Phew.. today I made at least 400km.. was sitting on the bike for minimum 8 hours and I'm happy I finally arrived somewhere.. well.. somewhere in nowhere. On second thought I should have stayed in Vieste, where there is food, drinks and girls. I could now be even dancing in a Disco after having a big pizza, but no, I'm on the other side of Gargano in an abandoned camping (it will open in 4 days from now). Anyway.. it could all be worse. In the morning, it looked very promising with the weather when I started, but as I got higher in the mountains (1300 m.a.s.l.) I faced a cold wind blowing in my face and an overcast sky that blocked out the sun. I carried on several hours before I yielded and put on some warmer clothes. The drive though was still spectacular and would even be more stunning with nicer weather. Nevertheless I made it pretty far throught the national park "d'abbruzio Lazio" to Iserna (no, I didn't see any bears, even if I was looking everywhere for them). From there I took the "superstrada" (not highway) direction sea, but I soon turned off to choose the small curvy roads. It's just more fun and less traffic and whoever takes it, doesn't speed, because of all the potholes in the road ;) My bike did just fine!
Finally when I reached the sea also the clouds gave in to blue sky. I was like eating fresh fish in a restaurant at the beach but I just got some pasta in a strange place that didn't look open either. I can't tell you how much I hate beach holidays. What possibly can be fun being stuck on a sandy beach (driving a bike along it is a different story though). I was pretty tired when I got there and was happy to get something to eat, so I didn't complain. It took me also a while to find a way to the beach, so I was in no mood to look any further. From there I continued further down to the "Gargano", a route that has been highly recommended to me. After passing a few ugly looking hookers on the way, I finally got some nice views on the open sea while driving a curvy road up the mountains. On the map the name "grotta smeralda" got my attention (sounds like a old pirate hideout ;) and so I set my course for it. Passed the touristy Vieste (where I probably should have stayed) and had some more epic kilometers to drive. Well.. in the meantime I figured out that you can only access this grotto by boat and the boat starts in Vieste (I passed it over an hour ago) and only on Saturdays.. and then it would be one of the touristy things I don't do. But anyway.. as the policemen in Vieste told me that I can camp in Baia de Zagare (what isn't true either, because it fancies only a hotel), I now got stuck in something "..a flores". I was really in no mood to drive any further (will enjoy this road tomorrow) and unloaded my bike and had the beer I wished for so long. Unfortunately the restaurant here is still closed, so I'm not only saving money by camping out wildly, but also save the money to get some proper food (I gladly would pay the couple of Euros to get a decent meal). But no, now I'm feeding on some emergency nut-bars. I hope they will keep my warm during the night. For lazyness I didn't want to pitch my tent, but attached my hamock between two trees with a nice view over the ocean. Turns out it's muuuch to windy to spend a night like this, but fortunately a retired Italian guy let's me sleep on his porch. Ah.. can't wait for it to become morning when I can drive to the next village (10km away) and have a decent breakfast!! But after I had a beer and a shot of home made lemon liquor (really tasty!!), I don't want to drive another meter. So it will be a cheap night (but not so much a fun night). This "promontorie del Gargano" is really a blast for riding motorbike! It's like super duper nice and I was even thinking of doing an extra round tomorrow. But after I had a chat with this nice Italian guy that let me hang out outside of his place, I figured that I can make it to Albania tomorrow and don't need to spend a night in Bari. That's absolutely fine with me as I can use the extra day in Albania and probably will get a nice hotel there (as I'm saving now the money here). It's the second time that people are telling me that there are no mosquitos, but there are! screw you damn little bastards! ..they got me totally off guard, as I don't carry any DEET with me. Well.. maybe I just through that mosquito net over me that I got in the last minute from Ebay. It will anyway be a tough night compared to the last one in that big and comfy bed. ..hmm.. by the way: I had my last smoke 6 days ago and I don't feel any urge to have a spliff whatsoever! pretty cool! :D I'm still looking forward to roll again in Switzerland, but it's not amiss and that's a really good thing! ..I don't have any troubles falling asleep, but I woke up twice last night. Always in the the end of a 4 hour sleep phase when I get back to REM I remember my dreams so vividly, I'm just waking up. I always thought, it's a shame that I don't remember my dreams, but now I'd wish I wouldn't remember them. Twice it was kind of nightmarish, as I had a fight with a good friend and second time I got into a sticky situation that let me wake up with a wierd feeling. let's see what this night will happen.. the wind just picked up a great deal :/ I tell you what.. in my hamock, I'd be blown away by now. I will keep all my clothes on (my sweater is stinky anyway by now, but as there's just me, noone really bothers ;). Maybe the situation I'm in is not exactly what I wished for, but there are alwasy adventages to it. It somehow evens out for more expensive nights and brings my budget back on track and I'll survive anyway. And it's what is traveling is about! I always ventured out without making detailed plans and it always turned out to be a good thing. You need to leave things open in order that the quantum universe can collapse the way it's best for you. If I would have organized everything before hand, I would not just have spent a lot of time, but would have altered the whole trip in a way that seems predictable but it's not anyway. So better give way to the chaotic randomness that makes things so perfect as they are! ;)
I'm having another sip of beer, as beer supposedly has calories too and will keep me warm during the night (as I lack of female company that would to the same but in a more joyful way ;). There's something I noticed today: even the smallest interaction with people can give me so much energy! Sometime after a long ride, freezing my ass off and getting tired, my mood isn't exactly high flying. But then when I stop to ask someone for the way, even if it's only 30 seconds of interaction, it boosts me so much!! it's like I'm connecting with the diviny energy of the whole universe by one friendly person helping me out. Every time I throw myself out there and have faith in the law of attraction, it totally works out! This is an experience you can't possibly make back home, but whenever you dare and let god of the well known structures that you built around you, then universe will take care of you. Most of the people I know, don't even know what I'm talking about, but whoever tried this out knows exactly what I'm talking about. Like this guy here that asked me: "you're alone?" and invited me over. (well.. he asked in Italian and I tried my best to explain myself in the following conversation). I wanted to talk about so much more than just traveling, job and family, but there are limits to what I can express in Italian. After I had a little refreshing course last night, I realized how rusty I am with verbes and tenses. I don't even dare to get back to this stuff like: "sorebbe" as I'm more used to "serian" in Spanish and don't want to mix it up completey.. yes, it's quite different and if it happens that my girlfriend will speak Italian, I will learn it again and otherwise I must get by with whatever crappy mix of Spanish and English that I can provide :P
Weee.. I just found a peach and a yoghurt that I brought along from breakfast. So now I'm pretty confident that I will make it through the night ;) Man.. if tomorrow I arrive in Albania, I hope they have decent hotels (at least 3 stars) with WiFi for an affordable price! ;D Oh boy.. I was sleeping in abandoned houses and creepy churches for long enough. I'm probably getting too old for this type of adventures ;)
so.. it's a quarter past nine and already dark. If not for the porch light, I would be in bed by now and I'll do it anyway.. I will probably wake up at 6.30 and leave the place at 7 sharp. Going for a cappuccino or two in the next village and then maybe even doing some extra turn in the area (for it's so damn beautiful around here) and then checking in the port in Bari to find out when and how and how much. Day by day, step by step.. it's easier than you might think. And yes, compared to what I experienced along the Panamericana and in the Himalayan Mountains, this is just a walk in the park! ;D
be safe out there my friends and my best blessings to you!! it's a pleasure to know you all and it's all of you that make my life so wonderful and worthwile!
Finally when I reached the sea also the clouds gave in to blue sky. I was like eating fresh fish in a restaurant at the beach but I just got some pasta in a strange place that didn't look open either. I can't tell you how much I hate beach holidays. What possibly can be fun being stuck on a sandy beach (driving a bike along it is a different story though). I was pretty tired when I got there and was happy to get something to eat, so I didn't complain. It took me also a while to find a way to the beach, so I was in no mood to look any further. From there I continued further down to the "Gargano", a route that has been highly recommended to me. After passing a few ugly looking hookers on the way, I finally got some nice views on the open sea while driving a curvy road up the mountains. On the map the name "grotta smeralda" got my attention (sounds like a old pirate hideout ;) and so I set my course for it. Passed the touristy Vieste (where I probably should have stayed) and had some more epic kilometers to drive. Well.. in the meantime I figured out that you can only access this grotto by boat and the boat starts in Vieste (I passed it over an hour ago) and only on Saturdays.. and then it would be one of the touristy things I don't do. But anyway.. as the policemen in Vieste told me that I can camp in Baia de Zagare (what isn't true either, because it fancies only a hotel), I now got stuck in something "..a flores". I was really in no mood to drive any further (will enjoy this road tomorrow) and unloaded my bike and had the beer I wished for so long. Unfortunately the restaurant here is still closed, so I'm not only saving money by camping out wildly, but also save the money to get some proper food (I gladly would pay the couple of Euros to get a decent meal). But no, now I'm feeding on some emergency nut-bars. I hope they will keep my warm during the night. For lazyness I didn't want to pitch my tent, but attached my hamock between two trees with a nice view over the ocean. Turns out it's muuuch to windy to spend a night like this, but fortunately a retired Italian guy let's me sleep on his porch. Ah.. can't wait for it to become morning when I can drive to the next village (10km away) and have a decent breakfast!! But after I had a beer and a shot of home made lemon liquor (really tasty!!), I don't want to drive another meter. So it will be a cheap night (but not so much a fun night). This "promontorie del Gargano" is really a blast for riding motorbike! It's like super duper nice and I was even thinking of doing an extra round tomorrow. But after I had a chat with this nice Italian guy that let me hang out outside of his place, I figured that I can make it to Albania tomorrow and don't need to spend a night in Bari. That's absolutely fine with me as I can use the extra day in Albania and probably will get a nice hotel there (as I'm saving now the money here). It's the second time that people are telling me that there are no mosquitos, but there are! screw you damn little bastards! ..they got me totally off guard, as I don't carry any DEET with me. Well.. maybe I just through that mosquito net over me that I got in the last minute from Ebay. It will anyway be a tough night compared to the last one in that big and comfy bed. ..hmm.. by the way: I had my last smoke 6 days ago and I don't feel any urge to have a spliff whatsoever! pretty cool! :D I'm still looking forward to roll again in Switzerland, but it's not amiss and that's a really good thing! ..I don't have any troubles falling asleep, but I woke up twice last night. Always in the the end of a 4 hour sleep phase when I get back to REM I remember my dreams so vividly, I'm just waking up. I always thought, it's a shame that I don't remember my dreams, but now I'd wish I wouldn't remember them. Twice it was kind of nightmarish, as I had a fight with a good friend and second time I got into a sticky situation that let me wake up with a wierd feeling. let's see what this night will happen.. the wind just picked up a great deal :/ I tell you what.. in my hamock, I'd be blown away by now. I will keep all my clothes on (my sweater is stinky anyway by now, but as there's just me, noone really bothers ;). Maybe the situation I'm in is not exactly what I wished for, but there are alwasy adventages to it. It somehow evens out for more expensive nights and brings my budget back on track and I'll survive anyway. And it's what is traveling is about! I always ventured out without making detailed plans and it always turned out to be a good thing. You need to leave things open in order that the quantum universe can collapse the way it's best for you. If I would have organized everything before hand, I would not just have spent a lot of time, but would have altered the whole trip in a way that seems predictable but it's not anyway. So better give way to the chaotic randomness that makes things so perfect as they are! ;)
I'm having another sip of beer, as beer supposedly has calories too and will keep me warm during the night (as I lack of female company that would to the same but in a more joyful way ;). There's something I noticed today: even the smallest interaction with people can give me so much energy! Sometime after a long ride, freezing my ass off and getting tired, my mood isn't exactly high flying. But then when I stop to ask someone for the way, even if it's only 30 seconds of interaction, it boosts me so much!! it's like I'm connecting with the diviny energy of the whole universe by one friendly person helping me out. Every time I throw myself out there and have faith in the law of attraction, it totally works out! This is an experience you can't possibly make back home, but whenever you dare and let god of the well known structures that you built around you, then universe will take care of you. Most of the people I know, don't even know what I'm talking about, but whoever tried this out knows exactly what I'm talking about. Like this guy here that asked me: "you're alone?" and invited me over. (well.. he asked in Italian and I tried my best to explain myself in the following conversation). I wanted to talk about so much more than just traveling, job and family, but there are limits to what I can express in Italian. After I had a little refreshing course last night, I realized how rusty I am with verbes and tenses. I don't even dare to get back to this stuff like: "sorebbe" as I'm more used to "serian" in Spanish and don't want to mix it up completey.. yes, it's quite different and if it happens that my girlfriend will speak Italian, I will learn it again and otherwise I must get by with whatever crappy mix of Spanish and English that I can provide :P
Weee.. I just found a peach and a yoghurt that I brought along from breakfast. So now I'm pretty confident that I will make it through the night ;) Man.. if tomorrow I arrive in Albania, I hope they have decent hotels (at least 3 stars) with WiFi for an affordable price! ;D Oh boy.. I was sleeping in abandoned houses and creepy churches for long enough. I'm probably getting too old for this type of adventures ;)
so.. it's a quarter past nine and already dark. If not for the porch light, I would be in bed by now and I'll do it anyway.. I will probably wake up at 6.30 and leave the place at 7 sharp. Going for a cappuccino or two in the next village and then maybe even doing some extra turn in the area (for it's so damn beautiful around here) and then checking in the port in Bari to find out when and how and how much. Day by day, step by step.. it's easier than you might think. And yes, compared to what I experienced along the Panamericana and in the Himalayan Mountains, this is just a walk in the park! ;D
be safe out there my friends and my best blessings to you!! it's a pleasure to know you all and it's all of you that make my life so wonderful and worthwile!
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