No walking today, as we are still recovering from a virus that leaves us both a bit fatigued. We rug up on this cold, windy, damp day and take the bus to Otranto – well, three buses actually.
Clearly we hadn’t learnt this lesson well enough previously: you cannot trust google maps. We thought there was a direct bus, but it doesn’t run at this time of year. We are waiting at the bus stop, where no bus had arrived – but maybe it was running late – and a local rode past on his bike. He soon circled back to check where we were going – Oh no that bus doesn’t run in winter. He is joined by another man, and between them they let us know that it is in fact three buses to get to Otranto, with the first to depart in another 90 minutes or so.
We head to the bar to stay warm.
First bus arrives precisely on time and gets us to Martano; it is a bit of a wait there, so we head to a nearby park to get out of the drizzle. The next bus also departs on time and is clearly labelled for our next destination – Maglie. Once in Maglie, it is a bit of a wait so we keep out of the wind in the supermarket for a while. It is a busy departure area, with lots of school kids, and buses constantly coming and going from several different companies, to a range of destinations. Many of the buses have no destination to be seen; at the scheduled time, a bus from the correct company stops up the road behind three others and I rush up to ask – yes, Otranto. On our way on the final bus, but the adventure is still not over. The bus takes the route out along the freeway, exits the freeway where it should, but then instead of turning left towards the towns on the route, turns right and gets back on the freeway. The heads of the school kids lift from their phones, like a group of startled meerkats, as they seem as confused as I am. The bus heads all the way back to Maglie, picks up a man at a bus stop, where there is lengthy, loud ‘discussion’, and then we are back on our way again on the freeway, through the towns as intended, then onto Otranto.
We rock up to a waterfront hotel where we get ourselves a bargain, winter-time, water-facing room.
After taking in the view, which includes the distant coast of Albania, we head out to wander within the old town, and to see the star of the region – the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata.
Set within the massive walls of the old town, the showstopper here is the masterpiece mosaic floor. Created in the 12 century, it depicts a majestic Tree of Life.
The sun has set by the time we enter the cathedral, so it is dark inside and not optimal viewing. We took photos, but these samples cannot relay just how extraordinary this is.
Our visit is accompanied by singing from below. We found a stamp for our credentials and picked up our only souvenir to date – a poster of the floor.
Stay – Hotel Profumo di Mare.
Eat – La Cucina di Nonna Tina.
Richo and DC 