As fate would have it, we didn’t spend the night in our tent. Becky was happily asleep by 9:30 pm, when the winds began to howl. Scott was still awake reading, and watching the tent blow. Becky awoke, and we thought we were in for a rowdy night. Over the next hour the winds picked up so much that the couple in the RV next to us had to move their truck (which was our wind break) to protect the vestibule on their RV trailer. Not two minutes later, the pegs for our vestibule released and our tent was flapping even more loudly in the wind. We were concerned that even if the tent held, we would be unable to sleep with the noise, so we went in search of a sheltered place to move it. Scott checked out a half built washroom behind the camping area, but it was dirty and all the floor space was full of hoses and piping. We contemplated moving into the handicapped washroom (since no one uses it), but it would have been a tight squeeze. We also thought about setting up in one of the washrooms, but then we would be woken up every time someone came in and turned the light on. Fortunately, Mario came to the rescue. He drove up just as we were contemplating our next move and asked if we wanted to move into a bungalow. Becky said yes immediately! By 11 pm, we had all our gear sprawled throughout the bungalow and we were resting comfortably on a queen size bed.
When we got up in the morning, we were both tired. Since we have been riding for five days, we figured this was a good time to take a rest day. The bungalow is costing us 30 Euro per night, which is much cheaper than any of the hotels we have stayed at, and at least twice the size. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a nook that has a fridge. Too bad most of the camping villages are closed, or we would be seeking out bungalows like this one throughout our time in Italy.
In the afternoon, we decided that since we are on the Ionian Sea (in the Mediterranean) that we must go for a swim. It was 28 degrees outside and sunny – and the wind calmed a little over lunch. Shortly after 2:00 pm, we headed down to the sea for a swim. This ocean is right in front of the restaurant, so I’m sure that some of the lunch time patrons were thinking we were mad! It did not take long for us to get into the water – it was beautiful. Becky thinks it was warmer than the swimming pool on the ship. Becky floats much better than Scott in the salt water, so she enjoyed floating over the swells with her feet sticking out of the water. We bobbed about for around 20 minutes and then the wind began to pick up again – causing the waves to be more random. After a swallow or two of salt water, it was time to head in for some serious afternoon R&R.
Since the camping village is under construction, we had a chance to look closely at the construction methods used here. Buildings are made mostly out of concrete and brick, with wood only being used as trim and sometimes for ceilings. Ceilings are often 10 or 12 feet high. Floors are usually cement, tile, or marble and never carpet. There is very little drywall used. With all the hard surfaces and high ceilings, the buildings do not retain the smell of cigarette smoke. Typically, hotels and such do not have non-smoking rooms; however, we have found that even in the cheapest of places, the rooms do not smell of smoke at all. It has been nice to not have to worry about it.
Hi guys,
Italy sounds wonderful! The weather sounds great out there — referring to the fact of being able to swim in the Ionian sea not being rained on in the campground. 🙂 Out here in Ottawa we just had our first snowstorm of the season. From your blog I am learning all about Italian geography and culture — interesting since I know very little about that. I hope the language barrier isn’t too stressful. Either one of you have a gift with languages or accents?
Ciao,
Ali