The weather forecast for the days after our sightseeing in Rome was rainy and unsettled, especially in the mountains. We therefore opted for a less spectacular route through the lowlands. We were able to avoid the rain well, but not the surprisingly strong headwind.

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We also had to deal with a small incident: David stabbed himself in the ear with a small branch while taking down the tent one morning. Luckily it didn’t go into the eye and caused David “only” a few days of earache and both of us some worries.

The closer we got to the metropolitan area of Napoli, the more often some things had a sallow aftertaste. Our traditional café with pasticceria suddenly cost much more and had suspiciously round prices – of course without the receipt. When we asked for the receipt, either the cash register was defective or the round amount was typed in, which we – for whatever – had paid. More and more trash lined the narrow, congested and potholed streets. Every now and then we found freshly paved road sections out of nowhere… who might be living here or what had to be buried there? 🙂

After a strenuous ride through the completely congested roads, we reached the nice campsite in Pompei. Apparently we were the first visitors with tent, so the round price was determined ad hoc. Here, too, there was no receipt, but we were welcomed with limoncello and baklava.

The visit to the ruined city of Pompei was very impressive and rewarding. Less rewarding was the attempt to climb Vesuvius via the southern road by bicycle. At the last building, the road was completely fenced off. According to the construction site information poster, the road should be restored by the end of 2021. But according to info from the Vesuvius park ranger, the restoration will take at least another year. Hazardous waste? 🙂

Since it was impossible to get through, we returned to the campsite. There we had time to clean the bikes and make the due bike chain change.

After the wonderful hiking days on the Amalfi Coast, we left the huge metropolitan area in the direction of the inland. Hardly had we climbed the first hill, the receipts became more transparent again, the roads cleaner and emptier. On the way to Bari we passed through the beautiful plateaus “Piano Volturara” and “Piano Laceno” and the barren prairie-like national park “dell’Alta Murgia”. With great weather and tailwind we enjoyed the ride across Italy very much!

At the not very organized port in Bari we wanted to buy tickets for the ferry to Igoumenitsa in Greece. According to the screen, the ferries should always leave in the evening and arrive in Greece the next morning. Yesterday, however, was not “everyday”, but Sunday and the ferry left already at 13:30. Fortunately, the time before boarding was still enough for a pizza to go:-)

Because we arrived in Igoumenista only at midnight, we spent the rest of the night on a park bench. Now we are sitting on a campsite by the sea and catching up on what we had planned for Bari: Blog writing, laundry, relaxing….

In the next few days we want to discover Northern Greece before heading towards the Balkans.