A solid nights sleep seemed to indicate we are back with coordinated body and local time zones. The day began with a threatening black sky which would have derailed our planned bike tour through parts of Bari.
It was warm but blustery on our ten minute walk to the tour operator where we were teamed up with six others (2 Irish and 4 Dutch) and assigned good old fashioned bicycles, i.e. no E-bikes.
(If using a phone click on a photo to see the full image)
A brief rainstorm did occur but fortunately prior to our tour starting.
The city of Bari has two distinct areas in the city centre. The old town expanded as the Greek settlement Barion in the 8th century BC but fell to the Romans in 3rd century BC and renamed Barium.
After the fall of Rome, Bari came under Byzantine rule in 554 which lasted until 1071 when the Normans captured the city ending centuries of Byzantine dominance.
This area consists of small twisted streets with barely any space for pedestrians so, of course, we rode our bikes down alleys, through plazas and around merchant’s displays. Surprisingly no accidents were reported either amongst our group or unsuspecting people on foot.
At various stops along the way we visited Roman ruins, a church with an incredibly ornate ceiling, and the fort built more than 1,000 years ago.
Bari is famous as the burial site of Saint Nicholas. In 1087, sailors brought his bones from Turkey, transforming the city into a major medieval pilgrimage destination and inspiring the construction of the Basilica of San Nicola.
Our final stop in the old city was a unique street where elderly ladies displayed how to make orecchiette (ear shaped) pasta. I’m not sure modern machinery could do it faster or more consistently.
The Spanish, Austrians and Bourbon’s all had turns controlling Bari before the French arrived in the early 19th century. This gave rise to a second section of the city called, naturally, the French quarter or Murat district. It’s a modern grid of streets where, much to our astonishment, divers refrained from making our bikes hood ornaments.
Our “peloton” wrapping up its tour.
After a pizza lunch – Neapolitan style of course – it was into the rental car for a 35 minute drive down the coast to Polignano del Mare intending to visit its famous beach, Lama Monachile. Little did we know we had stumbled across the Red Bull cliff diving championship, part of a global series of competitions.
Imagine a three day festival of loud thumping music attended by tens of thousands of spectators where men and women leap from insane heights into a churning sea. Today, wind and wave conditions necessitated the use of a balcony from a private residence versus the unique diving platform built for the event.
Men dive from a height of 27 metres (88 feet) while ladies go from 21 metres (69 feet). Contrast that with Olympic platform diving from 10 metres, oh, and indoors to a perfectly flat pool surface.
We managed to wriggle our way to a vantage spot just below the men’s balcony and watched them “leave”.
We then got even closer and zoomed in.
We could not see them land but there was a full crew in scuba gear and sea-doos waiting in the water to assist if necessary and provide a ride back to shore.
This was day one of three and one can only imagine the spectacle when weekend crowds arrive and the proper towers are used.
We walked around to the far side of the bay to get another perspective and enjoy the serene setting with a full moon to boot.
Dinner beside the cliffs and a smooth ride home ended a full and eclectic day.
