First off: a material erratum on last night’s blog (that actually sounds a lot like a wardrobe malfunction to me!)…the sensitive little flowers were unimpressed with my suggestion that they would buy anything but a truly authentic local wine. Here is Richard S’s comment today: “We had done our research 😉 and discovered - and this is the fact - that southern Italy was first populated by the Greeks from about the 8th century BC. In fact the Romans called southern Italy - Greater Greece. They also brought with them the first vines. One of the oldest wines in the world is the Ciro from our current neck of the woods. It was with this in mind that we ordered the local wine with the Greek label 🙂”. And there you have it…even if it does smack a little of a “post-the-event rationalization”!!
On to today…the end of which marks the halfway point in terms of days of riding. The turnaround point in the Toe is actually at Reggio Calabria on Thursday but they are now 14 days into this remarkable tour. So, only another 14 Groundhog Days to come!
Today’s ride was from Marina di Camerota to Paola and early on the riders went through or around San Giovanni a Piro…a beautiful little village. The coast here is very different to the coast further North with a much wilder feel to it. There were steep climbs today and everyone was definitely feeling a bit weary as it came to lunch. Nothing like a bowl of pasta to revive you although, with quieter towns in the South, finding a ristorante was quite difficult. With a large wad of carbs inside them they had a super-quick afternoon. The coast may be rougher but the roads were much better, presumably either because they have benefited from generous EU grants or because the Mob use them to transport contraband…or because the Mob threatened the EU and got the grants to do just that! Any which way, they were good!
You may remember the landslide on the way into Savona…well today it was road closures due to rockfalls. Our fearless explorers hoisted up their skirts, girded their loins and clambered with their bicycles round the closure. As it turned out, the rockfall was somewhat less dramatic than might have been expected and didn’t even stop the motorbike in the above photo.
One of the highlights was the look of confusion and disorientation on Richard S’s face as he thought he was looking up at Christ the Redeemer and imagined that he had clicked his ruby-red cycle shoe heels once too often and had been transported to Rio! Oh, Dorothy…..!
Paul wasn’t tired enough from the ride and had a swim in the sea on arrival, which he said was fantastic.
John is hosting tonight with a Southern Italian beef steak and pasta dish (with chilli peppers, mushrooms and red onions) and a colorful mixed salad. Today’s wine is a local (but not Greek!) red, a Ferrocinto Maggliocco which rates in the top 19% of wines from Calabria. And a little nightcap of Amaretto while their laundry finishes the spin cycle!