We were just lucky in seeing our bus arriving as we
turned the corner onto the main road, having cleared out of the apartment. It
meant sprinting along the road to the stop, but the driver waited for us. The
bus was full of morning commuters. Our arrival at the boatyard was in time
to see guys moving the boat. Walking a boat round a 90 degree corner, without
touching it on the corner, is not easy, so we were pleased to have got there in
time, so that they didn’t have to make the turn. In five minutes we were ready
to depart the lifting dock and motor a few metres to a berth on the pontoon.
The boat cover that we had made in Spain does a wonderful
job of keeping dust from getting inside the boat, so only minimal cleaning
inside has been needed. Tommaso is getting used to us calling into his office
at regular intervals to ask about jobs that remain on the to-do list or
something new that we have thought of.
Getting to know shops and services in the
suburb that we had stayed in, has been really useful. Steve was able to
source tailgate struts, that we needed to hold up the deck locker lids, from
the car parts shop. The trip to the supermarket became lots of fun when we had
sought help from the staff to try to call a taxi; essential to carrying back the
tonne of stuff we had bought. The taxi number was unavailable, as was that of a
taxi company known by some of the supermarket customers. Quite a conversation
ensued and I can now understand a little Italian, so the idea from one of
telling us to take the bus was discounted when she saw how much shopping we
had. After a short while, a young couple said they would take us in their car.
They wouldn’t take any money for their fuel; such is the kindness of the locals
here. As ever, I’m sure it helps when we have had a go at speaking Italian,
with our few words and sentences, but usually it turns out that there is one
person who is delighted to use their English. The availability of good quality
fresh produce doesn’t disappoint. We can eat healthily and well. We take the lead
from the counters that have a queue of locals. The focaccia in the local bakery
is to die for.
The riggers came on Thursday morning and fitted the new
windex (to give us a visual of the wind direction). By the mid-afternoon the
cupboard struts were fitted, sprayhood and bimini up and all the ropes to
control the sails in place. We could relax and take a trip into the city.
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| Bari central park, with a rather splendid gentleman |
Bari is a buzzing, vibrant city. The shopping area was
full of people, out during the cool of the evening. We managed to find the
bedding shop, we had been to last year and bought the new pillows that we
needed. It also gave us a measure of the improvement we have made in speaking
and understanding a little Italian, as we had to use it to communicate with the
shop owner.
Miles today 0
Tricia and Steve
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