It was hard to leave the easy going lifestyle in Alba Adriática but it was time to head for the port of Bari to catch the ferry across the Adriatic to Durres in Albania. The ferry left at 10 pm and arrived at 8 am the following morning. We arrived in Bari mid morning on the day of departure; we parked up at the port and set off to find some lunch in order to avoid having to eat the food served on the ferry.
Five minutes’ walk brought us to a small restaurant where we ordered a raw seafood platter that was so fresh that one of the clams was still moving. The taste was exceptional, no condiments required. Afterwards we had an oven-baked sea bass; the waiter de-boned the fish and served the meat accompanied by the fish’s head. We didn’t touch the head and, at the end of the meal, the waiter demonstrated how to extract the small amount of meat from the head – considered to be a delicacy.
Loading the vehicles onto the ferry took many hours. When our turn eventually came we had to reverse into the ship and then down a narrow ramp to the level below. The manoeuvre had to be done “blind”, so no looking in the rear view mirrors, just following instructions of a crew member. Initially this caused confusion because ours was a right-hand drive vehicle and at the crewman thought it was me in the driving seat. We were eventually parked so tightly against the vehicle next door that we couldn’t open our door to get out. The ferry badly needed refurbishing. We did have clean towels and sheets in the cabin but the blankets provided were the hairy woollen type. The basin in the bathroom was cracked but the cabin was just about clean enough if you didn’t look too closely. One night on board was quite enough.
