Biking in Puglia (heel of the boot)

Our second “Backroads” holiday was to Puglia in southern Italy. It is the trip that we were supposed to have made a couple of years ago when David had his accident.Somewhat off the beaten tourist track, Puglia is the Italian region that covers the heel of the boot of Italy. It is primarily agricultural and predominantly an olive producing area. For the most part, the weather was excellent riding weather with highs around 80 degrees.

The trip lived up to expectations, the accommodations were comfortable and trip arrangements made by our Backroads team leaders were excellent. On the negative side, David’s camera decided to act up and some of the photos are not as good as they could have been.

We arrived in Bari - via Milan and London – miraculously on time the night beforeand were ready to meet the others on the trip at the train station at noon on Sunday. There were twenty of us and we began the day with a 21.5 km loop from Polignano to Conversano in order to get used to the bikes and get rid of the airplane induced paralysis in our lower backs! There was only one frighteningly steep climb this early in the trip. Arriving at the hotel Corte Alta Vila in Conversano, we showered,joined the others for antipasto, proseco and wine in order to get to know one another and then went to dinner at a nearby restaurant. As with all Italian meals, it did not end early!

Day two was more challenging with more climbing. This day took us through the town of Alberobello where many of the homes are cone shaped buildings inherited from Turkish influences. Very photogenic and more spacious than they look from the outside. We rode 62.7 km from Conversano to San Martino, over rolling terrain testing the legs of a couple of South Carolineans who are used to biking on flat terrain. Just to show the others we sprinted the last 5 km (actually because we could see a thunder storm coming and did not want to get caught in it) and just made it. It was a spectacular thunderstorm alright, but lasted only a couple of hours. Our hotel for that night and the next was the Masseria San Martino owned by an Italian couple who had lived in Edmonton most of their lives and now ran this Olive farm. Dinner was large, diversified and fun.

Day three took us on a 61 km loop to the fortress town of Ostuni and then back along the beach back to our hotel. Ostuni was an interesting town (the White Town as it is known) where we stopped for a sandwich lunch on our own and some exploration. Donna and I were among the few who took the long option back along the coast and had to climb back up the escarpment on the way home. Most of the others were relaxing in the pool as we arrived at the hotel. One exception was one of our fit colleagues whom we passed on the road as she ran an additional 5mi to get in shape for the Hawaii Iron Man competition. Dinner that night was at a famous local pizzeria. Good but waaaayyyyy too long.

Onthe fourth day we packed up and were shuttled to Salento (just north of Gallipoli) on the Ionian Sea and rode across the heel for 83km. We had the option of swimming at either end. This was a long haul and we don’t mind saying that we were a wee bit tired at the end. The route took us through small farmroads and tiny villages. I am proud to say that we did not get lost once (that day). David went for a swim in the Adriatic but also headed straight for the pool at our new hotel Masseria Panero. The hotel had spectacular views and a great pool. Dinner that night was on our own in the old town of Otranto where we were able to bribe the bus driver to get us back to the hotel at a reasonable hour for a change.

Thursday,day 5 was probably the most interesting ride day. We rode down to the tip of the boot some 48km and had the option of riding back (this time we were smart and took the van back and sat by the pool). The route followed the coast downto Sta. Maria Leuca at the very tip, past villages and some wonderful scenery. When I say “down” in the previous sentences, I refer to the map, not the absence of climbing. The whole coast is an escarpment that we rode up and down all day long. Of course by this time we were experts and led the others valiantly to Leuca where we stopped for a quick swim and then lunch. As the return ride was basically a repeat of the ride down, most of us took the van back and headed for the pool where we were treated to a show as water bombers swooped over us putting out a brush fire about one KM away. At dinner that night we were treated to a wine tasting of the local wines.

The final day was a short one consisting of a 15 KM loop to one of the nearby villages which allowed us to stretch our legs and little more. I will confess that this time we did get lost, but found our way back in lots of time. Directions provided to us were excellent, however, this is Italy and signs change, what was a red house is now blue, the garage on the corner is now a restaurant and try as the trip leaders might to stay up to date, there are challenges. We were dropped of at the train station at noon for what seemed to be an interminable trip home!
Click on Photos for album.

Puglia

The Wedding

Noelle and Stu got married last week and they brought some of their good friends and family to share the moment. We loved it because all the grandkids came down and managed to exhaust us in the pool, at the park, on the beach and of course at the wedding. David’s Mom came up from Florida to join in the fun and I think everyone had a good time!
We could not have picked a better day for the wedding but I will leave most of the wedding photos to the professional photographer and focus my attention on family photos before during and after the event. Lets face it, it's all about the grandkids! You will see that water is a common theme and we were lucky to be blessed with nice weather, a little cool early in the week and then getting hot.
Here is a photo of the bride and one of the two men in her life!

This next set of photos was taken at Magnolia Plantation where the event took place. The happy couple were saluted by a jet flying over so we never got to hear what Noelle said and then a grey heron saluted them with a trumpet as it flew over so we never heard what Stu said – so we assume they married.

The wedding

This batch of photos is from our pool

In the pool

while this next batch is from the beach.

On the beach

I could not keep up with everyone since I needed to nap to keep up my strength. Here are some final shots at the park or biking.

Biking & park

Mexico Feb 2011

After the miserable, wet and cold winter we have had, it was a great relief to escape to Playa del Carmen on the Mayan Coast south of Cancun for a week.
We arrived on Monday to temperatures in the mid 80s and settled into our hotel on the beach. To our great surprise it was filled with Canadians! In the bar or in the restaurants all you could hear was “eh” or the French equivalent. The hotel was chosen to be strategically near the scuba dive operation and we headed out loaded with our gear early on Tuesday morning for two ocean dives. It was just the two of us with the dive leader and thus was a relaxing and pleasant way to get our feet wet, so to speak.
The second day we drove 30 min. south and dove in a “senote” which is an underground river that flows through caves and caverns in the limestone. Fresh water was cooler and thus we had heavier wet suits on, carried flashlights and had to scramble over rough rocky entrances with full gear on in order to get to the entrance. Getting in was hard enough, but getting out again was worse. That first step was a giant one. It was different and fun. No fish to speak of, but a lot to see in the caverns and interesting to see the thermocline where water of different temperatures meet causing a distinct visual line.
Day three was once again two ocean dives, this time accompanied by three other men. Mexico is not one of the premiere diving destinations, but we enjoyed our diving, the visibility was good, we saw a lot of spotted and moray eels as well as turtles, lobsters and other stuff. It is a very relaxing sport.
When not diving we enjoyed the hotel and the town. As we were on an all inclusive package, the drinks were free but we had to eat in the hotel. The food was only OK and were would have preferred to try one of the many restaurants in town but we did not starve! Playa has a very active tourist center and when we were not on the beach, we prowled the tourist haunts.


After our dive on Thursday, Donna and I rushed back to check out of the hotel and headed 15 minutes up the road to the Rosewood Mayakoba resort where we stayed through Sunday. This place was simply the most elegant place that we have ever stayed at. We had our own cabana with its own plunge pool overlooking the lagoon. Everything was luxurious; indoor and outdoor showers, a tub that could host its own superbowl party, sundeck above the cabana, our own butler and total privacy! The hotel itself is sumptuous but guests stay in private cabanas, there are three central pools as well as a great beach, three top class restaurants and three bars. On arrival guests are taken to their rooms by boat across the lagoon inhabited by birds and turtles. The following photos only convey a little of the flavor of the place.

Playa del Carmen

As you can see in the photos we also played golf at El Camaleon Mayakoba golf course on the property. It was also gorgeous and is being groomed to host the first PGA sanctioned event in Mexico at the end of this month. Donna and I could get quite accustomed to being pampered at this place and were sad to leave.

Christmas in Toronto 2010

We joined Noelle, Stuart and Liam in Toronto for a nice Christmas. Liam is a bit young to understand the concept but he has no trouble knowing what presents are for. And boy, did he get a lot of presents! As always he was the center of attention and he loved all the gifts he received. Here are some photos:

Liam's Xmas 10

When it came time to leave, Donna was able to get out on time but my flight was cancelled on account of weather in the Northeast US and I was able spend a couple of extra days with Liam>

Thanksgiving in Darien

We drove up to Darien, Connecticut to visit Marc, Lesley, Kincaid and Cormac for Thanksgiving. Going by car gave us the opportunity of loading it with a lot of Marc’s old “stuff” from school and other things that we have been anxious to get rid of plus, of course, toys.
The drive up was long but not nearly as long as the drive back on the weekend which was plagued with stop and go traffic. Fortunately, we broke the up trip with an overnight in Washington and left early on Sunday morning for Charleston. If we had left much later, we would have faced even longer delays.
Traffic aside, it was a great visit with good food, and lots of quality time with the grandkids. We have lots of photos to share with you if you click on the following picture:

Thanksgiving in Connecticut

Brazil - October 2010

In early October, Granny, Donna & David met at the Charlotte airport and headed for Rio! Granny was anxious to see granddaughter Nicole and Ava, her great granddaughter for her second birthday party. Here we are on Copacabana.

Donna and I took some detours to Fortaleza to visit our friend Cira and enjoy some beach time then Salvador, where we chilled by the pool in a beautiful inn (see picture)located in the heart of the old part of Brazil’s most historic city.

Fortaleza, located in the country’s north east region is best known for its beaches. To us it is a smaller, more civilized Rio, without the crowds and yet with great food and lots to do at night. Our hotel was located right across from a great swimming beach and just up from the fisherman’s beach. In the evening a handicraft market was set up on the sidewalk and the restaurants were humming. Here is a picture taken from the hotel room window:


Cira was a great hostess, meeting us at the airport and whisking us off with daughter Celina to the “Sirigado” restaurant for a delicious (and huge) seafood lunch. Then it was off to shopping …. The one lucky piece of good news was that all Banks were on strike so we were unable to get any money to buy "stuff" - Seriously, the bank strike was a major inconvenience since ATM machines were emptied out in no time and cash was king. Dinner was at “Coco de Bambu” a charming outdoor restaurant where a few “caipinhas” were consumed to help with digestion.
The next day, Donna and I took off for a more remote beach “Canoa Quebrada” where we put our lives in the hands of a suicidal dune buggy driver who took us over 90 degree drops at great speed. Pictures of that day are here (double click on picture for album):

2010-10-15 Fortaleza

On the third day we walked up the fisherman’s beach and took these photos:

Fortaleza.boats

We arrived in Salvador and were taken straight to our small Inn (12 rooms) in the center of “Pelourinho”, a UNESCO heritage site in the heart of the old city. Salvador was the first Capital of Brazil (under the Portuguese) and it grew rich on sugar. An integral part of its culture comes from the religions and traditions brought by the 1.3 million slaves (double the number that the US imported) that were imported to work the sugar cane. The following album contains photos around Pelourinho :

Salvador

On return to Rio, we joined Granny again and enjoyed Ava's second birthday party.

Granny&Ava

Prague to Vienna, July 2010

Once a very long time ago we had to cancel a biking trip in Europe because one of us had an accident with his bicycle. This year we made up for it with a memorable bike tour of the Czech Republic and Austria with Backroads and were joined by good friends Jo-Anne and Doug Ellenor.
It all began on a warm Friday afternoon and Saturday in Prague as we arrived early in order to get to know the city before we joined the tour. Prague is a glorious old city that escaped bombing during WWII and thus has maintained its magnificent baroque and gothic buildings in good repair. Used as a backdrop for a number of movies, it still has a charm that characterizes the “bohemian” lifestyle and the glory of ancient Europe. To get the most out of it, we took a tour of the city which was led by the daughter of a former Czech ambassador to Canada. Highlights were the Prague Castle that dates back to the 9th century but was expanded and remodeled many times. The gothic cathedral of St. Vitus (and St. Wencelsas of Christmas fame) is part of the castle enclosure. Other sights are the Charles bridge and the old town square. Click on the following photos to access the full gallery of photos of our two days in Prague.

Czech_ Prague

and

Czech_ Prague day 2

The Backroads tour officially began as we were picked up at our hotel Sunday morning already dressed in our biking attire and were transported in a chartered bus with the other participants to the town of Tyn where we were issued our bikes and were handed our trip directions and sent on our way to Hluboka with one stop at a distillery (slivovice and plum schnaps) on the way. (by the way – slivovitz seems to weaken your legs) First day of biking was 42.3 km, through wonderful forested countryside, some good hills to test our mettle and perfect weather in high 60’s warming to the 80’s later. We overnighted in a hotel at Hluboka. Click on this photo to access the gallery of day 1.

Czech_ Tyn to Hluboka Day1

Day 2 began with Donna and I getting lost straight out of the box ,which added a few kilometers to the ride but we caught up in no time and rode the 65.1km to Cesky Krumlov arriving before most of the group. It was fun ride with the exception of one gravel stretch that cut through forest in order to avoid traffic. When we pulled up to Cesky Krumlov it was like emerging from the forest into Disney World! A UNESCO world heritage site, this is a marvelously restored medieval town surrounding a magnificent castle on a twisting river. Ignored during communist times, it has been wonderfully restored according to strict architectural guidelines to preserve its authenticity. We stayed two nights in a transformed Jesuit monastery decorated to match the period. Photos can be accessed here.

Czech_Cesky Krumlov & lunch Day 2

Day 3 was also launched from Cesky Krumlov as we did a 45.6 Km loop through the countryside coming back to Cesky Krumlov. We were back around noon, allowing lots of time for us to explore the town and do a tour of the castle. In our honor -I’m sure- a Canadian band played in the town square. More photos are here.

Czech_Cesky Krumlov day3

Our Austrian portion began on day 4 with a bus trip across the border to Ottenstein where we hopped on our bikes and rode down to the Danube town of Durnstein. Ottenstein is a former summer castle now owned by the forest service in a beautiful wooded part of the countryside. This was my favorite ride of the trip. 59.8km long, it snaked through very picturesque forest and farmland. The route included lots of challenging hills that took you to high farmland and beautifully maintained little villages and a great downhill portion which passed various castle ruins. Just before the end, we rode through the town of Krems , another cobble stoned historic town in the Wachau valley along the Danube. We would have liked to explore it more but the temperature was in the 90s and we just wanted to find somewhere cool.
Durnstein is a charming little fortress town that is famous for having hosted the imprisoned Richard the Lion-heart (of Robin Hood fame) when he was held hostage by King Leopold in the 12th century. Today it is also known for its wine. The hotel we stayed in was a converted convent but… it had a great swimming pool. Boy did it feel good! Here are some photos of the town and along the ride.

Austria_Ottenstein to Durnstein

By now the temperatures were in the 90s and riding was hot! Day 5 was characterized by a ride along the Danube along a bike path that originates in Germany and runs 1800 miles to Romania. We went to the Abbey at Melk (76km with a loop up the hills for a little additional exercise). The Danube is sprinkled with castles (ADC = another damn castle) and picturesque villages and the hills are beautifully organized farms of mountain cattle, corn, wheat, barley, sunflowers and one particularly annoying horse fly that liked the taste of me. By the time we got to Melk we were dehydrated but proud of our mountain climbing prowess.
The Benedictine Abbey of Melk is still in use and served as the inspiration of the book and movie (Sean Connery) The Name of the Rose. Its restoration was financed, in part, by the sale of the Gutenberg Bible to Yale University. We stopped for lunch and a tour (plus a lot of liquids) and then rode back to Durnstein and the pool!! At night we were forced to do a wine tasting. Photos are here.

Austria_Durnstein&Melk

Our last day was short and David was elected to scramble up to the top of the escarpment to the castle ruins and take pictures while Donna did a short ride on the other side of the Danube for exercise. We were transported to Vienna at noon to end the tour. The Ellenors and ourselves stayed an extra day in Vienna to search for the perfect apfel strudel but were too pooped to do much else. A few Vienna and some final Durnstein pictures from on high are here.

Austria_Durnstein&Vienna

It was a great experience and we would do it again in a heartbeat!