Piemonte and Tuscany
As we drive further south, it becomes a bit busier here and there: the summer holidays have started. We therefore decide to stay away from the coast and stay inland. We drive through the Piedmont region and stay in the hill country. Some very good wines come from this region, the white Roero Arneis is one of our favourites. We regularly spend the night at wineries. The most beautiful places and friendly families who love to talk about their wines. And of course the necessary tastings: combining the useful with the pleasant.
We move further south-east: beautiful Tuscany and of course we visit more wineries. We really enjoy the countryside an make a lot of tours on our Mountain Bikes. It is still around 35 degrees C. and now we are pretty much used to these temperatures. even Scotty enjoys it now. Tuscany is famous for its countryside, wines and of course the slim and tall Cypress trees.
It is sometimes a precarious matter to squeeze through the small villages or mountain roads with the Mountain Yacht, and we have lots of scratches to prove it. Most wineries are in remote locations in the hills that are difficult to reach. Often unpaved roads, but 4×4 is not necessary.
All the way down into the boot
We continue to drive through the interior of Italy and enjoy the different landscapes. The temperature is constantly around 35 degrees C. and the further south we go, the stronger the sun shines. The solar panels sometimes have more yield than formally possible (according to our Victron Cerbo screen), very special. We are extremely happy with the airconditioning in the truck and the Box.
The newly installed airconditioning in the Box is working flawless: extremely quiet and very efficient thanks to the heat-pump technology. In start-up mode it uses around 900 watts and when it is maintaining a certain temperature the usage is around 200-350 watts. As our Solar panels have a maximum input of 1500 watts we have no issues here. We can also use the airconditioning as a heater. We stick to the plan: spending the night at wineries and restaurants and only occasionally use an official camper place. We descend further into the boot and decide to drive the last part via the coast.
It is a lot quieter here because we are so far south. Beautiful beaches and small villages, palm trees, friendly people, good food, in short: the good life. Nice towns such as Fasano, Villanova and highly recommended: Ostuni. This is a beautiful white town on a hill. We went there in the afternoon and had a fantastic dinner. The village itself has a great atmosphere and a fairy-tail setting. When you are in the south of Italy this is a definitely must visit!
Ferry Brindisi - Igoumenitsa
After enjoying the south-east coast of Italy we take the ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa in Greece. The last 15 kilometers to the ferry are really bad, we have rarely experienced such a bad road surface. The fillings vibrate out of your teeth, even with our off road truck.
Once we arrive at the port, things are a bit different than we are used to. Check-in is only possible an hour in advance and the actual loading starts about 20 minutes before departure. We booked well in advance and gladly did so, as it is very busy. Loading involves a lot of hand gestures, shouting and honking (the Italian way). Ultimately quite smoothly, an organised chaos.
We have booked a spacious seaside cabin where Scotty can stay as well. We enjoy a good a la carte dinner with excellent service and wine. The next morning we arrive in Igoumenitsa (Greece) at 7.00 AM: the next phase of our adventure is about to start!
