Equinox 2023

 And so our journey comes to a close for the time being.  We stayed overnight in an apartment close to Bari airport, before having a fairly leisurely start. It was just as well that we had plenty of time, because the security folks at the airport were a bit thrown by the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) that we were carrying. We needed to bring it home to have its battery replaced, and having read the airlines guidelines, we had it in our hand baggage.  The security team had obviously never seen anything quite like it. Multiple phone calls to ask what to do, and eventually a trip for me through the back offices to someone who had the ultimate responsibility. He took one look and then explained to the officer accompanying me what the device was, and said that it was ok to take it, so long as I made sure it did not go off.  I resisted the temptation to say that it would go off automatically if it was submerged in water, but I realised that if this was the case, I would

The buses in Bari are excellent. They mainly run to time. They are clean, and there’s a flat fee of 1.5 euros per journey, no matter how far, within the city.   There are coffee shops about every 100 metres in the centre, so it’s not difficult to get some delicious coffee, while the laundry is doing. Everything is reasonably priced.   With perfect timing, Tomasso came to tell us the yard was ready for the boat lift, after we had put everything away. There was little wind and a flat calm sea, so getting into the lifting dock was one of the easiest we’ve had.   We like the boat to come out of the water while we are away, as it gives a chance for the hull to dry out, it gets a good wash, we can check all is well, and it’s cheaper than leaving it in the water, especially in high season. It is always very reassuring when you see how careful the guys in the yards are, in their care. It seems quite a slow process, but that is because they are making sure everything is in order at ea

Tricia was feeling a bit better today, but still not 100%. However, the preparations for our departure have to continue, and so we set too with more of the chores. By mid afternoon we had done all that we could, the remaining tasks, like emptying the water tanks, can only be done on the last day, when we know that we will not be living on the boat any more. We headed into Bari, to allow a retracing of our steps last year, and then to meet our Australian friends for a meal in the evening. The food was fabulous and the price very reasonable for the quality of what we had.  The starters were so large that neither of us managed to finish the main course.  Our plans for gelato on the way back to the boat were dropped, as we were too full. Typical back street. Flowers on some balconies, washing on others (in the shadow) They know how to park well here, we wish that some folks at home could learn to use the space this well. Sunday, the wind dropped, the sky was blue and a light breeze cooled

Yesterday we had rain, today we had gale force winds. We had started to get bounced around from the early hours of the morning. This wasn’t ideal, as I was sick all morning. I’ll never know if this was from some dried figs we had or from the dinner. The wind was such that we had to bring the passerelle on board so it didn’t get damaged, so again we were confined indoors and therefore there’s not much of interest to say about today. We kept ourselves amply entertained, though, by listening to the cricket commentary. Miles today               0 Miles in 2023       747 Tricia  (& Steve )

Today it rained all morning. This was forecast, so the plan had been to get jobs done inside. We had decided to try vacuum packing the bedding etc. It was our first go at ordering stuff from Amazon and the bags arrived in good time. It is a great success, being able to pack these items in a smaller space and protect them from getting musty while we are away. I don’t know why we haven’t done it before. We didn’t have quite the same success with our first go at a Just Eat delivery. We didn’t want to risk getting soaked, as the rain had started again in the evening and we found that we could order from one of the restaurants downtown. All went well, until the driver was on his way to us, having collected our food order. Steve stood outside the boat yard entrance for an hour and half, but no food appeared. He phoned the restaurant three times, but there is nothing they can do, once they have given the food to the driver. They can’t even contact the driver. There was a little bit of a tus

When there is very little or no wind, that is the time to drop the sails if you have to while you in port. Our jib needed a couple of the battens to be replaced, so this morning, was the perfect time. We had the sail down, job done, and sail back up again before 8am. Then the guys from the boatyard came to investigate a leak from our generator. It didn’t take them long to find it. They will do the repair when the boat is out of the water. We had a nice chat with Tommaso, who runs the yard with his Dad, Antonio. He was interested in our thoughts about Puglia and our day out yesterday. Of course, we were able to assure him that we loved it all. Tommaso’s grandfather started the business sometime after WWII. The family had a lucky escape when Bari harbour was bombed by the Germans, because they had all gone to a wedding and so were not at work in the harbour at the time. We also learned that his excellent English is because he did his masters degree in Melbourne. The weather continu

Monday was spent talking to Tommaso in the boat yard about work that we need to be done, both this week and after the boat is lifted. We’re planning to replace the mattresses on our beds, and the upholster came to see what we need. Tuesday was a day out sight seeing and being tourists. We went to Alberobello. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site because the western hill of the town contains 1500 old cottages with beehive-shaped conical roofs, white at the top, as if tipped with snow, typical of Puglia. It resembles an urban town, for gnomes. These dry stone buildings are made from local limestone and none are older than the 14th century. Inhabitants do not wear pointy hats, but they do sell anything a visitor might want, from miniature trulli to woollen shawls. The town is named after the primitive oak forest Arboris Belli (beautiful trees) that once covered this area. It’s an amazing town but also something of a tourist trap – from May to October busloads of tourists pile into trullo h

We are coming to the end of our time in the Med for this session, and so we are starting the chores for departure and managing the food supplies. With nearly a week to go, we still need fresh fruit and vegetables, so part of Saturday morning was dedicated to resupply. The greengrocer’s has a large array, and some things that we rarely see in the UK, for example seven or more varieties of tomato. As Saturday evening was to be our last in Vieste, we revisited the restaurant that we had sampled on our first night, this time accompanied by the friends that we had socialised with last night.   Another lovely meal. One of the joys of our transient lifestyle is making new contacts with people with similar lifestyles and comparing notes and experiences. Our friend Tim was up early and took this picture of dawn behind Equinox (many thanks Tim)  Promptly on Sunday morning, we were on our way from Vieste to Bari, where Equinox will spend the next couple of months.   We managed to avoid the fish

The Umbra Forest is a protected area inside the National Park of Gargano, about 15 kilometres inland of Vieste. It is a dense natural unspoiled forest of about 10,000 hectares and is a UNESCO site because of remarkable biodiversity . There are holm oaks, pine and beech trees, which grow here at very different altitudes to their normal habitat. It is home to 2000 plant species and is the largest Italian hardwood forest, where deer are seen easily from the paths. Our visit was on a guided e-bike tour for 2.5 hours. We were driven to the meeting point, with excellent service and for a reasonable price, it was interesting to see the hinterland. We passed several large campsites on the way.  The bikes were great. Our guide stopped at regular intervals to point out ancient and peculiar trees. The riding was relaxed and at a comfortable pace for us, along the forest tracks, in a group of 20 or so. Just as we were coming to the end, it started raining, accompanied by thunder. It was good to

We’ve decided that we like it so much in Vieste that we will stay for a few more days. It now feels as though it is properly summer. The sky is blue. The sun is warm. We can eat, sitting outside in the warmth of the evening.  We are entertained by just walking around the town & along the sea front.  The people of Puglia are particularly kind, welcoming & take pleasure in life. Wouldn’t we all be if we lived here. View from the other side of the harbour On the right side of the gap, there are traditional poles for nets to catch fish  At the harbour entrance there is a statue of St Francesco da Paola We chatted to a young man this morning, who had survived 3 months of the winter in Peterborough. He was very happy to return home, on the basis that he never saw daylight between his working hours. He was completely disparaging about food in Italian restaurants in England, describing them as “brutto,  brutto, brutto”, which means ugly, no, more than ugly. For us, other than super

In the bakery, here in Rodi Garganico, they sell those tiny little croissants (I don’t know what they are called), which typically having the fillings of crema, pistachio or chocolate. They are divine. So, it was a great treat to have some of these with our morning coffee, especially as today was Steve’s birthday. Our experience here in Puglia, is that both the food in the restaurants and the produce in the small shops and supermarkets is top quality. It rates right up there with the food in Sicily. We had a heavy rain storm in the morning, and fortunately it was clean rain, that gave the deck a nice wash, rather than depositing sand all over it. It was a great relief that the rain had stopped and the deck had dried before our planned departure time of 4.00pm. There was a full moon two days ago, so even though the tide  in the Med  is very small, and we don’t usually need to pay special heed to it, today it was going to make a difference to us, allowing us to exit the marina, witho

It is remarkable how just 60 miles of separation by the sea  can make such a difference. We are adjusting to a different language, a different culture and most importantly today, to a different set of coastal features.  Croatia has mountains inland and islands that are set in deep water. We have felt many times that we could just about reach out to touch the land, but found that we were in 50 – 60 metres depth of water.  The Italian coast is the opposite.  For the most part long sandy beaches with shallow water beyond.  We had done some investigation of Vieste last year, discovering that were some places in the harbour which were deep enough for us, but only a few.  Subsequently, we had shelved ideas of coming then, because Vieste is not a “Port of Entry”. This year, with a changed Schengen situation, we have been able to come, and had booked one of the few berths deep enough for us. The outer harbour is actually shallower than the inner harbour, and as we headed out we saw that our de

This morning, there was a triathlon in the town. Lots of the roads were closed, but marshals allowed cars to cross over the closed roads, when it was clear. The top temperature was 24C today, but it felt hot to me, when we walked to the supermarket, so I’m sure it was hot going when the athletes were running, if not before.  Our provisioning took us to the modern part of the town. A lot of the towns we have visited in southern Italy give us the impression that there isn’t much importance put on the exterior appearance of the apartment blocks, but I bet they are very stylish inside. Vieste is no different in this regard, but there are a few more attractive buildings in the suburb. We then enjoyed a walk through the narrow streets of the old town, going up the steps towards the cathedral, where hearts and inscriptions tell about Pizzomunno’s love.   Vieste's best-known landform is  Pizzomunno , a sea stack 26.6 m (87 ft) high, situated on the  Spiaggia del Castello  ("Castle

Vieste is a pretty seaside town that sits on a white cliffed promontory jutting into the sea, at the western end of the Gargano National Park, in the province of Foggia, Apulgia. This area of land is known as the spur of Italy. Vieste was once just another fishing village, but now its a beach destination, mainly used by Italians and little known outside Italy. It has a picturesque old town featuring an 11th century Cathedral and long sandy beaches on each side. Today, for us though, the priority was to recuperate and regroup, the main need being laundry. I delight, during our travels in the interchange with local people, even if it is limited by our lack of knowledge of their language. The lavanderia was an example of seeing the locals getting on with their day to day needs. The towns on this south east coast of Italy are well served with these establishments and they are always in good order and spotlessly clean. There is usually a proprietor to help you work out the system. The lady