I woke up calmly around 6:30 and had breakfast with the very kind Graziella who had prepared both myself and her a coffee and some slices of bread and jam. I assembled the bicycle bags and after saying goodbye to Pluto, her dog and the two chickens and a hug and I set off again under a blue sky and with perfect temperatures.

Some info about the Puglia region

Puglia "known as Apulia in English" is located in the southern region forming the heel of the Italian boot in Puglia. The capital is Bari with its beautiful ancient part of the city while cruises and ferries depart from the Porto Nuovo with connections to different corners of the Mediterranean.

Puglia is renowned for its olive oil, it is called "the gold of Puglia", the Apulian ceramics.There are many typical traditional dishes including Salento's orecchiette : Orecchiette-shaped pasta, Salento-style pasta and a panzerotto, a pizza stuffed and fried like a donut and much more to enjoy.

THE SALENTO PENINSULA IN THE PUGLIA REGION - a circular tour pedalling on flat terrain.

I will pedal on the Salento coast for flat kilometers along the heel of the peninsula and develop in a circular manner that will last a couple of days. Salento is a favourite destination for Italians to spend their summer holidays, and during the high season it is certainly crowded with tourism. In my case my eyes will certainly see wilder areas with little mass tourism and certainly less traffic!

Salento, also as "Salento peninsula" lies between the Adriatic and Ionian seas of the Mediterranean, extends geographically from the Gulf of Taranto on the Ionian Sea and ends in the Pilone district north of Ostuni and marks the border with the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula includes the entire province of Lecce, the eastern part of the province of Taranto and the central-southern part of the province of Brindisi. Taranto is a port town overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

In the extreme southern point there is Santa Maria di Leuca,  (often spelled simply Leuca) and on a wide coastal scene accompanying this view there is a lighthouse which is not only picturesque l but also important  that marks the meeting point of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

The Salento hinterlands are rich with a historical and cultural heritage. Rual corners have hidden, expanses of red earth, olive groves and some thousand-year-old (symbol of the region) fig plants. The farms are incredibly charming, they are rural settlements from the Middle Ages, you can also see the ruins scattered on the ground of the dry stone structures among which the pajare stand out (similar to the famous trulli that are found almost everywhere in Italy).

The first stretch - I had taken the same road as yesterday. The SS 106 Ionica is always flat, traveling along it for kilometers and a "Welcome to Taranto" sign is the most exposed city of Salento to the west and immediately after the view of the enchanting Argoneses Castle, a spectacular fortress facing the charming sea of this area.

And right next to the Castle there is the swing bridge, a fascinating piece of engineering that connects the modern city to the old one. It is opened when necessary to allow the passage of ships from the Ionian Sea to the Piccolo Mare bay where the naval base is located.

The second stretch - I continue pedalling on cycle paths with separation from the cars along the sea, I leave the town center via a local and quiet road located a little further inland until I reach Pulsano located to the south east of Taranto.

The road takes me past a church that they were renovating, very beautiful. I continued on country roads without signs but I knew that they would take me towards the sea coast that I could see from the hill and the long descent took me to the beautiful wide beach of Marina di Pulsano.

The third stretch - I left Marina di Pulsano and I pedalled on the provincial road SP 122 and arrived at the Custodi delle Dune di Campomarino, where there are sand dunes and wonderful sandy coasts. After that I passed the town of San Pietro in Bevagna and for a long stretch where you pass beautiful beaches and some of them can be accessed with accompanied pets, wonderful! Among the views of the crystal-clear waters, I arrive at the  coastal town of Gallipoli it is a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia.

The fourth stretch - Having arrived in Gallipoli in the late afternoon, perhaps there would have been an open campsite or perhaps not. I had passed in front of the Hotel 33 Baroni and decided that it would be the accommodation for tonight.

The last leg - I had placed the luggage of the bicycle in the hotel room which was located not far from both the G. Gallilei seafront and the Marconi seafront, while nearby there was the Gallipoli Castle which is totally surrounded by the sea which I will see tomorrow morning with calmer and not in the dark even if it could have been romantic.

After a shower I took a walk in the pedestrian area where there was also a beautiful square with children playing and people sitting on benches chatting with each other. I love squares precisely because they are meeting places, urban spaces that allow you to socialize that are full of people but could also be a meeting point. In my case I had passed there by chance but I also stopped for a few minutes on the bench and looked at the surroundings and then decided where to continue my walk.

Then, among various outdoor restaurants, I stopped at a nice place with tables outside and ate a pizza with grilled vegetables and mozzarella, excellent, and a good mixed salad.

After another walk I returned to my room, greeted my friends via text, recharged my phone etc, made some travel notes, took a look at the map and imagined where my stopover could be tomorrow and finally fell asleep.

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