15th June 2012

Just bumming around with old friends

Steve: We woke early at 6am and opened the French doors, flooding the room with sunlight and the beautiful aroma of lemons from the trees edging the patio, and then (I’m not ashamed to admit) that we just lay there and lazed, chatting about the trip and reminding each other that we really should get up - which we did at 8.25 for a leisurely breakfast taken on the terrace overlooking the azure Mediterranean sea. As an aside, Debs assured me that she wouldn’t mind a permanent change to our lifestyle if it meant we could live like this..

I know I said that I wasn’t looking forward to the coast road, but it was actually not too bad - still very narrow, winding and tricky, but without the scooters that had it such a nightmare previously, but the Pan was still a handful and with the weight of luggage onboard the sharp bends had to be taken with care.. especially as Debs was recording some of it on the camcorder and I knew I’d be accountable later!

Debs:  During our honeymoon 3 years ago we visited Pompeii and Vesuvius, and as we skirted Naples on our ride to Bari we recognised the majestic outline of the volcano some 20 miles to the west, and a similar distance to the east was a long ridge of hills which at first looked as though they were covered in small bonfires but they actually turned out to be geysers, plumes of hot steam shooting out like Indian smoke signals, and really quite a spectacle. We were not aware of so much activity nowadays, although it is apparently overdue for a cataclysmic eruption - I’d be grateful if it waited for another few weeks yet please!

The rest of our trip from the Mediterranean coast to the Adriatic was quite calm and uneventful. The scenery changing from tree-covered hills to vast plains of wheat stretching as far as the eye can see. The temperature climbing the further east we went, finally settling on a balmy 34 degrees.

We arrived in Bari at 3pm and boarding of the Superfast Ferry began at 4.45. Our tickets allowed us to travel in the sleeping lounge which was kitted out with reclining airline type seats - we could have booked cabins but at £85 per person they were far more expensive than any of the hotels on our trip!
This side room of 120 seats should be just the ticket, away from the bar and coffee lounges, curtains all drawn and night-lights ready to be switched over for a calm relaxed sleep.. oh what deluded fools we were! Our numbered seats were 1 & 2, directly in front of luggage shelf space and almost under a 92” T.V. screen which was permanently tuned into Euro 2012. We asked if the T.V. would be turned off later and was told by the brusque female Receptionist that it would not, but that it may have the volume turned down a little, eventually. Although irritated by her attitude I politely asked if the room was all sold out and would it be possible to move from our original places. “Seats 46 and 47” she barked at us, so off we went to investigate. Ahhhhh.. Great improvement - 5 rows back and dead centre to the screen.. Thanks.

It does seem that every ferry that I’ve every been on have a company policy for the largest screens showing wall to wall football, and this one appeared to comply in every respect!
Steve went and spoke with the purser who was willing to take about 30 euros off the cost of a double cabin, but at135 euros I still felt that was too expensive, so we decided to move to the very back the room and try to be invisible. The Purser had told us this would be fine as only 70 of the seats were reserved and there should be no problem.  As it transpired this was not such a great move as 3 families decided it would be nice to sit near us, with one young Dad boasting that his little girl, aged 3, never goes to sleep until about 3am, and how right he was. She ran around for hour after hour with Dad happily asleep on his lilo in a corner and Mum smiling at her child as if she had achieved something wonderful.
Steve meanwhile was happily plugged into his I-pod and snoring gently. I had taken a sea sick pill which normally knocks me out, but this time didn’t even come near. At about 11.30 I could take it no more and called to the mother to do something with her noisy child, so that the rest of us could get to sleep.
I threw my jacket over my head as the lights had not been dimmed, and then noticed that not only could I hear the football but piped jazz muzak over the loudspeakers. Did the mother sort the child out? Oh no, she picked her up and walked around the room to point out the other 2 sleeping children, this just made her shout and wriggle to get free, so off they take her for a walk around the ship and on return let her run amuck again!
Evil Englishwoman sits up and does the ‘Wrath of God’ look, so they make another attempt at controlling what was essentially a very clever little girl who had her parents wrapped round her little finger.
It was all too much so I took myself off to a brightly lit coffee lounge where I managed to squeeze onto an end of a soft sofa with lots of other happy sleeping passengers, and fell asleep for 2 hours until a fight broke out between a Russian and the man making the coffee, so I bought Steve a cup of tea and went back to wake him gently, nice person that I am!