Last night, I went to Vincenzo’s recommended restaurant, run by his cousin. I was the only customer at 8pm so Dario, a younger relative looked after me and told me all about their food etc. As is the trend, all food was grown and prepared within 50kms of Bitonto. Dario is a character and we talked about everything, including my trip.
He’s exactly one year younger than Timo. The food was very nice without being startling but the overall experience was great. He told me more about Bitonto too. He said the two guys that were always at the end of my street, were drug dealers. That explains the late night and early morning noise outside.
After the meal, I tried to work out a way of packing my gear and ditching the panniers. I hate them, I hate the rattle and I hate that the bike is so back-end heavy with them on. However, the extra capacity for food is welcome. I’m working on it though.
Tonight was again noisy and I didn’t sleep well at all. But every day is a holiday (Hi Martin !), so I got up, had breakfast and headed out.
Bitonto is a labyrinth of atmosphere filled tiny streets and lanes. I’m amazed that cars can fit here. I’m also amazed how fast the drive with centimetres to spare on either side. The narrow lanes also mean that the GPS can get confused – as well as me, and then there’s the one way systems.
Finally out of the old city, I exited the small suburban area into old olive groves. It was idyllic except for the garbage lying beside the road. I know I mention this a lot, but it’s overwhelming, and destroys a simply beautiful environment. Just imagine it – old growth olive trees surrounded by dry stone walls, lush green fields filled with yellow wildflowers, and old guys trimming the trees probably like they’ve done for decades. Then add bags and bags of household rubbish, plastic, tyres, building waste …
The idyllic picture soon becomes a nightmare.
If I only went to the major tourist areas, I wouldn’t know about this. They’re all clean and manicured in the main. But this to me is the current story of Europe – manicured and curated tourist zones (that must bring hundreds of millions of euros into the economy), surrounded by places that are completely different to the tourist zones – many of these places clearly have aspirations though, and there is a lot of work going on to tourist-ify them. But that’s just my opinion based on my observations.
After a time, rhe further from Bitonto I went, the more the level of garbage decreased, and after the next village, I was returned to idyllic olive groves with the occasional dump site. One section had plumbing waste – toilets, basins, pipes, tiles …
I was finally enjoying the countryside when Komoot raised its ugly head. It sent me down an overgrown track with a locked gate and piles of more garbage. Nope. I was in the middle of nowhere and wanted to make sure I got out of here today.
So, I retraced a few steps and replanned under the watchful eye of a large stray dog. I think he was more scared of me. The stray dogs are never the problem as they’ve nothing to protect.
I took some quietish roads and later found a bicycle lane with no cars and occasionally runners and walkers for company.
It got busy as I neared Putignano though, and the final hill wasn’t fun in the traffic. It’s another nice city in Puglia. And the old town too, is an absolute labyrinth of lanes. I thought the Romans built straight roads !
It seems like you can’t go wrong in this area.
Rubbish in Italy.
See things haven’t changed much in the 27 years since we were there. Stunning cycling on those old Roman routes hey John. We cycled the via Appia from Brindisi to Rome – easily our favourite Europe section with all of the old Castled villages on the hill tops, exquisite bread, gelatis, cappuccinos etc – yum.
Then when we crossed the Splugen pass into Switzerland, instantly the rubbish was gone, but so too the character of Italy. Switzerland was almost too neat and pristine – still loved it though.
Loving the journal and photos still mate, happy cycling.
You’re right as usual – it’s disappointing but Italy has something that northern Europe doesn’t have. Maybe it’s the chaos and their accommodating attitude. Still, it’s a stunning place that would be more stunning if they got rid of their household rubbish.
And the food … I’ve loved it