gas pumps. She was a busy young lady.

As we set off in the afternoon we endured long uphill climbs for much of the afternoon until we got close to the town we were spending the night. It was then that the fun began.

Google maps had us turning left off the main road onto a dirt road. We figured that was no problem since earlier in the day we went a couple of miles on a dirt road and then popped right back out onto the main road. Unfortunately this time that wasn’t the case. As we began walking down that road, it quickly turned into nothing more than a path for animals and started a steep decline. I slipped going down the path and John couldn’t see me because the weeds were so tall. A little further up a tree had fallen across the path that we had to get over and then drop down a few feet. By then we were definitely in just a washed out gully with lots of tall weeds. Finally after a couple of hundred more feet we could see the beach road below. We hopped on the beach road and walked along a cliff until we could overlook the beach and all the hotels below. It was really a pretty sight and we were looking forward to getting in our hotel. This is where the second adventure begins.

I checked online last night and three booking sites showed that our hotel was available. There was also a pizza place right next to the hotel so we thought it was all falling into place. As we started walking into town we noticed that nothing was open and nobody was in town. It was like walking through a ghost town. We started to get a little concerned. We did see one person fishing on the beach and two people on the balcony at apartments but that was it.

All the hotels along the beach as we walked along were closed and shuttered and the beach chairs and umbrellas were piled up. All the restaurants were closed as well. We finally got to our hotel at the end of the beach and it looked the same way. We checked the doors and it was locked and closed. Of course the pizza place next to it was closed too. Things weren’t looking too promising and we were thinking our sleeping bags on some of the lounge chairs from a closed hotel might be our bed for the night.

We did see a couple of cars at a small hotel next to the one we planned to stay so we decided to walk up and knock on the door. Once more we were lucky. A lady and her husband answered the door and said they had rooms for us. We were very happy. We asked if there was any place to eat, and she said she would fix us dinner. It was chicken schnitzel with french fries. It was really good! Unfortunately John doesn’t eat chicken so he just had both orders of french fries while I had the chicken, but we both ate the salad which was really good. The rooms are nothing to write home about but at least we have a bed and we eventually got our heaters in the room to work somewhat, so we are much better off than sleeping on the beach tonight. We are thankful to have found this place and to our hosts. I hope everyone had a great holiday back home today!

From:  Preveza

To:  Preveza

Miles:  0

Total:  237

Today was our first day off since we began our walk. The weather was very nice outside but it was even nicer in our hotel rooms resting. Dave and I met for breakfast in the hotel at 8:30 after a good nights rest. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing and doing some detailed planning for the last four walking days in Greece. The weather is going to be a challenge the last three days if the forecast is correct. Also, the terrain will have more climbs as we go farther north along the coastline. With that said, we’ll at least be physically rejuvenated. Also, the medicine seems to be doing the trick on my infected blisters so I’ll be ready tomorrow as well. We hope your Sunday was a good one; ours sure was.