5 Passports: Puglia

Well, we made it to Puglia, but just barely. Our ferry set sail at 11pm on what was to be an overnight trip, arriving Bari, Italy at 8am. During our two months in Croatia we probably saw about 3 total hours of rain, but just as we were about to set sail, the winds picked up and the sprinkles started. The ship was big enough that I didn’t think too much about the weather, but that would be a mistake. Barely into the trip we were bobbing in 15-18 foot seas. The crew said normal conditions were 3-6 foot, and anything bigger than the 15-18 we experienced would have kept us in the harbor. Luckily our cabin was in the center of the ship at the very bottom, probably the best place to minimize the motion. Unable to sleep much I ventured upstairs for a walk. Easier said than done. The waves were tossing passengers left and right, unlatched doors were slamming, and the bathrooms were filled with the sounds of seasick passengers. That was enough for me as I retired back to our cabin. Luckily we made it into Bari with no one in our family getting sick, in fact the kids all slept right through the night.

So we picked up the rental car and headed towards our place in Ostuni. We booked a weeklong stay and had several day trips planned around the region. Ostuni is your typical hill town except that everything is painted white, and thus is creatively known as “the White Town”. Our house for the week is actually a “trullo”. The trulli (plural) is a traditional Puglia stone house with a conical roof (typically one cone over each room). Originally, the conical structure was built directly on the ground, but in the 1600’s they started adding walls to the perimeter. On top of the trulli they affix one of several pinnacles, chosen for its symbolism. The cone itself is also sometimes painted with symbols. These are used as decoration as well as to keep bad luck and demons away.

We are enjoying our first taste of southern Italy, but trulli aside; the differences between this and northern Italy are striking. First off, siestas here are the rule, not the exception. Everything, and I mean everything, closes from 1pm until 4 or 5pm. Even the parking meters are free during siesta as no one is expected to be around town. It’s also much harder to find anyone who can speak English, as you don’t find a big tourist population. And while Italian driving is always a challenge in any part of Italy, we’ve seen it taken to a new level in Puglia. Here traffic lights and signs are mere suggestions at best. Overall the area just feels a lot rougher around the edges. That being said though, one of the highlights has definitely been the food. The pasta, bread, and meats have all been a step above with distinctly different flavors. We even have fresh olives, figs, and almonds growing in the yard.