“ENTERING ITALY”
Leaving Greece behind, I reached after an eventless night ferry cruise over the Adriatic Sea the southeastern shore of Italy. The goal of the day, was traversing “The Italian Boot” from east to west, through the Apennines Mountains right to the entrance of the well known Amalfi Coast.
The nighttime ferry cruise lasted longer than estimated. Therefore, I stayed in …
my sleeping bag till around 10:00 in the morning. Despite …
the humming outlet of the proper working air condition next to me, I slept very well on the public floor of the upper deck. Finally, I went up and stowed my gear in the brought dry bag and went off…
for a short walk along the deck area …
of the ferry. Whilst watching to another …
ship in the distance, which was overtaken slowly, an announcement ring out. A rough male voice with a southern accent yelled out the last call for breakfast. I had a look at my ticket and was surprised, when I found out, that a “breakfast snack” is included. (Cant remember having booked breakfast 🤨). Indifferent!
I went back into the ship and stumbled the stairs down into its belly. Just next to the …
closed “Casino” was the …
restaurant area located. I went to the kitchen window and showed my ticket. Vice versa I got this …
poor breakfast menu, which remembered me to my last ferry trip from Corsica back to Italy a year before, which wasn’t much better at all. Whilst sipping the tiny Espresso, I had another look at my planned route of the incoming riding day, which traversed Italy in the south from the east (Brindisi) to the west (Salerno). Whilst doing so, another announcement sounded, saying that the Harbor of Brindisi will be arrived in about twenty minutes. After completing the planning of the route, I left the restaurant area and continued my walk …
on the ship. Brindisis harbor is huge, and it took a while from seeing the first outer anchoring points, till …
the final arrival …
at the main …
harbor pier. I tried to stay as long as possible outside the parking decks of the ship, because down there, it’s always very humid and stressful, too. –> Waiting there till the hatches open is not much fun. Therefore, I was one of the last persons, which enterred the parking deck, where …
Чернотa was already waiting for the continuation of our journey. After stowing all the gear back to the bike, we still had to wait another ten minutes, till …
we were allowed leaving the vessel. Now it was short before midday and Italy welcomed us with harsh hot temperatures and …
this nice arranged roundabout. I decided leaving the dense …
industrial area around the city as fast as possible and hit for some …
more remote …
back country …
roads, leading …
through a low mountain range …
of Italy’s southern “Apennines”.
At mid-afternoon, both of us had been in the high need for a break, and so we stopped at a shady fuel station. After filling up Чернотas tanks with expensive Italian dinosaur spirit, I ordered for myself a fresh-toasted Panini sandwich with tomato, cheese and Italian ham. A coke and a strong double espresso instantly vanished my tired mood. 🤩
A news check on the mobile showed me again …
that the temperatures in Greece/and also southern Italy had been far too high. (In hindsight, it was surely the right decision, leaving the TET Trails of Greece for some saver more frequented back country roads)
Before leaving, I bought a cold, nearly frozen bottle of beer for the evening at the shop and made a photo …
of this perfect conserved Fiat 500, which belonged to the owner of the fuel station. After that the ride continued westwards. On our way, …
we came across the spectacular designed “Musmeci-Bridge” …
in the city Potenza, which we traversed quick. Following some …
small roads, the countryside …
went more …
idyllic and …
was a pleasure …
to ride along perfect tarmac roads, through its hills and …
gorges. In the early evening ….
we arrived at the Mediterranean west coast of Italy. Far in the distance the silhouette of our next day’s goal, the Amalfi coastline, was visible. My plan was finding a camping spot near the entrance to the similar named coastal road, what wouldn’t be an easy task due to the dense population in this area. Therefore, Чернотa and I had to find first a way …
through the heavy evening traffic of coastal cities Battipglia, Belizi and Salerno. After about a half your of circumnavigating the jamming traffic, lastly…
we reached the north-wester edge of the city of Salerno, close to the mentioned entry of the Amalfi Coast.
I took a closer look at the terrain map and found a gravel track leading up far in the hills and woods just a few kilometers into the inland. So Чернотa and I went there, and followed a bad maintained track hill upwards for about ten minutes.
By accident, we found a little overgrown side road, which led us to this …
nice spot. I hardly believed my luck, finding such an interesting lost place at my own, which was a great forlorn camping spot too, what made this day’s evening even more perfect. With a …
more or less stable roof above my head, I decided to built up my …
tent-less bivouac for the night right in front of the altar of this abandoned chapel. For …
dinner I had a few nuts, a handful of berries (found in the surrounding of the chapel), and an Italian “Altar Beer”. 😇
The sun went down quick, but the temperatures stayed at a high level. So I …
layed down atop the sleeping bag and let my thoughts wandering around about anything and everything whilst watching the fading daylight. It wasn’t long before I fell asleep. 😴
Total covered riding distance of this day: 350 km or 218 mi
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