As this part of the trip is
very much the homeward leg, we plan to do longer distances than we’ve been used
to on our slow meander down to Sicily. We’re keen to visit Alberobello in
Puglia to see the ‘Trulli’ that we had been intrigued by when watching a
programme about Italian culture and cooking. So we looked to break the journey
in the ‘sole’ of the Italian ‘boot’ at a place called Sibari.
It’s a trip of about 200
miles and just as we were making good progress on the motorway, the brake
system warning light came on… and after checking that the fluid levels were all
good, and with plenty of bite left on the foot brake, we guessed it was
probably the warning light that the disc pads needed changing. A quick call to
our local garage in Brighton confirmed that it was likely the pads, and
although there would still be a bit of mileage left, best to get them checked
out sooner rather than later.
Once we arrived at Camping-Village
Pineta di Sibari we did some research for the nearest Iveco garage that was on
our route back – and settled on one in a town called Fasano in Puglia near the
coast. As it would likely be about a two and a half hour drive, and there’s no
telling how long the lunch break might be, we decided to make a ‘proper’ early
start the next day.
Camping Sibari was a really
interesting stop-over. It’s a classic example of the enormous ‘camping
villages’ that the Italians love, with lots of long term/ permanent set ups –
some of them very elaborate indeed!
The beach itself was also a
revelation, as although the campsite had its own neatly arrayed brollies in the
style we have come to love…
the locals also made great
efforts to stake their individual claims and the rest of the beach was taken up
with rows (not so tidy) of neatly furled brollies all ready for the next day.
Had we not needed to press
on to the garage, we could have stayed for a day and enjoyed the clean beach
and well-provisioned campsite. This is the first one we have come across with
its own butcher and barber! And after nattering to the women in the shop about
local wines in my alarming Italian, one of them popped out the back and came
back with a ‘special’ local bottle for 2 Euros – and it was rather lush! Mrs B
was also pleased to see the return of cicoria, a type of bitter greens of which
we’d grown rather fond en route down in Lazio, so a large bunch of those were
popped in the basket too, along with some juicy yellow plums for dessert.
After a peaceful night under
the plentiful pine trees, we set of for the garage at 0930 – a very early start
for us!
Following a couple of
attempts to find the garage via Google maps, we gave up and followed our
instincts instead – thanks Google – that’s the second out of two times that the
real location of a garage is nowhere near your positioning!
We managed to get a quick
visual check by one of the friendly mechanics who told us to come back at 3.00
and they’d have us sorted that afternoon – genius! So after a shop at our now
favourite Italian supermarket, Conad, we arrived back at 3.00. Once the wheels
were off I was called over to look at the problem – one of the discs had rusted
away on the rim and was badly scored – as well as not being entirely circular
any more - and the pads needing replacement as well. So, changing the brake
pads turned into replacing the discs as well. Fortunately, the garage had a
pair in stock - this is one of the reasons why we opt for Iveco main dealers –
not cheap but pretty reliable for parts availability.
The job took the two
mechanics an hour in the very well equipped garage, one on each wheel, and
after they’d checked the rear wheels and handbrake (OK – phew!) we were on our
way. So a big thanks to Garage Losavio and the two Leonardos who did the work!
Heaving a big sigh of relief
that we were back on the road, we decided to look for a campsite close to the
Trulli we had planned to see. We’d heard from other camper-vanners that there
was a good ACSI inspected site that also did a discount just outside the town
of Alberobello, so we set off into the evening, driving, as instructed by the
Leos, ‘molto piano’ for the first few hours of driving. The brakes were so much
better – and the warning light was extinguished - hurrah!
S.
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