02/05/18 – 03/05/18
After Vieste we went further round the coast to Peschici, a white walled fishing village that tumbles down the side of a headland and finishes at the harbour below. We took the coastal SP52 – having cycled along much of it the day before we knew it would be fine for a motorhome and would have pleasant views.
At Peschici we had decided to use one of the privately run Sosta/Campsites that sit behind the beach. There wasn’t much in the way of alternative parking and the warm weather was enticing us into a camping situation again. We ended up in Camping Bellariva with a wide assortment of nationalities who seemed to have converged on the area. We were quickly shown around the site and a selection of possible parking spots before Paul was taken away to get Bertie – in no uncertain hand waving terms I was told to stay behind on the space. Unnecessary to the process I assume!
It was a friendly and pleasant campsite, it’s prime beach side location reflected in the price of €19 (plus tourist tax). The night we arrived it was May 1st and holiday mood was in full swing, with loud bass coming from the beach cafes. The following morning the mood had relaxed and we spent a warm and sunny day lazing around the campsite, ambling to the beach for a swim and exploring the streets of Peschici.
It would prove to be the last day in our long run of sunshine and sea swimming. That evening the sky slowly turned from blue to grey. The web showed that there was a massive depression sitting in between mainland Italy, Sicily and Sardinia due to bring several days of strong winds, thunderstorms and rain. A quick debate and we decided to head north to our next destination – the Majella national park – we weren’t sure of better weather there, but it looked a little drier.
It was sad to say goodbye to Puglia; despite it being a bit of an obviousltouristy area it has been one of our favourite parts of Italy with a combination of glorious coastal scenery, historic whitewashed towns and prolific, good quality, motorhome stops both free and paid. We felt that we had been visiting at the right time too – the spring flowers and wildlife of the Salento district had been the icing on the cake. We will be back.
But for now we made a longish trek northwards to Fara San Martina. As we left the Gargano the rain, threatened by the heavy grey clouds, started to fall with a vengeance. Lightening flashes kept catching our eye and heavy rumbles of thunder made an interesting accompaniment to the rumble of the road surface. Would we find it any drier further north?