Lot of time in the saddle today, left Cefalu, mid-Sicily at 9, kept going until 6.30pm when I stopped and check-in to a hotel in Catanzaro. An alive, old town in the hills just in from the coast on the instep of Italy, as it were. I seem to be on a mission and now that I've worked it out, I've been in glorious Italy for near 3 weeks and for good reason, I love it here. But as I said yesterday, it's time to move on and even though I'm still some 400 kms from Bari, my gateway to Croatia, I'm tempted to just get there and catch the night ferry. I'll see how the ride takes me tomorrow but the desire for a new culture is growing.
385 kms today; Cefalu to Messina, ferry to Villa San Giovanni, then Palmi, cross country to Taurianova and was headed to Lorci but the road was chiuso'd. Therefore diverted into proper rural mountain roads where I stopped at the next village at a cafe with it's signature gaggle of males debating, which is my want. Whenever I stop, I always look for the crowded cafe arena as the same thing happens every time. I pull up right outside the cafe, the debate stops and a every eye stares with an inquiring look as I de-robe from my bike wardrobe; then as I enter to order my usual cappuccino, I warmly announce, "Buon giorno tutti" with a huge smile and every time the conversation just flows from there. It's just great and today was no exception, once all know that I've travelled from the UK on my bike, the maps are out and each and every participant has his best route and places to visit. It's always a joyous free-for-all and all at 110 decibels. Fantastic! The privilege of today's coffee stop was the admission by Alfredo, the very proud owner of this buzzing watering-hole, that I'm the first 'Englese' to enter his bar, not a surprise really, I am truly in the middle of nowhere. It's was a really great stop, the longest yet and the best part was watching and trying to understand the workings of that Italian card game (that begins with 'B' but can't remember it), played with that pictured deck and at fighting volume. If you didn't know that cards were being played, you'd have thought it was a punch up. Bloody marvellous!
I think you get the idea about my stop-offs, so riding on to the under metatarsal coast and after miles of empty sandy beaches and seaside villages , Catanzaro is my home for the night. Sipping Amaretto in a lively bar as I write, surrounded by enthusing locals, in the warm night air.
I wonder if my next blog will emanate from Dubrovnik?
Buona notte tutti x
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