We started our travels in Puglia in the Gargano which is the spur on the heel of Italy’s boot. These days, the majority of the land is given over to the Gargano national park. We stayed in an old villa that had been converted into apartments. As usual, we were the only guests. The property sat in the middle of endless acres of olive trees running down to the Adriatic coast. Inside was a fantastic large country kitchen complete with a walk in fireplace, Yes, walk in – with cooking utensils for cooking over the fire – so, an indoor barbeque. Outstanding. The gardens included Lemon trees that were laden with fruit.
We wanted to do a few walks in the park and headed into Monte Saint Angelo, a pretty village at the top of the mountain that we were nestling under, and a focal point for Christian pilgrims who come to pay homage to the miracle of St Michael the archangel who is said to have appeared in a grotto here before the Bishop of Siponto in AD 490. The village is also host to the Gargano national park information office which took a fair bit of finding, tucked away at the bottom of a residential street. We were given a marvelous reception there (perhaps they don’t get many visitors), and came away with maps and books all free of charge.
Next day we drove to forest Umbria for a walk we found in one of the books. Unfortunately, there’s not a great deal of sign posts pointing out where trails start so we tried in vain to locate the beginning of the walk. We did have a very nice drive through the countryside, though. Undeterred, we blundered around until we came to what looked like it might be a sign post for a walk, parked up, and set off. Fortunately, this was a very pleasant walk up through forest and to a hill top with views over the coast. It appeared to be a section of a long track that runs between the town of Vieste on the coast and Monte Saint Angello.
Our second walk in the national park was at lake Lesina which lies to the north of the park where a narrow isthmus separates the lake from the Adriatic sea. We arrived at the promised car park and information centre only to find it closed. Did we arrive too early I hear you ask. But no, the place wasn’t just closed but abandoned. Permanently shut with weeds growing over the car park. Not one of Italy’s more popular tourist sites then. Nevertheless, we set off anyway along a track that took us out along the isthmus. We were promised flamingoes on the lake but they were sadly shy or absent. The strip of land immediately bordering the lake was occupied by a series of small holdings so we actually only managed to catch occasional glimpses of the lake. After a few kilometers we came unexpectedly across a newish looking wooden path, proudly paid for by the EU. The decking was built to protect the flora underneath. Naturally, we had to walk along this to find out what was at the end (and to get our moneys worth having contributed to funding it). The path brought us to some sand dunes which quickly gave way to a spectacular sandy beach alongside the Adriatic. The beach must have been at least 5 kms long and totally deserted. Unfortunately it was strewn with all sorts of rubbish, plastic and glass bottles everywhere, polystyrene boxes, oil drums mixed in with driftwood. In fairness to the locals it looked like flotsam and jetsam washed up rather than deliberate littering and dumping. After all, the place looked like it doesn’t get many visitors. Its just that no one bothers to clean up the mess. About a kilometer to our right was a large shipwreck, with a container ship jammed into the beach with its aft still in the sea, slowing rusting into the Adriatic. Quite a surreal sight all in all. On the way back to the car we came across an old park complete with overgrown paths, collapsed park benches and crumbling communal barbeques. Like all the people had mysteriously vanished a few years ago. We had a beautiful drive back home along the nearby lake Varano and then through the Umbria forest. I managed to take a wrong turn through one town and ended up going the wrong way down a one way street but, this being Italy, no-one seemed to mind.
We wanted to do a few walks in the park and headed into Monte Saint Angelo, a pretty village at the top of the mountain that we were nestling under, and a focal point for Christian pilgrims who come to pay homage to the miracle of St Michael the archangel who is said to have appeared in a grotto here before the Bishop of Siponto in AD 490. The village is also host to the Gargano national park information office which took a fair bit of finding, tucked away at the bottom of a residential street. We were given a marvelous reception there (perhaps they don’t get many visitors), and came away with maps and books all free of charge.
Next day we drove to forest Umbria for a walk we found in one of the books. Unfortunately, there’s not a great deal of sign posts pointing out where trails start so we tried in vain to locate the beginning of the walk. We did have a very nice drive through the countryside, though. Undeterred, we blundered around until we came to what looked like it might be a sign post for a walk, parked up, and set off. Fortunately, this was a very pleasant walk up through forest and to a hill top with views over the coast. It appeared to be a section of a long track that runs between the town of Vieste on the coast and Monte Saint Angello.
Our second walk in the national park was at lake Lesina which lies to the north of the park where a narrow isthmus separates the lake from the Adriatic sea. We arrived at the promised car park and information centre only to find it closed. Did we arrive too early I hear you ask. But no, the place wasn’t just closed but abandoned. Permanently shut with weeds growing over the car park. Not one of Italy’s more popular tourist sites then. Nevertheless, we set off anyway along a track that took us out along the isthmus. We were promised flamingoes on the lake but they were sadly shy or absent. The strip of land immediately bordering the lake was occupied by a series of small holdings so we actually only managed to catch occasional glimpses of the lake. After a few kilometers we came unexpectedly across a newish looking wooden path, proudly paid for by the EU. The decking was built to protect the flora underneath. Naturally, we had to walk along this to find out what was at the end (and to get our moneys worth having contributed to funding it). The path brought us to some sand dunes which quickly gave way to a spectacular sandy beach alongside the Adriatic. The beach must have been at least 5 kms long and totally deserted. Unfortunately it was strewn with all sorts of rubbish, plastic and glass bottles everywhere, polystyrene boxes, oil drums mixed in with driftwood. In fairness to the locals it looked like flotsam and jetsam washed up rather than deliberate littering and dumping. After all, the place looked like it doesn’t get many visitors. Its just that no one bothers to clean up the mess. About a kilometer to our right was a large shipwreck, with a container ship jammed into the beach with its aft still in the sea, slowing rusting into the Adriatic. Quite a surreal sight all in all. On the way back to the car we came across an old park complete with overgrown paths, collapsed park benches and crumbling communal barbeques. Like all the people had mysteriously vanished a few years ago. We had a beautiful drive back home along the nearby lake Varano and then through the Umbria forest. I managed to take a wrong turn through one town and ended up going the wrong way down a one way street but, this being Italy, no-one seemed to mind.
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