Thank God we had our day on the beach last Sunday, the sun has been
distinctly absent since then, apart from the odd glimpse.
We moved a bit further up the coast on Monday to Petacciato Marina. Marina?
Well just a term for the coastal bit associated with an inland town in some
cases, not much of a marina in the true sense of the word this time. We knew
from our books of a possible place to wild camp there, and we found it no
problem, as had the 50 or so Italian motorhomes who were already there! It
was only a car park on the beachfront but it became a temporary campsite for
the holiday weekend (the coming Tuesday was Labour Day), quite a little town
in its own rights. We were the token foreigners until Tuesday when a couple
of German 'homes arrived. It was quite a pleasant place to stop, a lovely
long sandy beach and thankfully no rain, but not a lot of sun either. We
just hit the books and read the hours away, with the odd stroll along the
sand to break up the day. Tough eh? The place emptied out quite a bit on
Tuesday but a few Italians remained that night and with the two German
'homes we were not alone.
For a change of scenery we headed inland on Wednesday to the Abruzzo
national park and a campsite near the small town of Opi. We should have
known better! The clouds looked uninviting inland when we set off and by the
time we arrived at site we had already seen some rain. We settled in, a nice
site, surrounded by hills. We were the only ones there. We discovered that
there was no hot water for the showers, but were assured that it would be
fixed that evening. Not that we intended finding out as the rain hit and we
stayed firmly in the safety of Noddy.
The new day arrived after a very wet rainy night, and it was still looking
grim. Things got worse when we realised that we had left our shoes (pool
shoes) outside overnight and one of Sue's had gone walkabout! She was not a
happy bunny. She didn't cheer up much when I saw it in the distance and
retrieved it for her. It was a bit chewed, one of the resident dogs. I wont
repeat what she said. We almost upped and left, but decided to stay out for
a day or two. The Dutch couple, Peter and Yvonne, we had previously met were
due there on the Friday so we decided to stay to meet up with them again.
The rain returned again so we had showers in Noddy as there was still no hot
water in the campsite showers! Eventually by lunch time the rain had
stopped, and the site showers were fixed, hoorah! I made the most of the
break in the weather and headed off on foot to Opi to find the tourist
office to get some info on the park. It was a 4 or 5km walk and thankfully
the tourist office was open, the lad working there was very helpful. I even
bought a map of the park with all the walks marked on it. Thought it would
be useful, perhaps it will be sometime. I got a bit wet walking back to the
site, the rain had returned. It didn't stop all night.
Friday morning, it was still raining. We decided enough was enough. We were
leaving. I sent a SMS to Peter saying we were leaving and they were better
off going elsewhere as it was so wet where we were. We will have to catch up
with them some other time. Anyway, we had breakfast and packed up. Still
raining! We chose to drive up to the showers, park, get clean, pay and then
head off. I dropped Sue off and went to empty the wastewater and the loo.
Doh! No hot water in the showers. I got soaked doing the chores and no hot
shower to clean off in! To make things worse the owner was nowhere to be
seen so we couldn't even pay and leave. Plan B. We hooked up to the
electricity again and showered in Noddy, one problem solved. Still no owner
so we couldn't leave, they had one of our ID cards. Eventually by lunchtime
the owner retuned. We had a bite to eat, paid our money and hit the road. It
could have been very nice there if the sun had been shining, the showers
worked, and Sue's shoe hadn't been munched. Never mind, all part of the
experience!
Our next stop, anywhere the sun was. We headed north, ending up in L'Aquila.
Again our books showed a free place to stay, but after finding it we found
it full of Italian 'homes, a touring club. Thankfully there was another
possibility in the town and we got a spot there instead, free also. It
wasn't sunny but it was dry so we ventured into the old town for a look
around, and very nice it was too.
Another day, and another plan. We missed the town of Spoleto, in Umbria,
last year when we were around these parts so we thought we would check it
out this time. Silly mistake, the camper stop we were looking for in the
town we eventually found but it was not very nice at all and the town was
way too busy to find alternative parking. So Spoleto we will see next time!
Instead we ended up in the nearby hill town of Montefalco and an excellent
camper stop! A large free parking area on the edge of the medieval town with
good drinking water (10c per 10l) and electric (10c per 6 min) and a great
view of the valley and hills beyond.
We had a stroll around the town and even paid, yep us the people who don't
pay, to go into the museum and see the stunning frescoes there. Well worth
the money, but sorry no pictures, not allowed, so if you want to see them
you will have to come here yourselves!
Our little spot in the car park with the view was too good to leave today,
so we sat in the sunshine and read our books listening to all the birds
chattering away in the trees around us. Yes sunshine I said. It was very
nice indeed, well until the thunderstorm and heavy rain arrived of course!
I will leave you with a passing thought. We always say we are pleased when
we are wild camping if another motorhome arrives to keep us company. What if
the occupants are serial killers praying on lone wild camping motorhomes?
Hmmm.
Ciao
M&S
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