Leaving Italy

17 June

A quiet day on the road heading for the ferry to Croatia.  We first headed to Gravina in Puglia as it was in this area that Gillian's father spent some time in an Italian POW camp - described as a hell-hole in war history accounts.It felt strange ( Gillian here) leaving our luxurious hotel in Matera - well fed and accommodated with all our needs anticipated to head into an area where my father and his fellow POSs had existed in starvation conditions without adequate shelter - abused by Italian soldiers and commanders. The camp was called 'Campo PG 65 in Gravina '- we had been staying a short distance away in Hotel Campo.Aswe travelled through this area I was making connections to the area in 1941.   Today the area is well tended farmland with wheat and hay crops.  Low stone walls outline the fields. This part of southern Italy is gentle rolling land in contrast to the mountainous country further north.  Going to Matera we had driven up into high areas.

We then visited Castel del Monte, a strange hexagonal castle - built also by Frederick II - that apparently was not built to be lived in - there were no kitchens.  Now restored it is an empty shell, but has a commending position and views over the surrounding countryside.  Leaving the castle the rain started heavily and we were lucky to make it back to the car relatively dry.

Heading to Bari the heavens opened with torrential rain.  The motorway we were on was closed by flooding and only the GPS allowed us to find our way to the ferry terminal by other routes.  We sat and waited for the ticket office to open while the carpark filled with water and the thunder rolled around us.

Once on the ferry we found our (tiny) cabin and bedded down for the night.

18 June

Up at 5:30 as we had to be in our car by 7:00, we thought.  Hah!  It wasn't until 7:30 that the trucks blocking the doors onto the vehicle deck were moved.

Since we wouldn't be checking into our accommodation and the rain was still falling we decided to drive south to Cavtat, a small town on the coast.   What a contrast to Italy!  Well surfaced wide roads, well signposted with well behaved drivers.  It was like coming home.

At Cavtat we parked by the yacht harbour and waked around to the seafront.  On the spur of the moment we booked a trip to the Elafiti Islands and jumped on a boat back to Dubrovnik where we joined the tour boat in the old harbour.  The coast along here rises straight from the sea with houses built on steep land with a single 2 lane road cut into the hillside. Some of the vineyards seem almost vertical and much of the land is bare rock.

The islands we visited varied, but all showed the signs of hard economic times with depopulation during and after the war - "period of Serbian aggression".  The islands are small and rocky with areas of low growing trees.  As one we were fed a "fish picnic" consisting of a barbecued mackerel and green salad.  After a demonstration of the correct way to eat the fish we did quite well - you take the tail, split the fish, remove the backbone, twist the tail third off each side (no bones), split each side in half lengthwise to remove the lateral bones and you're done - all this demonstrated by a crewmember using one hand while standing on the rail.

This same crewmember took delight is showing his physical skills by pulling the boat into the wharf almost lying horizontal with the strain, and pushing the boat out from the wharf with a foot on each until the distance was about 6ft and he was doing a ballet split.

Arriving back at Cavtat we headed back to find our accommodation in Dubrovnik.  Again we have been lucky and have a delightful fully equipped flat with a terrace and views over a pleasant bay.

We have found that everyone here speaks English and are very easy to deal with.  Our landlady tells us that times are hard, the government is corrupt and that the only hope for the area is tourism so they focus on making us welcome.