[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

It was a rare rainy day in Puglia when we left Brindisi to go a tad north to Bari. One might wonder why Bari. That question is as justified, the cynical side of me has realized, as the question: Why Puglia? It’s not that Puglia is a terrible region that should be avoid, it absolutely isn’t and shouldn’t. That’s my opinion even before seeing some of the really nice aspects of it. “Puglia, it’s not you, it’s me.” I’d like to travel during shoulder-seasons and use public transit for transportation and that is not how Puglia, at least at this juncture, rolls. If the car is your chosen mode of transportation and you don’t mind pretty respectable day-trips in terms of distance travelled, then this province might be for you. Hurry up though, it’s getting busier each year according to some locals.

As our three-day stop-over on our way to Sardegna, we had planned for our time in Bari to be a little different, with the clear understanding that it wouldn’t necessarily would be the most comfortable of stays. After 19 years together, clearly it was time for a stress-test and spend three days cramped and damp on a small, albeit docked, sailing vessel. As a former racer, my level of tolerance for lack of creature comforts aboard sail boats was rather high but I wasn’t sure I could say the same for my wife. Turns out those concerns were unfounded. She was a trouper. Outside some initial and quickly passing queasiness as the tethered vessel lustily bucked in the growing breeze and swell, brief dock living looked very doable.

The bigger issue with this whole setup was rather the location of the marina. Instead of being docked in the quaint-ish old port, the new marina is in the north part of the new port. Said new port has a couple of minor downsides: it’s almost 3km from the old town of Bari and it’s heavily industrialized. By virtue of the amount of goods flowing through it, the security was dialed up to the point that passing through the guarded crossing on foot had a distinct cold-war feel to it. We would be questioned, well stopped anyway, by guards who suspiciously doubted the presence of the public marina, not 5 minutes walk away from the entry point. Never before have I had less patience for uniformed officials that probably could make life difficult had they felt so inclined.

As an added bonus, there was no walking beyond the truck parking (I told you it was picturesque) but instead we were supposed to take a free shuttle to the only other port entrance, close to Bari proper, again some 3km away. This shuttle was like the Loch Ness monster, however. With no marked stops and certainly no posted schedule, we’d sometimes see it in the distance, a briefly glimmering yellow mirage that was gone as soon as we’d spotted it. Never was it seen stopped and even if it was, it would just have vanished the moment we got close. So we walked to town. It wasn’t all bad though.

Being two able-bodied adults that needed reprieve from the chronically poor and mostly absent WiFi (yes, again), we did walk to town on a number of occasions to check out the historical side of Bari. We have not done it justice though, not by a long shot and just may have to come back. Because of the distance to the old town, we also ventured out towards the small community just north of us. Thanks to our gracious host, we found a delightful seaside food district with positively humming with locals (after 8pm, that is) with delicious pizza and beer that meant dinner for both of us for 12 Euro, all in. Now we’re talking! Bari’s not so bad after all.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery” gallery_ids=”1124,1123,1122,1121,1120,1119,1118,1117,1116″ fullwidth=”off” orientation=”landscape” show_title_and_caption=”on” show_pagination=”on” background_layout=”light” auto=”off” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

In the old town of Bari, we went to the San Nicola ([nic-OH-la] according to an unnecessarily offended bus driver) and took some real amateur shots.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]