All photos related to this blog entry can be found at Grant & Julie

Fellow Traveler Noel and his trusty Renault

A funny thing about Italy is that just about every petrol station has a bar, yes that's right a BAR on site. It is at these bars the purchase of coffee, hot chocolate, snacks and (somewhat amusingly) alcohol to drink happens whilst you read the papers. Cigarettes are for sale and to smoke, inside the bar is illegal, however on the concourse around the bowsers is quite acceptable!When it comes to driving, Italians have an interesting knack of wandering all over the motorways and roads. Usually this seems caused by either texting or talking on the phone or reading books or smoking, all of which seems to be performed as a national sport. This, with the almost inherent lack of road sense and downright reckless driving makes for driving/riding an interesting affair for the foreigner.

When riding on the motor ways, be sure to mark your territory in the slow lane, if that is where you are, because if you err on the polite and hug the right hand side of your lane you will share it with every other vehicle passing, pushing you further and further into the curb.

There are three positions that the average Italian driver will sit on whilst driving on a 2 lane motorway
1 – Far left in the fast lane
2 – far right in slow lane
3 – most often than not riding the dividing line – Just in case they want to speed up or slow down or change lanes, or whatever.

With a sigh of relief we rode out of Naples following the A3 south and eventually heading into the mountains towards Potenza, a beautiful town in a beautiful part of Italy. It was late October and we noted with interest the road signs advising vehicles to carry chains on this road after the 1st of November. It didn’t seem a likely occurrence as the weather was still pleasantly warm and comfortable. However, conditions can change quite rapidly, particularly in the higher passes, as winter approaches.

The East coast appeared and with it the heel of the boot of Italy, the Sarento region. This region is unique as it was a major Greek enclave until the Romans kicked them out around 200BC.

Just before Toranto and after much riding around in circles through numerous small towns and even more numerous olive groves, we came across El Verde campground. The gates being closed gave us the impression of yet another campground closed for the winter. As we approached we saw a couple sitting just behind the gates smoking as is the Italian custom. The fellow leapt up on seeing us and opened the gates. 'Yes we are open’ though it did not look it! ‘Yes that will be 12 Euros.’

On further enquiry we discovered that the couple were from Bulgaria and minding the grounds. The place was a little run down.

The female half of the Bulgarian couple asked if we had any food, we replied ‘Sort of but no wine.’ ‘Ah this is no good’ she exclaimed, ‘I make you a sandwich.’ Within minutes she appeared from her small kitchen with a paper bag with three bread rolls and two unusually long cooked cold sausages.

She offered them as a gift and in few more minutes opened the bar, finding a clean empty carafe she fills to the brim with the bulk flagon red, ’two Euros is good’ she states smiling. Away we went, set for the evening.

Fishing Boats, Galipolli Harbour

The following day, a supposed short ride to the baroque city of Lecce, took all day as we wandered through the small towns stopping here and there throughout the Salento peninsula with the intentions of finding camping near the town. We didn’t succeed.

The day continued on to the town of Gallipoli and La Meseria Camping, 3.5 km out of town.

The fortified old town sits on a small island at the end of a narrow band of land jutting out to sea. It was truly delightful roaming around the narrows streets, buying pastries, cafe lattes or hot chocolate and from the small markets, cheese, ham, bread and crackers to picnic with whilst sitting in the sun enjoying the sea views.

We planned to stay for several days in the Salento region and two weeks later we rode away after exploring the region and what it offers.

La Meseria Camping is open all year and gave us an excellent deal for each week we stayed. (Stay seven pay for four, plus they allowed us utilise the covered veranda of one of the cabins to sit, cook and watch movies at night.)

Fort, Galipolli

Arriving on the slopes of Mt. Etna, after an incredibly rough trip across to Sicily on the ferry, with high hopes of climbing up to the crater our dreams were squashed as Sicily was being battered by storms and a mini tornado that caused the main highway to go underwater. We were diverted through all manner of small villages, including Giarre, only to stumble across Antonio and Casansaldo B&B, a nice respite from weather that was pounding Sicily while we were trying to ride around the place, how rude!

When Grant visited Sicily on his the trusty GSX 250 Suzuki, all those years ago, he was not at all impressed by Palermo. This time around we were sorry only to have two nights before catching the ferry to Tunisia. The seediness and pollution was quite tame for a port city (compared to Naples) and the down town is almost Parisian looking as you walk the narrow streets looking at the lovely balconied buildings.

With ferries booked, North Africa and Tunisia beckoned...

Waiting for the Ferry to Sicily