Vieste

Just before eight o' clock this morning, some workmen turned up, with one of those machines that resurfaces the road. We had already commented yesterday, on how pristine the road was here. What baffled us, was, why resurface a road through a coastal town, and not a dual carriageway or motorway?

Beside us, in the sea, two men were swimming and diving for octopus.

And in a nearby rock pool, a prawn was spotted. Can you see it in the photograph?

We left by ten, heading towards the Gargano Peninsula. On route, we spotted some cheaper fuel, so took the opportunity to fill Marge up. The African man who served us, spoke very good English, and had previously lived in England for six years. His list of addresses, London, Manchester and the glamorous Skegness.

Further along, we passed by some salt pans. We could see the end result stacked in piles, like large white, conical hats. In a lay-by nearby, a huge amount of white sun loungers had been dumped, presumably from the nearby campsite. We know some women, who would have liked one of these, it would have been an upgrade from their plastic chair.

Next to the salt pans, was a nature reserve, home to hundreds of flamingos, standing elegantly in the shallow water.

Just along the road from the flamingos there was a row of pylons to our left, each one topped with a storks nest, complete with young storks. They looked both comical and stunning.

Our onward journey, took us away from the level and up once again into the hills, passing through many tunnels and along zig-zag roads, which passed precariously close to the edge. Many of the vehicles cut off the corners, some of which were hairpin. But, just one serious near miss with a lorry, which luckily, we were able to recover from, as there was a viewing area to pull into just after, where we took some fantastic photographs of the stunning view.

Wobbling legs cured, we set off on the final descent, towards the very popular coastal resort of Vieste.

Tonight, we are on a campsite, about two miles out of town. There are campsites side by side, and the same opposite along the road. We think ours is unique. Most of the people here are over seventy, and Italian. Except for us, the only English, there are two German couples. We are also the three youngest couples. John said, 'we were lucky we didn't have to produce a pair of pop socks to gain entry!'. But, for all its quirkiness, it's nice.

There is a gate, with direct access onto the beach, and a decent cycleway outside. This evening, we took a walk along the seashore, commenting on the lack of seashells we have seen, on the beaches in Italy. For an hour this evening, the two German couple got together, right next to our van. We always thought they were quiet reserved people. Not these four, quite rowdy! But in typical German fashion, after exactly one hour, they bid each other farewell.

Tomorrow, we will cycle to the old town, on our Brompton folding bicycles. If we like what we see, we may stay here for a few nights.