To Gravina in Puglia

April 23, 2023

None of us set an alarm last night, but our internal alarms are all pretty similar and around 6:30 folks start watching for their opportunity to slip into the bathroom in the dark. At some point it’s clear that there is quiet whispering coming from both ends of our massive quarters and so the proposal gets made that as long as we’re all awake we might as well turn the lights on and start getting the show on the road. We eat the breakfast materials we’ve brought with us and then walk a few blocks to the cafe where Roberto has left us coupons for a coffee and pastry.

A rather spooky-looking guy looks back and warns me to keep my distance, so I do.

Waiting for the goods. For some reason I’m the only one who gets handed my pastry at the time I place my order.

That doesn’t take long, and by a bit past eight we’re all back in the room and gradually starting to prepare for our departures. Checkout’s at ten, and Racpat want to linger in the room until the last minute because they have an easy, downhill ride to Bari for their evening sailing to Durrës and they don’t want to hang out for hours on end in the port city waiting until they can board.

We leave a little earlier, but not long before ten either. We’ve also got a short and easy ride ahead to Gravina, but it’s Sunday and we’ve decided we’re better off having lunch as the main meal today rather than hoping we can find something suitable open on Sunday night. Rachael’s done the research and targeted Mamma Mia Trattoria. If Google Maps is accurate on restaurant hours for a change (and, fyi, it’s record so far on this tour is very poor on this metric), it stops serving at two so we don’t want to be late.

Rachel flaunts the fact that she does in fact have more than one riding outfit along on this tour. Also she reveals the complete absence of a biker’s tan on her legs, which she’s kept under wraps for the warmth until today.

And we’re off, heading west - diametrically opposite to Racpat’s route for the day.

As I stated earlier, it’s a short, simple ride today. Not much distance, no climbs of real consequence, no time pressure to make an appointment. It’s a relaxed ride - very pretty, very quiet - with only three features of note to share. First, much of the ride is on rough, unpaved surfaces again. Not bad, and definitely much better than if there’d been any rain in the last few days to deepen and widen the puddles; but it’s more than Rocky’s enthused to see, who thinks we’ve been spending quite enough time on roads like this lately.

And second, we have the exciting resurrection of the long dormant bird quest when a kestrel stays put long enough for me to get a decent shot of it.

And third, we come away with the best collection of Where’s Rachael shots that we’ve seen in awhile. See if you can find her in all four and amaze your friends!

Oh, and one more thing: we’re in the Alta Murgia, the upper part of the karstic plateau. Today’s route skirts the western end of the large Alta Murgia National Park, which we’ll see more of soon.

Much better, for awhile at least. That’s Altamura straddling the ridge to the right.

Down Wisteria Lane. What an amazing plant though! It begins about twenty feet behind me here, and look how high up that evergreen it climbs!

Rough, but an entertaining steering and balancing challenge. The smoothest surface is down the center, but there’s a ragged drop off on either side and you have to pay attention.

Yellow asphodel. I’ve only seen it in white before and it took me awhile to recognize it.

Whee! Even if you’re tired of surfaces like this, this looks like great fun.

In the Alta Murgia. We’re not inside the park boundaries, but it feels like it.

Video sound track: Cast Your Fate to the Wind, by Quincy Jones

We’re surprised when we drop into Gravina, which is larger than the small town we’d imagined and definitely much busier. It’s Sunday, there’s a significant market going on, and maybe some sort of festival based on the colorful festivities and costumes we see. It’s slow going as we work our way through the crowds to Mamma Mia Trattoria, a place that looks like an amazing place to sit for lunch, perched on the side of a spectacular ravine. Not today though, because the place is disappointingly fully booked; and it’s closed tonight so that’s out too, but we make a reservation for tomorrow night as long as we’re here.

We check in at another nearby restaurant but it’s full too, unsurprisingly with these crowds milling around; but we find a sandwich shop with open outdoor seating where we’re served delicious salads - mine’s the best salad of the tour so far - and a panino for myself and a piadino for Rachael. That and a glass of vino rosso are enough to stand for our main meal of the day and gives us a spot to sit until we can call our host to meet us at our room.

In Gravina, a surprisingly bright and colorful place.

The Chiesa del Purgatorio. We’re on the hunt for lunch but I’d better stop for a quick snap in case we don’t find our way back here tomorrow.

We come to our B&B at about ten minutes later, and for the next ten take turns waiting by the door with the bikes while the other checks out the astonishing views that open up just yards away. Finally a car drives up, and the apparent owner rolls down the window and looks at us quizzically. No, we don’t have a reservation, she insists. We’re just starting to get anxious and are about to pull up the reservation to show her when a young woman walks up. She’s been watching us waiting here, wondering if we might be her guests. We’re standing at the wrong door, and our reservation is with a second B&B immediately next to this one. Whew!

Gravina is an amazing place. Other than the photos above though, you’ll have to wait. We’ll be here two nights, so we’ll get an in depth look tomorrow. In the meantime did you see the final James Bond film, No Time to Die? Remember this scene? It was shot a few hundred feet from our room.

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Ride stats today: 24 miles, 800’; for the tour: 702 miles, 40,200’

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2023 Bird List

134. Eurasian kestrel

Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 736 miles (1,184 km)

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Susan CarpenterI found Gravina in Puglia to be a surprisingly delightful place - I especially enjoyed wandering around the archeological site across the river. Enjoy the day, and your upcoming time in the Alta Murgia National Park
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11 months ago