Day 9 - Thursday 19^th May

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Rodi to Vieste  (44 kms)

This was to be a short easy day, and when we went down for breakfast we were quite glad.  It was absolutely pouring down.  We took a while over breakfast, and as luck would have it, it stopped raining just before we left at 10am though the roads were still very wet.

As I say, this was to be a short easy day.  We started with a run along the coast headed for Peschici.  The beaches were deserted and the sand was blown all over the road, but it was quite windy which meant the sea looked quite spectacular.  It was a nice climb up to the town of Peschici where we headed up to the top of the town and had a coffee.  Peschici is perched on a promontory, and had a very 'Greek' look about it, with its white buildings and flat roofs.  After leaving Peschici, the road heads inland over a short climb, before a very fast wind assisted run into Vieste. 

Every now and again along the coast road, we'd seen some strange looking wooden structures by the sea.  A sort of wooden box with long poles sticking out of it with a net strung between them.  Apparently they're used for catching mullet. 

Vieste is a very 'Moorish' looking town, extremely exposed and windy!  There are great sea views and windy narrow streets.  We sat in what was left of the evening sun in the central piazza (which is lined with palm trees) before heading back to the hotel (Hotel Seggio - 70 euros) for a good evening meal.

Looking back, today was too short and we should perhaps have headed back on the SS89 to Peschici and then gone inland from there the next day, but it was an enjoyable day and the sea looked great.