Day 6 Ostuni to Otranto

June 19:  Today's ride was different that previous ones; we began by coasting down from the heights of Ostuni to the train station.  As anxious travelers we got there more than an hour ahead of time and  had a long, boring wait.  We caught the 10:35 am train to Squinzano, which is one station stop before Lecce, and probably about 60 miles south of Ostuni.  We then rode a good ways to the seaside, along major roads "with no shoulders."  The phrase "with no shoulders" is code for lots of traffic.  Most of the prior days' roads also did not have shoulders, so we wondered why our directions included this precaution today.  It didn't take long to figure it out.  The ride was mostly flat and covered over 46 miles.  

Before reaching the coast, we passed through olive groves (reverberating with the sound of cicadas), scrub land, pine woods, and a military base that seemed inactive but full of trees.  The road sides were full of flowering weeds - blue chicory (or bachelor buttons),  scabiosa (flowers like a  purple dandelions), white Queen Anne's lace, and various yellow flowers.  At points with more human presence, there were colorful bushes of plumeria and bougainvillea.  As usual, there were miles of stone walls but fewer stone buildings.  We reached the coast at the little scrubby resort town of San Cataldo and picnicked on a cement wall overlooking the beach and sea.  The water looked nice, but there was some sort of mucky sediment at the water's edge so we were not tempted to wade.  

For the rest of the afternoon we cruised along the coast, seeing a few beach resorts and cafes,  but most of the beach views were blocked by shrubbery.  When we could see the sea, it was light turquoise near the shore and darker turquoise further out.  Our route led us through an extensive nature preserve owned by the World Wildlife Fund.  There was no one about to answer our questions on a Sunday afternoon, so we don't know anymore about why WWF has a property here or what they are protecting.  There were eucalyptus trees and bamboo, and we spotted one exotic bird, but our bird guide is in the stored luggage, so we can't look it up.  The day was warm and hazy, with light breezes, so we didn't overheat too badly.

We knew we had some altitude to climb on the last stretch, so when a roadside cafe appeared at about 4 pm, we stopped for cold drinks and snacks to replenish the energy stores.  The final leg went past a large lagoon and through the scenic town of Otranto, which we may explore more tomorrow.
We arrived at the Masseria Montelauro, a mile or so outside of Otranto,  at around 5:30 pm.  And, so began the resort life - for 2 delicious days.

The masseria or inn has a handsome two-story main building and two wings arranged in a quadrangle around the pool and garden.  The structures, as typical, are white painted stone with interior arches and high ceilings but they seem modern, particularly in the plumbing and fittings.  On the south side is a vegetable garden and a paddock with a donkey and 2 ponies.  There are at least 3 resident, small,  dogs who amble about being sociable.  

We dumped our gear and immediately went for a swim to cool down.  The inn served appetizers at 6:30 on the terrace so we sat outside and nibbled while talking to the dogs.  About 7:30 the group sat down to dinner on another outside terrace with a bamboo roof.  We had a wonderful 4 course meal that started with a platter of sliced eggplant and zucchini and another plate of stuffed eggplant and stuffed zucchinis.  Then there was a pasta course with a mix of orechiette and macaroni in a simple tomato sauce (like the dish for the previous night's cooking class).  Next came thin slices of grilled beef.  Kathy, the vegetarian in our group, was given a large bowl of very fresh green beans for that course.  Dessert was a 'semi-freddo' of vanilla ice cream around some kind of nutty filling.  We were stuffed and very happy by the end.  We talked for a while with a Texan couple who are just finishing the 7-day Randonnee route before heading to Umbria.

The evening was lovely with a nearly full moon rising over the trees to the east and nice breezes but we took our tired bodies quickly to bed.