SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU OR ANYONE NEAR YOU STILL BELIEVES IN SANTA CLUASE DO NOT READ THIS OUT LOUD.
The day before yesterday I left Porto Sant' Elpidio and took a train south to Bari, Italy. I was only there for the night and most of the next day waiting to catch my ride to Dubrovnik, Croatia, but it was a great little town. It is right on the coast of the Adriatic also, so a very nice train ride, and also a pleasent coastal town. Very hot though! It got to be 100 degrees F, or about 40 Celsius for my metric friends on Saturday. Plus there is humidity. So next time any of you Portland folk think about complaining that is is over 80 degrees, keep that in mind.
I met a nice chap in my hostel from England and he and I went out a grab some dinner and explored town a little. It was very lively and of course the food was good. A nice evening that gave me lots of ideas of things to explore the next day. So I got up and checked out of my hostel, they were nice enough to watch my bags for me for the day while I toured around since my ride was not leaving until 11:00 that night. I walked around the ocean side/boardwalk area. It was Sunday so there were not many things open but I still found some fun sights.
I went to the fish market and watched a lot of local fisherman prepare their catches for sale, including a lot of octopus. I also got to check out the old sea wall and walked all the way out to the edge of the pier and check out the Adriatic from there. I noticed that I was coming up some signs directing me to some local churches and a couple of museums and I thought I would go there and see them.
Santa Alert: One of the churches is said to have the remains of St. Nicholas, whom the Santa Clause legend is based on as, amongst other things, he said to be the Saint protector of children. We have even celebrated St. Nicholas Day in the Maple Room. First I went into the St. Nicholas museum which was only a couple of Euro and just happened to be air conditioned, a fact that did not hurt its odds of me exploring it fully. There were a lot of paintings, chalices and religious gala. It was really interesting and fun to see some of these artifacts from several hundred years ago and learn a little more of the story. Then I crossed the street to the actual church where he is said to be buried. The church was amazingly beautiful. Very detailed in all of its decoration and they happened to be having service while I was there so I sat and listened for a couple of minutes. Afterwards I made my way downstairs to the tomb. It was a very intense scene. There was the marble/granite casket behind some protective bars and a Priest was right next to them praying. There were a couple row of seats where some nuns were sitting also praying with a lot of intensity. They had a big picture of St. Nich in the back of the room and some other artifacts around the little room. It was quite an experience the likes of which I do not think I have ever had before, definitely not in church.
From there I moved on and saw a couple of other churches that were very old, the main square and different parts of old town. It was a great stop over until I had to go back and grab my bags to head towards the boat departure area and catch my ferry.
Once I got all checked in we had a short wait to get onto the ferry and then they escorted us on and told us where we needed to go on the elevator to get our designated spots. This is the first time I have been on an overnight ferry like this, left at 11:00 got there at 7:00, and it was so comical. When you buy the tickets there are several options based on if you have a vehicle or not to bring and where you want to be for the ride. Many people, especially younger, just choose to sleep on the floor of the main decks. It is the cheapest and they all bring air mattresses or even just blow up float devices like you would use in a swimming pool. I watched many folks blowing or foot pumping up what would eventually be there bed. I chuckled just at the sight. I got a room, which I was lucky enough to have to myself. It had a shower and bathroom and a nice little window to look outside.
As we pulled away from Bari we were able to see the whole city lit up and once far enough away we were covered in a blanket of stars for rest of the evening. There was about a 3/4 moon that lit up the whole other side of the sea. It was a very amazing evening and all aboard were in high spirits. Has we got close to our destination, about 5:50 am, they came around and knocked on everyone's door. I was in a deep sleep and feeling good until a strong wrap came at my door. I jumped up wondering if we were going down, not realizing what was happening. Trying to remember the directions they announced about life vests while I was having an evening cocktail I realized that we were ok and just getting close. I got dressed and went out to witness our arrival into Dubrovnik and the rising of the sun just behind it. I was very happy to be able to see something so wonderful and special. We departed after arrival, right at 7:00, and got checked out with our passports. I finally found my way to my hostel and after a quick shower spent the afternoon at the beach swimming in the sea water, snorkeling and catching a little vitamin D. It was a relaxing afternoon to say the least. I am here for 3 days and am going on an island tour tomorrow.
Hope all of you are well and I will post some pics on a different blog since there are a bunch. Have a great week, I know I will.
Ciao
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