As With All Good Blog Posts . . .

This one starts with a bathroom story.

And the breaking of cardinal rule number one, to carry at least a one euro coin with me at all times. So that was bad. Anyway, glad to see a public washroom, I headed in – blissfully ignorant of my lack of coinage. I join the line to put money in the one and only machine, which is actually at the outside door of the building where the washroom is housed, and start fishing in my change purse for a coin. Uh oh. I do have coins, but they are not the 50 cent coins – only 2 euros ones for the 50 cent fee. So we‘re not off to a good start here.

The three Italian ladies behind me are also rooting around in their purses for coins and I think they are also looking for one for me, when I notice that the machine also has a “tap” function – yay for progress! So I pull out my credit card – problem solved – and attempt to tap, rub, press and wave my useless card. The ladies are still conferring. So I say – I’ll just give the machine my 2 euro coin – that’s okay. But – alas and alack – it spits it out. One of the three ladies has found a 50 cent coin finally and tries it in the slot. That gets spit out too.

So from behind me and the three ladies, another Italian woman pushes me out of the way and tries her coin – magic – the turnstile allows her through to pee.

Then – from out of no where a foreign woman (saying something in some language I couldn’t place), showed us all how to squeeze around the turnstile for free! She was pretty skinny, but yes, there was just enough room to maneuver around and over the outside edge. Chalk another one up for the sisterhood.

On my way out, the one lady whose coin worked to come in, couldn’t figure out how to make the turnstile go the other way to get out and was still standing there. I showed her the green button she had to push and she gave me a grateful smile and a “Grazie” and all was well with the world. Fortunately, Don didn’t have to go.

The Italians have been having trouble with our names ending in “n” I think, but today we found out that Don’s Italian name is heretofore: Donato. And mine (given to me in Positano about 8 years ago) is Gianna.

So where are we now you might ask. We left our place in Locorotondo and headed south in the heel of the boot to the town of Otranto, on the Adriatic Sea. Again, we are staying out of the town in a Masseria, or farm stay. Unfortunately, the internet here is spotty (aka terrible) and so I am behind in my blogging.

After checking in at Masseria Panareo, we got back in the car and drove the 8 km back to the port town of Otranto.

Otranto is another maze of windy lanes and little shops, we don’t know where we’re going, but it is a beautiful journey.

And we passed by another wedding party waiting for the bride and groom to emerge, but I didn’t make Don wait around – the last one took awhile. We rounded the corner of the church and saw the waiting getaway car though.

Then Don said the magic words, “Pizza and French fries”!

Later on in the day the guy at reception suggested a place to swim in the ocean that was nearby, so we headed there in the late afternoon. The water here is warmer in the ocean than in the pools!

The following day (since I am several days behind), we headed for the Grotte Della Poesia. I had seen photos of this geological phenomenon during my research of the area, including photos of people swimming in the pool that is formed by the rock and fed by the sea. Unfortunately, you can no longer swim in there, and we can see why. Especially on a windy day like today, it would be treacherous and even letting stupid tourists near the upper edge is not a good idea (as we saw one young woman stumble backwards while striking a pose for the perfect instagram photo). But the coastline here is beautiful and this spot in particular is amazing.

These two were fishing with long poles, long lines and a little bait. No reel (and no catch yet as far as we could see).

Since we couldn’t swim in the hole in the rock, we decided to head back to the beach at Otranto, which was actually sandy (unusual for this area). Since we were going to have a bite to eat first, Don didn’t want to lug our swimming stuff along (I had my gear on under my clothes). So Don ended up not going in, but I did and it was glorious.

Today, the forecast is for lots of rain, thunder and lightning. So far we have seen the wind,and the rain. Apparently this is wreaking havoc with the internet (but I have a suspicion that it is a chronic state at this place), so I am going to sign off again for now. Tomorrow we head to Polignano al Mare, just south of Bari (“Bah-ree to those in the know). See you then.