On the Road Again

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9th day - Sunday
We drove to the small village of San Marco di Castellabate. This is located about 30 minutes south of Salerno in the area called the Cilento and it is about a 4 hour drive from Brindisi. We were able to rouse ourselves out of bed at a fairly respectable hour and hit the road.
When we left Brindisi the weather was cloudy with a threat of rain. The temps were a bit warmer than when we arrived but not by much. Beth had not felt well the previous day and now both Terri & Sam were also not feeling well. Sitting in a car for any amount of time is miserable when one is sick so we took the most direct route we could in the interest of time.
We were about 20 minutes away from reaching Potenza (three fourths of the way to our endpoint) when we decided to take a quick roadside stop to snap a couple of photos. We stepped out of the car and were immediately engulfed by a hot breeze. The sirocco, the hot wind that blows in from Africa, had dramatically raised the temperature.
Our first experience with this wind was during an overnight stay in the mountain village of Civita in the region of Basilicata. Sometime during the night the ac went off and upon hearing the wind I mistakenly opened the window. Instead of a cool breeze it was very dry and very hot wind. We instantly dubbed it the “Wind from Hell.” This time I gladly peeled off my fleece vest that I had worn every day since our arrival in Rome. The warm breeze was a welcome change from the damp coolness we had faced the entire previous week. We even switched from heat to ac in the car.
When we reached our destination we had an unexpected bonus. The landlord offered us the availability of an additional apartment and all that it would cost would be a charge for the electricity consumed (it turned out to be 18 euros). The apartments were terrific so we gladly took her offer.
We settled in for some naps to recuperate from the trip and the festivities of the previous night. Later that evening we set off to find an alementari in hopes of finding stuff that would help with the upset stomach Teri & Sam were having.
We did manage to find at least one such small store open - a small miracle given that it was a Sunday.
Later Beth and I headed to a restaurant we had spotted as we drove around the small village. We were the only customers and had an excellent dinner. It turned out that the proprietor had lived in Britain and spoke excellent English.
He was curious about us and we had an extensive chat. Apparently most tourists to this area are either Italian or German. He said that he rarely encountered American tourists in this area and had thought I was either from Spain or from Greece when we initially spoke. He had wi-fi and brought his laptop to our table and we used google earth to show him where we lived.
The only downer of the evening was that when we headed back to the apartment I began to experience the bug had made the other three ill. It was a long night.

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Photos

Stretch and shoot a photo
On the road to Castellabate di San Marco
it is a drive through mountainous country

Screaming Deal!!
Yet another screaming deal for an excellent apartment
Al especially liked the 4 nights for 2 apartments 175 euros deal
apartments on top floor

Room with a view
Al dug the view of the mountain top village of Castellabate from our apartment window

One can only eat so much restaurant food
Al can only eat so much restaurant food before craving home cooked meals, so having a kitchen is big deal
plus a great way to economize

Al's quirks
Al prefers not having to share the loo
it’s a quirk

Secure parking
The landlord had two large German Shepards to insure security...it was a peaceful countryside as it was...

Comfy room
country setting, clean, secure, access to places to visit...and a great bargain...why stay in a hotel?