Day 5: Setting sail for Greece

 
 We were sad to leave the Masseria, but excited to be continuing on our journey to Greece. 

After returning the car, we wandered through the streets of the Old City in Bari watching the tourists from the cruise ships watching the old ladies making orecchiette (a type of pasta shaped like a small ear). 

We visited the Basilica di San Nicola, built between 1087 and 1197, which is an important pilgrimage site, holding as it does the relics of Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus). On St Nicholas’ Day (6th December) each year, the clergy of the basilica lower a flask into his tomb to extract some of the myrrh which is believed to exude from the relics. Containers of this myrrh are sent all over the world, and believers have reported numerous miracles as a result of being anointed with it (according to Wikipedia).

Having lunched, on orecchiette of course,  we eventually made our way to the ferry terminal, where we waited for a while for the ferry to be ready for boarding. Just before 5pm we joined an orderly queue of foot passengers. outside the door marked “customs” and “embarkation”.

After waiting for quite a while past the allotted hour we realised that this was not where we should have been at all, and had to hotfoot it through the embarking lorries to board the ferry. 

Once on board, we watched the ferries perform impossible looking Tetris moves, and sat on deck with a drink watching the sun go down as we pulled away from Bari. After dinner in the restaurant, we returned to the deck with our wine. There was a beautiful Harvest moon. Eventually we retired to our cabin, for a good night’s sleep.




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