June 10

Early in the morning, after spending a few hours catching up with my blog, I am ready to go.

 At Ten AM, I meet Gabrielle at the gate. Louisa has a day off, I had said goodbye to her  last night

Saying goodbye is never easy, but somehow, we manage. I ride out of the gate and turn left in a southerly direction. 

There is plenty of time as long as I cover the 3oo km by 5 pm. Going through the high passes, you need to keep an eye on the time as the average speed is not higher than about 50 kph even when riding fast. There many villages and too many hairpins bend.  I try not to double up on yesterday’s route and head for the town of Nuoro and stop for a coffee.

The fragrance of flowers is in the air as the place is surrounded by flowering shrubs. By 4.30 pm I reach Cagliari the southern port. but am told I have to wait until 5 pm. I spend sometime talking to two policemen nearby. They are very happy with their F700 BMW's.

 Getting to the port is as easy as before, just follow the signs. Papers are checked, and a sticker placed on the bike. I ride towards the loading area past all the truck and drive up the ramp to deck 5.

 I park my bike where they tell me and secure it with some ropes. Following the signs, I reach the reception area where a steward shows me the aircraft seat I had booked. However, there are not many people on board.  Later in the evening, I find a comfortable lounge seat and have a “bed” for the night.

June 11.

Around 10Am the ship docks in the harbour of Naples. Outside, while standing on the deck, I watch the ships turn around; in the background, I can see the mighty Mount Vesuvius, the volcano which buried Pompeii 2000 years ago.

While waiting in front of the doors leading to the lower deck where the bike is parked, I got talking to a 25-year French rider named Jules. He rides a BMW F800 GS. Last night had a good look at my maps and did some calculations.

I could go to Sicily, but that would make it a tight schedule. Jules is on a 3 months tour which will take him all the way to the very top of Norway, so he is easy as far as schedules are concerned. We decide to ride together, the amusing thing situation we have now is that we have three GPS’s who all give different directions.

I have made up my mind and have decided to head for Bari and take the ferry to Greece. Jules would ride with me to the halfway point at Potenza but at arrival chooses to ride with me all the way to Bari. As we have set our routes avoiding the freeways, the GPS takes us inland via B-roads over the mountains

Jules has problems with the heat as the air temperature registers 39 degrees. As I am more used to it, it does not affect me. Actually, I don’t mind it all that much .

Bari comes in sight, I don’t have a booking yet and hope that that does not give me any hassles to get on board.

I say goodbye to Jules- nice chap- he is staying in Bari for the night.

After being redirected a few times, I reach the ferry terminal and walk inside the office requesting a ticket.  The girl asks if I am eligible for a discount-Yes, of course, I tell her.  She looks at my passport and gives me a senior discount- good! I then hand over my Dutch automobile club card and get a further discount for the motorcycle. All in all a 20% saving. Perhaps it is karma for having to pay 2 Euro for a litre of petrol this afternoon.

I wait outside the terminal at a kiosk and send my blog into space while enjoying a cappuccino. At 5.30 pm, I roll down the three ramps to the lower deck and fasten the bike for its 3rd journey by ferry. Tomorrow I will be in Greece. Although I had booked an aircraft seat, I found a better place to sleep. The restaurant closed at midnight, but no one is requested to leave. I make one of the large bench seat my own a and enjoy a sound sleep until 5 AM when an announcement is made for passengers who have booked to leave the ship in Igoumenitsa the get ready.  No rush for me, I disembark at Patras at around 1 PM.