👣 31 km by foot – Sunday 10 October

“Get 2 pay 1”! Today we walked two stages, covering a good section of 31 km as we head south towards Leuca. We didn’t walk along the coast this time, but moved a bit more inland, hence walking among olive trees and many different winter crops: cabbages, celery, parsley, cauliflower, and so on. Apulia is such a fertile land for agriculture, demonstrated by the incredibly yummy flavor of local fruit and vegetable! The olive trees are simply stunning. Many of them are older than 1,000 years, and each of them has a unique form and shape, and their trunk goes up to two meters diameter!
Today, again, was a rainy day – it never stopped raining, although lightly – and I must say we are starting to feel winter getting closer. After about 10 km (in the rain) we had a break at the Archeological Museum of Egnazia, where some local associations were waiting for us: Fasano’s Rotary Club, that gifted us some scarfs to keep our necks warm, Conny Boggia from the municipality, the Polisportiva and the Pro Loco of Fasano. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to visit the museum properly, but it seemed very unique, and must be incredibly authentic given that it stands just beside the archeological site of the ancient city of Egnazia, hiding countless traces of the Messapia tribe that settled here before the invasion of the Romans! I will come back for a proper visit.
For the entire stage we walked on tarmac and under the rain, which made it less pleasant than it could have been. But when we arrived in Torre Canne we were very warmly welcomed by the mayor of Fasano at the lighthouse – Torre Canne itself is not a municipality, it is part of the administration of Fasano.
We had lunch here with sandwiches and lots of bakery delicacies, offered and organized for us by the Coordinamento Associazioni in Rete Fasano. I was very hungry – this was perfect! We shortly arrived at our accommodations and had a nice and long break (which is mostly needed after walking in the rain all day). Late in the afternoon we had a meeting with lots of local associations and administrations, and then visited the sanctuary of Pozzo Faceto.
Our dinner, close to Pozzo Faceto, was incredibly special: local cooks made the tastiest fresh ‘panzerotti’ ever, right in front of us, and musicians played local popular and traditional music and made all of us dance at the rhythms of ‘Pizzica’ and ‘Tarantella’. Wow!! I need some rest now before tomorrow’s long stage. Good night!

HIGHLIGHTS
– The short visit at the Archeological site and museum of Egnazia
– The ever-growing beauty of millennial olive trees!
– Live popular music and dance at Pozzo Faceto

TODAY’S WALKERS
Myra Stals, social media manager (EAVF)
Martina D’Agostino, project assistant (EAVF)
Didier Morel, FFVF
Clair Waiss, FFRP
Clair Chevalier, FFRP
Eleonora Sacco, RTR ambassador
Marco Rustioni, RTR ambassador
Francesca and Joanne, Ragazze in Gamba
Old friends Alessio and Massimo
Sharon Di Cinci, videomaker
Several local walkers