BootsnAll Travel Network



Southern trek continues…

Well, Rome, in all it’s glory, is behind us, and for the next few days we have continued our trek more-or-less down the western coastline of Italy.

As usual we have shunned the Autostradas. They have the advantages of being (no doubt) smooth and quick for travelling, but since we are not in a great hurry we elect to go the more interesting way, winding along Italy’s secondary roads. Reading one American writer’s advice on getting around in Italy, this is what the writer had to say: ’The Autostrada is the fastest way to get around Italy. We use it whenever it is practical. The winding and slow country roads will drive you crazy eventually, especially if you really need to get somewhere quickly.’ The Autostradas are also Toll roads, being privately run, so they cost you money! Mind you the economy of choosing the secondary roads is very debatable since you travel further and slower and get shaken to bits in the process! However the secondary roads are invariably interesting, passing through villages and small towns, farming and horticultural areas at close hand.

So we left Rome intending to find a spot near Naples, hoping to take a look at the port the next day and then to perhaps have a look around Pompeii. But first we needed  a Supermarket to replenish supplies.  (this tribe takes some feeding!)  We had the names of two major supermarkets: Carrefour and Co op. As we drove along we found signposts pointing to both, and followed many red herrings into labyrinths of roads, but not one supermarket did we find. It was highly frustrating, not to mention time-wasting. Finally we came upon one (not one of the two we had been looking for) and thankfully trooped into the comfort of the air-conditioning.

The end of the day was coming up fast as we finally found our park for the night in a place called Barcoli.

Van parks are seldom sign-posted very clearly and so often we find ourselves chasing around in a town looking for a sign which we know should be there. Then, having found the first sign, we head off in the direction indicated, only to find ourselves in a wilderness of small roads, with not a sign in sight, nor a van park for that matter.

The park at Barcoli was such a place and the sign led us  off down a narrow lane, which then came to a fork: straight on was a narrow dusty lane squeezed between a ditch and a stone wall. To the right, a narrow semi-sealed road led down through the bushes. Which to take? On the basis of keep straight unless directed otherwise’ we pushed on down the narrow lane. We radio-ed back to van no.1  (who had missed the original sign) and suggested he try the right fork since we appeared to be running into a dead end. As we ground to an impasse, back came the news that they had found the park. Great! All we had to do was turn around in the space of a 2-Euro piece. Fortunately there was a minute lane squeezed between vineyards which our intrepid driver reversed into. At this stage another  car came trundling up the lane. It stopped, and out stepped a rotund gentleman gesticulating wildly and talking 90 to the dozen (as all Italians seem to do) I thought he was upset at having his lane blocked, but no – he was actually telling us how to get the maneuver done without ending up in the ditch. Realising that we did not understand a word, he resorted to very clear hand signals and safely guided the driver through the operation.

We ended up in the van park which was set in the hollow of a natural amphitheatre: a terraced hillside olive-grove on one side, a flat field below and trees off to the other side. It looked great but what we very quickly discovered was that it was a muggy, windless hollow, absolutely infested with mosquitoes! It was like being back in Malaysia with the thermometer in the mid-30’s and the humidity up in the 80’s. We sweated! And we decided not to linger on in that spot but to press on to Naples, hoping to find a park in the city for a look around, before going on to a park on the outskirts.

The awful truth dawned that in Italy, during the summer months, any seaside area within 50km of a major town is just a solid mass of cars and people.

 

 Also, since the traveller is now OFF the Autostrada, he is now driving on roads that were laid probably 100 years ago and have not seen much maintenance since! The jolting, cobbled roads continued as did the masses of cars and people.

We were lucky to find a temporary spot to park in Naples. Not a beach area but close to a street that the Leaders had earmarked as worth a look. This was a street in an old part of town, dedicated to workers of figurines in terra cotta.

 

 Originally manned by monks, producing religious models (particularly the nativity scene) in this street there were some real artists and the work they produced was quite exquisite.

 

There was some cheap shoddy stuff as well, which was to be expected.

But the detailing and colouring on these figures and other items was really something to see.

We had a good look at all the craft shops, and I wandered off and found a pastry shop making an exotic muffin-y thing called a Baba. This was rather like a tall muffin, made moist and spongy by being drenched (it seems) in some sort of liqueur. (I didn’t know this until I had bought them!) So we had a quick semi-lunch before moving on to find an overnight spot.

Not finding anywhere to over-night park anywhere near Naples or Pompeii, we drove on towards Sorrento. Finally we admitted defeat and decided to move on southwards to where we were fairly certain of finding a spot.

Ah, but there was no road heading  in our desired direction (the mountains backing onto the coastline limited the number of roads heading inland.) So back we went, re-tracing our path almost into Naples once more before heading off to a van park in Battipaglia

The only plus in all this to-ing and fro-ing was that we took a double-take at the Bay of Naples. The road wound up over high bluffs, affording us great views of this fabulous area.

 

 As we said to each other, the best way to see this area would be by Cruise Ship: cruise into port, go ashore and join an air-conditioned tour, bus back to the ship and enjoy a sumptuous meal in the comfort of the ship’s restaurant!

 

 As it was,we jolted and jumped and twisted and wriggled and climbed and plunged our way along the coast, snatching hungry glimpses of the lovely scenery as we evaded suicidal Italian drivers.

By he way, we did a rough check on ‘dinged’ cars today and came to the astonishing conclusion that well over half the cars on the road bear evidence of a more-than-close encounter with another vehicle. In fact today we experienced a close encounter first-hand. A car zoomed out of a side street and poked his nose slightly in front of us. We had the right of way so swerving a bit to give him room, kept going. But the driver decided to keep going also. We felt this judder as he made contact with our side. Rach had a glimpse of the driver waving his hands in frustration and saying something which thankfully we could not hear. ‘What shall I do? she asked. ‘ Keep going’ I said – the complications of arguing with an irate Italian too fraught to consider. Later inspection revealed that we had rubbed all along the side of the van, with no damage. Also there was no paint left on our van, so we assumed that his bumper must have just nudged into our van. But not a good experience. The lead van had its share of fun, squeezing past a tour coach, too…

 

Once again, the sign-posting in Battipaglia let us down,  and we failed to find the van park. So we pulled wearily into a large parking space surrounded by apartment  blocks with  some shops on the ground floor. We intended to have dinner there before resuming the search. However circumstances dictated that we should stay put for the night: first it was getting too late to start searching again, and just a few hundred meters up the road from where we had parked, a truck had vaulted over a safety barrier beside a bridge and had landed upside-down on the railway lines below. This created a massive traffic jam, which we could see no profit in joining. So there we were for the night!

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One Response to “Southern trek continues…”

  1. Gran and Pa Says:

    Hi J,
    You hit the nail on the head about the cruise ship experience.We can vouch for that. The cruise in to the ports of Italy are fabulous and the day trip really exciting. You are obviously enjoying the on land experience though. May it continue for this last week of your adventure. It is interesting reading the mature version of the travels. We can see a book coming up in the future.

  2. Posted from New Zealand New Zealand

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