Day 5 Locorotondo to Ostuni

June 18: Today's ride was a partial repeat of yesterday's first to Martina Franca and then on to Cisterino and Ostuni. We covered the ground to Martina Franca for the third time, having done it twice yesterday going out and back. That it is interesting by the third time, one knows the turns, so we did not need to refer to the detailed instructions provided by Randonnee . Of course, They provide instructions assuming the seven-day tour we know t raveled into Martina Franca, as if we had never seen this city. We are on a nine-day tour; we could have bypassed the city we had known this before departing this morning.

We next went to Cisterino, a small cleaning white hill town, arriving about 11. The big main church was decorated for a wedding with garlands of white baby's breath accented by pink flowers and white porcelain balls. It was very simple and very attractive. Since the morning was warm, we treated ourselves to ice cream from a cafe in the main square. 

About 1 pm, we stopped again in Casalini, a pleasant hill-top village  (really, a wide spot on the road), by way of country roads. There was limited traffic and the route undulated, changing rather quickly from nice downs to heart -pounding ups. We had a picnic lunch (fresh bread, local tomatoes and cheese, and salami) in a very small town park with a couple of benches and a "brass tap." Our instructions always point out These taps and they are a welcome sight. They Provide fresh, cool drinking water and allow us to top up our water bottles. The Undulations causes abundant sweating and hydration is most important.

Our instructions identified in place about 1 km from our lunch spot That provided olive oil tastings and had a collection of antique bikes, so we sallied forth. We arrived about 1:30 pm, and met a guy who was just shutting the gates. We have had some difficulty with the custom of afternoon siestas. This country shuts down from 1:00 to 4:30 pm everyday. So we returned to our lunch spot and continued our journey for the day.

The next segment of the trip was quite interesting and exhilarating. We cut across the main road and headed for a perfectly straight, one-lane wide, roller coaster road That took us to a high point overlooking the sea. We had to deal with a surprising number of cars and trucks on this narrow road (with walls on Both Sides) Which forced us to pull over. of course, the cars had to pull into lay-bys to pass each other as well. When we Reached the top, we turned right (south) onto a highway along the escarpment That ran most of the way to Ostuni. The interesting thing was that the road ended a mile or so past where we joined it, and only cars That drove the one-lane road would ever roller coaster as upon us on our journey to Ostuni. The exhilarating part was the pavement was smooth and the downhill sections were long, so we could power along fearlessly and fast. We covered miles in over 5 minutes, reaching speeds up to 28 mph.

We arrived into Ostuni, another large city of white buildings on a hill, with views over the coastal plain, around 3:00. Our luggage was at the hotel and we checked in. The WiFi works very well, so I did some computer work before joining Mark, Kathy, and Betsy for beers / drinks at a shaded, outdoor cafe in the main plaza. We returned to the hotel, cleaned up and attended our cooking class. Our hotel, The Earth, is on a side street in the old part of the city. It looks historic and has a few odd shaped rooms and terraces overlooking the city. The plumbing is modern and our room is spacious. 

More about that later. I need to go to bed.

The cooking class was just around the corner at a restaurant which was we think is owned by the "instructor." She is a stern woman and occasionally gave serious instructions to her staff for ingredients, etc. She Demonstrated the making of dough (flour and water, only), bread balls (popitas?), Tomato sauce (more like a fresh tomato sauce or topping made in 5 minutes), and a meat rollup. She Demonstrated how to make oriechette and then she let us try. We were "pasta-shaping failures." She Also Showed how to make macaroni, Which Involved in worms of dough and a thin metal rod. I need more practice. She finished up the class by making an almond brittle (my words) with only sugar and almonds. The caramelized sugar was in a frying pan; this part of the demo was behind a glass panel.