 |
 |
|
|
|
|
||||
Friday, June24 - Sunday July 17, 2005
results of their work on our engine and gear box. It was good to see them again. Tomorrow we will go by the shop on our way out of town so they can take some pictures of the bike.
Out of the city and into the mountains and into Austria. A lovely day as we rode through Garmish and into the Alps. We encountered a campground and stopped for the day. We had a beautiful afternoon and evening. Just after we got into the tent it started to rain - and it continued until 9:30 in the morning. Here’s our camp site complete with laundry hanging out to dry. Luckily we moved the laundry under the “wing” protecting the bike and offering us shade so we can get out of the hot sun.
We stayed in the hills for most of the day, winding our way from village to village, enjoying the views such as you see in the photo at left. We stopped in one village that was large enough to support a small market and bought our lunch of prociutto, pecorino, bread, tomatoes and lots of water. We then found a shady spot by the side of the road in which to enjoy our picnic. Late in the afternoon we were back in the flat lands and stopped for the night near Reggio.
e Valnerina and into the Parco Nazional di Monte Sibillini. At the top is the marvelous Piano Grande (photo right), a high plateau under Monte Vettore that is farmed and used to raise sheep. We stopped at the isolated town of Castlelluccio where we bought a bit of the local Pecorino cheese. |
See the Rome, Italy page for more information.
Monday, August 8, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 239.0 KM
Average Speed: 47.8 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 00 Minutes
After two days of wandering about Rome we are on the road again. We rode south along the coast only to get tired of all the August traffic and decided that we would have to go inland a bit. For a long while we followed the Appian Way to Terracina, the first section of the road that was begun in 312 BC. This section was revolutionary in its time because it was almost perfectly straight (and still is). We then followed the coast again for a bit but decided we didn’t want to pay the August sea-side prices. So we headed into the hills and ended the day at the foot of the mountain on which the town of Cassino is located. The town was rebuilt at the conclusion of World War II because it was totally destroyed by the allies as they tried to drive the Italians and Germans out of the city. The hilltop location of the abbey was very strategic and was easily defended. This was probably the bloodiest battle fought in Italy during the war. See the Central Italy page for more information.
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 157.0 KM
Average Speed: 35.0 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 4 Hours 28 Minutes
We took a ride up to Montecassino to visit the abbey there first thing this morning. The abbey is beautiful, with stunning views all around. There was a picture of the abbey after the battle (in 1944) and there wasn’t much left of the hilltop. A document indicated that the entire abbey was rebuilt, according to the original design, over 10 years. It was fully financed by the Italian government. When we visited the crypt, we could see some of the wall panels that had been saved were slightly damaged.
We then drove south and a bit east to Pompeii, totally avoiding Naples where we understand the traffic is horrible. However, we found our own horrible traffic in the city of Caserta. We didn’t realize it at the time, but the town is home to the most visited historic monument in Italy, the Palazzo Reale, the Italian version of Versailles and featured in Stars Wars Episode 1 (the inside of Queen Amidala’s residence).
We got to Pompeii in the early afternoon and tried the motel near the site. They were booked, but offered us a less-than-optimal room for a reduced rate (hmmm!). Turns out this is one of the rooms used for “nooners” that they rent by the hour so we were the second occupants for the day (we did get the room clean and with new linen). Of course it is right next to the rail tracks and the whole place shakes when the trains go by. There was a fair amount of moaning and groaning emanating from the room next to ours during the first 45 minutes we were there. The couple left soon after the sounds stopped and the clean up crew was on the scene cleaning the room as soon as their cars were out of the parking lot. The two women who clean the rooms were quite funny as they kept looking at us as we were taking things from the bike into the room. We suspect that they were very interested what we thought about all the activity.
We did wait until late in the afternoon before heading to the site of the ruins which are quite vast and interesting. However, it appears that relatively little has been done to maintain the site since its excavation and many of the artifacts have been pillaged or rest in museums throughout the world. After reading our tour book and visiting here, it may be that Herculaneum would have been the richer site to visit as much more has been preserved.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 238.9 KM
Average Speed: 29.3 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 8 Hours 09 Minutes
The first train rolled by at 5:45 so we were up early and on the road shortly after 7:00 AM. This was OK with us because our plan for the day was to head south and west so we could ride down the Amalfi coast. The ride out of Pompeii was very interesting. When we arrived in town yesterday afternoon we were reminded of someplace we had been previously. This morning confirmed our suspicions.
The more time we spend in the area south of Rome the more we are reminded of Mexico. And Pompeii reminded us of Tijuana; especially with all the stray dogs running about and those that had been run over by cars and trucks that were now lying in the street in (quite literally) pieces. This combined with the overall decay of the buildings, the condition of the streets and all the trash strewn about led us to this “feeling”.
Oh, ya. Did we mention the driving? Since we have been south of Rome the driving has become very interesting. When Verna was driving through Caserta yesterday we were very surprised to find cars driving in the opposite direction on our side of the road to our right! Oh yes, there was oncoming traffic on our left as well. We have encountered a real “cowboy” mentality by the drivers in southern Italy. Everyone pretty much does what ever they damn well please. Enforcement? Police? Not that we have seen.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 173.5 KM
Average Speed: 29.7 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 50 Minutes
A nice ride down the coast then we turned east into the mountains. Thankfully we got an early start so missed the worst traffic of the day. The houses are built on the hillside and climb vertically up the steep cliffs. With the traffic and the curves we traveled rather slowly. Busses honk several times before the hairpin turns so you know to stop well clear of their turning radius. After Salerno we turned inland and climbed to 4,500 feet (1,370 meters) and found a nice quite campground with not many people.
We had a very peaceful evening and night. Tomorrow we will take the ferry to Sicily.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 292.9 KM
Average Speed: 40.3 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 7 Hours 16 Minutes
After coming out of the mountains, we picked up the Autostrada (free at this point) and rode it to the ferry port (boring but quick). We arrived in Sicily this afternoon. And we only had one car run a stop sign as we were entering an intersection. Fortunately we have learned to expect this type of behavior and we managed to avoid being hit.
We headed down south from Messina and found a hotel along the beach for the night. A young American girl (an exchange student from New York state) escorted us to our room. It was very strange hearing an American accent - the first since we left Spain in March.
Tomorrow we will visit Mt. Etna.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 156.0 KM
Average Speed: 26.9 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 47 Minutes
Mt. Etna! We rode up around the north side of the mountain and then back down a bit and up the southern side so we could ride the small gondola cable car up to the terminus which is about half way up the mountain.
This cable car is relatively new because the one operating previously was destroyed by the last eruption. The terminus is at 8,000 feet (2,400 meters). From here you can walk up another 600 meters to a small caldera (or pay to ride in a four wheel vehicle). We walked up the road a bit but after we saw where the caldera was located we decided to turn back.
The view was a bit disappointing due to all the smoke and haze in the air. From what we can tell, anyone can burn anything, anytime. And there are lots of small fires as a result. Also, we have seen more cigarette butt induced fires along the roads than we have anywhere else we have been.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 228.9 KM
Average Speed: 35.6 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 6 Hours 26 Minutes
We continued our trek south toward Siracusa and then turned inland in search of a small archeological park that is home to more than 5,000 Necropoli (burial sites) - Necropoli Di Pantalica. These tombs date from the 13th to the 8th centuries, BC.
We took a short hike that followed a small stream. There was also a small road (closed to traffic) that was previously a railroad line that we used for our walk back to the car park. It was an interesting walk and we were the only non Italians there. Of course the Sicilians had no interest in the necropoli, they were all there to cool off in the stream and its many swimming holes.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 232.0 KM
Average Speed: 45.3 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 07 Minutes
We turned inland today to visit the Villa Romana near Piazza Armerina. We found some great roads on the way that rolled over golden hills. This area is obviously ranch and farm land, some of it growing corn and much of it already tilled after this year’s crops. We even passed an area with acres of Prickly Pear cactus, something which appears to grow wild all over the south of Sicily. We’ve never seen cactus being farmed before.
The Villa Romana visit was rich with mosaics, many of them well preserved as the villa had been flooded and was covered with mud for several centuries, thus protecting them.
After our visit we headed back south toward the coast again, toward the Valley of Temples. On this route we chose a road that was basically closed due to its poor condition. Fortunately for us, closed roads are never really closed, they just have a sign of them indicating so. Even on the main highways traffic was light today as it was a holiday (Feast of the Assumption). Almost everything was closed, save a few gas stations (thankfully! - we were down to our last 4 of 65 liters before we found an open gas station) and hotels. Even most of the restaurants were closed and the towns we drove through were deserted.
We ended our day at the Valley of Temples, but while the temples were indeed impressive, most were covered with scaffolding so it was a bit of a disappointment. Then Jim decided to check the brake pads on the side car wheel as they were making a strange noise. That exercise turned out to be a fiasco, but at least we now know what is involved in removing the wheel (and how to approach it next time).
Tuesday - Wednesday, August 16-17, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 190.3 KM
Average Speed: 37.1 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 07 Minutes
We headed a bit north and west this morning going inland once again so we could see some more of the island. The scenery is quite nice with lots of small towns on the hill sides. Very much like Spain. The difference is that none of the buildings are painted white like they are in Spain. If not for that, and someone dropped us in one of these towns and there was no writing visible we would not be able to tell if we were in Italy or Spain.
We spent most of the day above 2,000 feet (600 meters) which made the day most pleasant - the altitude coupled with the strong wind off the Mediterranean kept the temperature at a much nicer level.
We stopped for the day in Selinunte where there are numerous Greek ruins that we will visit later this evening, after it cools a bit.
We found a store with the correct oil for the bike so we decided to spend a second day and do the 5,000 mile service on the machine. The parking area at the hotel had a cover so we could be out of the sun and the floor had been tiled. Very civilized. All went well. See the Equipment Report Card for 2005 for details.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 169.5 KM
Average Speed: 29.7 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 42 Minutes
Today we drove up the west coast toward Trapani. Until we got to Trapani, the terrain was flat all the way to the sea. We passes through a few smaller towns, but for the most part, the trip was fairly nondescript. Trapani sits on a small spit of land on the northwest point of the island and the newer part of town now stretches all the way to the base of Monte Barbaro which rises dramatically out of the flatlands. Up on the mountain we found a quiet place for lunch then briefly rode through Erice where there are some great views of the Gulf of Castlemmare. Once again we had to head inland for a hotel as all near the sea were booked.
We found a big hotel near a town and settled in for the night - a rather strange circumstance as the hotel was large and rather ornate, yet the price was one of the lowest we have paid. It also had a huge Bingo room, complete with the electronic Bingo boards, just like Las Vegas.
We drove to the nearby town for dinner and were the center of attraction as we drove through town. We had walked through a portion of town earlier in hopes of locating a market, but all we found were blocks and blocks of multiple-family dwellings, all about 3 stories high. Not many people were out on the street at that time, but everyone was home as we could hear TVs blaring, kids playing, people talking, babies crying. The cacophony was almost deafening. This close living is not something we could easily get used to.
We settled in for a good night’s sleep as it was rather quiet at the hotel. Then, at 1:00 in the morning, Verna was awakened by young children playing. For almost an hour, they ran around, laughing, yelling at each other and having a good time. We obviously don’t understand why children are up at this time of the night :-).
Friday, August 19, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 107.7 KM
Average Speed: 28.3 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 3 Hours 48 Minutes
We got a late start today as we luxuriated in our cozy (and now quiet) surroundings. We then headed straight for Monreale, just outside Palermo. Driving through the city traffic was a nightmare as we spent more time stationery than moving. Anyway, we were here to see the Cathedral, a most unusual combination of Norman and Arabic architecture. As we weren’t sure where it actually was, Verna kept asking locals “Dove la Cathedral?” Everyone was more than helpful, pointing us the way, telling us how beautiful it is, and 
asking where we were from. We could only get within about 500 meters of it with the bike and there was no safe place to park, so Jim played guard dog while Verna sent to see the Cathedral. The outside of the Cathedral is rather simple, but the inside is almost fully lined with beautiful mosaics. The floor and lower walls all have Moorish designs while the upper walls depict the stories of the Old Testament in mosaics of a Byzantine style. It truly was stunning. The photo above shows a portion of the mosaic with Adam & Eve in the upper left.
We then drove back into the mountains, enjoying the cooler temperatures as well as the cooling wind. Much of the area was quite arid and treeless. Then as we got a bit further east we entered the oak woods which reminded us so much of California. Again today we saw more litter on the road and areas where people just dump their trash. In one place there was so much trash it was piled right up to the road. So someone put out a highway sign with an arrow on it, warning drivers to drive around it! It really is a shame that the litter continues as it detracts so much from the beautiful landscape.
As were on the outskirts of Palermo today, one couple on a scooter took a fancy to our machine and just had to have a photo (photo at left).
We found a hotel outside a small town that seemed rather quite. It was, until about 6 when all the guests started arriving for the wedding reception. At 8:30 the music started and we expect will go on for many more hours. Guess we’ll have to use the earplugs tonight. NOTE: It finally came to an end at 3:00 in the morning...
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 264.3 KM
Average Speed: 34.1 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 7 Hours 45 Minutes
A long day but very enjoyable. We rode across the center of the island along many different roads in order to see as much of the landscape of the interior as we could. It was beautiful as we wandered about the small roads changing elevation between 1,000 and 3,200 feet (304 to 975 meters). Thanks to the altitude the temperatures were not at all bad. We did our usual thing of purchasing some things for lunch and eating along the road in under the shade of a tree. Today’s delicacy was watermelon - delicious!
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 166.4 KM
Average Speed: 34.0 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 4 Hours 54 Minutes
It was a beautiful ride over a 3,600 foot (1,097 meters) pass with Mt. Etna to our right and behind us as we continued our journey through the interior. Alas, the road was destined to arrive at the sea sooner or later (Sicily is an island) and this did happen near 11:00 in the morning.
We then fought the traffic on our way to Messina where we caught the ferry back to the mainland. So, it is good bye to Sicily (photo at right from the ferry). Now we will work our way around and up the east coast of Italy heading to Matera where we will visit with Cristina Bergeramini and Roberto Cristallo - fellow BMW riders who we met at a small hotel on our journey south.
See the Sicily page for more information.
Monday, August 21, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 215.7 KM
Average Speed: 38.1 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 39 Minutes
A nice ride east and north up the coast to Catanzaro where we turned inland and began the slow climb up into the mountains. We ended the day at a small hotel in the Parco Nazionale Della Calabria where it is cool and quite. A pleasant change from all the hustle and bustle along the coast. So quiet, however, that we were the big excitement for the day - when we arrived, one of the hotel residents told the others, “Come and look at this!” so they all had to come out and check out the bike.
Tuesday - Wednesday, August 22 - 23, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 270.7 KM
Average Speed: 38.1 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 6 Hours 30 Minutes
It rained most of the night last night, so it was a good thing we hadn’t decided to camp. There were still a lot of dark clouds as we left this morning, but we hoped we could get through before it started to rain. We almost made it, but started getting quite wet through our riding suits so stopped and put on our waterproof liners. Of course, within 5 minutes we were out of it.
We rode down out of the mountains and were just about to get on the autostrada when the local Police pulled us over (we think they were doing random checks for registration and insurance). The one officer who motioned us to stop came over and Jim asked “Do you speak English?” at which point he immediately turned to his partner across the street and yelled “Inglesa!” His partner came over and asked for Jim’s driver’s license, which he produced. “Oregon? What is Oregon?” We were obviously his first Oregon residents so we explained where Oregon was. He then wanted to know why were we here, in Italy - why not Spain or France? 
So we explained what we were doing and where we were going. We ended up talking to him for over 20 minutes. During this time, one beggar came up asking for a handout (even the policeman had a hard time getting rid of him) and about every 3 minutes someone the officer knew passed by and honked, requiring an exchange of pleasantries. Finally he was satisfied and let us go. We still don’t know why they pulled us over in the first place!
We had an easy ride up the autostrada, then cut over to the east coast where the traffic got a bit congested. Once heading north, the highway was raised above the sea level with restricted access, so traffic moved smoothly and we had some beautiful views of the turquoise blue waters. We stopped at a roadside restaurant and had an excellent lunch of seafood pasta (with lots of mussels, clams and shrimp) and a small fish much like a trout.
Finally it was time to turn inland and head for Matera to see the Sassi and our new acquaintances Roberto and Christina. Once in the Sassi area, we were quite impressed by the extent of it. The next day we wandered about the Sassi, amazed at the construction of these houses and how the people lived. This was a very poor area so the people began living in the limestone caves. Over time they added to them, forming extended structures out of loose rocks and quarried limestone. After several centuries, the labyrinth of structures completely transformed the gorge. There was no running water or electricity in most of the area until well after WWII. The hotel we stayed in is a converted Sassi and part of it is out of the original limestone gorge. A very interesting visit for us.
Thursday, August 24, 2005
Today's statistics:
Total Distance: 101.0 KM
Average Speed: 32.8 KM/H
Total Time on Bikes: 5 Hours 07 Minutes
As we left Matera, we crossed the gorge so we could get a better overall view of the Sassi from a distance. We were not disappointed and got some good photos. At left is one of the bike (our favorite subject!) with the Sassi in the background. See the Southern Italy page for more information.
Then a short ride to Bari where we caught the ferry to Greece. Not without some excitement though. When Verna was returning to the sidecar from the ferry terminal after purchasing our tickets for tonight’s ferry she noticed something strange hanging down underneath the sidecar.
It turned out to be the steel bar that prevents the brake caliper from moving. The brake caliper was jammed against the swing arm because the bar was broken and nothing restricted its movement forward with the disk when the brakes were applied.
From the looks of things it just happened. And we know that it was okay in the morning when we were leaving Matera because we were taking some pictures of the bike that show the bar not hanging down at that time.
Yikes! No brake on the sidecar and no way to restrict the movement of the caliper. What to do? We made a temporary fix using some nylon webbing and cord so we could ride the bike. Two local police officers told us the location of a large hardware store. We wanted to get a threaded steel rod that we could cut to the proper length and fix the problem.
Given that this is August and in Italy everyone is on holiday it was just our luck that the hardware store was closed for the month. And, it was now mid day and everything was closed until 5:00 PM. After 5 we found a small old fashioned hardware store open. This is the kind where everything is behind the counter and self service does not exist. And us not speaking any Italian. Yet another challenge. After waiting about 10 minutes for our turn we left with a length of threaded rod that could be cut into three sections of the proper length. For €1.00. Such a deal.
We returned to the ferry port after also stopping at a supermarket to purchase dinner and breakfast items and got on the ship about 6:00 PM. The ship was not scheduled to sail until 8:00 PM. So, Jim immediately went to work putting the threaded rod to the proper length. By 7:15 PM we had the temporary fix removed and the new rod in place. At this point we were informed that the ship would not sail because the plumbing system was not functioning and we would have to transfer to a different company’s ship to make the crossing tonight. Our test of the new rod was the ride off one ferry, across the dock and boarding another ferry. It all worked very well.
We arrived in Greece at 6:30 AM the following morning. So, this concludes this portion of the adventure.
If you find typographical errors or have any other problems when looking at the site please contact the Webmaster describing the problem and the page involved.
Copyright © 2000-2009 Jim Seavey and Verna Norris
All Rights Reserved