Apuglia - Italys South

view from the masseria 

In mid July I took a change to go for another study-trip. This time to Italy.

Since years Italy is very popular to travel around or for holidays in a resort. I do not have to tell you anything about Tuscany (ups, I allready did in another post), the Piemont or cities like rome or Venice.
The more south you go the less friends or relatives had been there before. I did not know anything about the region of Apulia before the trip.

During the trip I had to visit about 30 hotels including different room types, spas, pools, restaurants and so on... Yes, you are right: it was so boring and so exhausting. There was no freetime except in the evenings.

Nevertheless I would like to share on particular experience I made. Italy is full of these old former farming houses, they are called Masseria. A big number of them has been rebuilt into hotels or restaurants.
We made a lunch stop in the Masseria Le Stanzie. The food was very delicious and typical for Italy I took for ever. So much food, so much wine.

trulli in Albarobello

They grow the food on the fields around the Masseria. It's all fresh and local. If you are in the region of Supersano take a change and reserve a table in the Masseria. It's small and they are not open every day.

Another must see in Apulia is Albarobello. There are hundreds of Trullis in the old town. Most of them are shops, restaurants but a lot of them are still houses were people live in. Some of them are rented for tourists. These are the typical houses there.

As every where in Apulia plants mainly vegetables were grown. And of course I forgot the vine. Well just go down there for a couple of days and enjoy the food, the vine and last but not least the sun.

getting around on Djerba

Most of the tourists book a package including flight, hotel and transfer. In Tunisia and especially on Djerba it is easy to get around by a rental car, or bike. On the mainland there are trains running and several bus companies run all over the country. I did not try them but I heard they are good in cheap.
The road signs are in arabic and french and have funny pics ;-) 

A few nights in Tunisia (Djerba)

I was not my first time on Djerba this nice sandy island in the south of Tunisia. But this time it was totally different. It was a business trip for only a few days. Visiting hotels, rooms, meetings and so on. It was horrible. So many appointments in just a few days.

The trip took place in April 2015. The temperature showed some 35 degrees, the sun was shining. Perfect for making holiday.
Never heard of this Tunisian island? No worries. It's small but nice. Basically it's a huge sandball living in the mediterran ocean near the african coast. The island is flat, there are some palm trees and some people living. It's about an hours drive from north to south. But to be honest, nobody goes to Djerba to see the island. It's all about the ocean, liing at the beach enjoy the hotel facilities.... Vacation for cheap money. As the water is not too deep especially families like Djerba.

fish market

Right now nobody even thinks about going to Djerba. But well I understand. I am not going to get political. I mean it is like it is. My goal with this post is to show you some hidden places of this wonderful island.

During this fast business trip I took a change to go on the market in Houmt Souk the capital of the island. It ist not to big but like one of these tipycal markets in the arab countries. For me it is the spices that attracts me. But here they had a part where they only sold fish. There is the older guy sitting on the chair on a table. He shows a line of fishes to the crowd and they shout a price. As you can see the man on the right is tired;-)
The rest of the old town is all in white walls with blue roofs. It's a little bit greek style. The colours have meaning or reason. The white paint of course is for cooling down the house and the blue is to attrac the moskitos. So they stay outside on the roof.
There is small but cute harbour next to Houmt Souk. The fishermen repair their nets and repaint the boats. On this picture you see some tools to catch the octopus. It is like a vase with a hole on the bottom. This is for the rope. Imagine you have dozens of this things to put in the water. To take them out again it is much easier to have them tied togheter. The octopus likes living in holes. So he enters the vase and does not even ralise that this is a trap. There are hundreds of these traps on the pier. At the entrance to the harbour of course there are some fancy restaurants.

The most fascinating part and the main reason for my post is Djerbahood. Never heard of? Me too before I saw it. In the town Hara Sghira Er Riadh in the midle of the island 150 artists from all around the world made parts of the town to an open sky museum. Djerbahood the name of this project is really worth visiting. So if you ever go to Djerba go and see these work by these 30 streetartists.

Willemstad - Curaçaos city

Willemstad: Punda

When I was not at the beach, snorkeling or doing anything else related to the beach I was in Curaçaos capital city Willemstad. The city center is not very big. You don't need much time to see everything. This old part of the town is diveded by the Sint Annabai the huge bay that give Willemstad a natural harbour. On one side of the Sint Annabai there is Punda and on the other side is Otrabanda. These two parts build the heart of the city. They are connected by the Queen Emma Bridge and if that swinging brigde is open there are ferries cruising. Just expoler the city. There is a daily market that sells mainly food imported from Venezuela. Willemstad is also good for shopping. Firstly you don't pay taxes and secondly there are a lot of shops. I am sure you will find what you need.
I would like to point out some restaurants and bars.

Queen Emma Bridge

I want to recomend you the Iguana Cafe just next to the Queen Emma Brigde (Punda). Why don't you go there for a drink just before sunset. No worries the prices are very low and I heard the food is quite good. I just had some beers....

Just in the center where you have the Curaçao sign there are two restaurants. I tried the one on the right. Do not ask for the name but the food was quite good and not to expensive.

Before I leave the topic food I have to tell you about this burgers on the street on Plaza Jo-Jo Correa. There is this small stand which sells burgers. They are good and very che
ap like $2.00. Go and try one...

live music @ Rock Beach

On Petermaai Road there are two realy cool places. Unfortunately I do not have any address but you can not miss these places. One of my favourite places I have ever been to is called Rock Beach! It is a place next to the ocean with live music, food and drink. We sat in the back and ordered some food and beers to start. The food was amazing very very tasty.... Uhhh gosh I have to go back there. After having had dinner we went to the stage for the blues concert of the night. It was Ralph de Jongh a durch blues man. Crazy guy but wonderful music. This guy I can tell you feels the blues! Please dear reader just go there I can not describe this place. It is just perfect for dinner and some good live music. They are open on weekends only. It is free entry and mostly blues and rock sessions.
Just across there is the blue bird cafe. A nice small bar. The barkeeper looks a bit like Herbie Hankock and mixes cool drinks. I suggest you to go there for you Blue Curaçao the typical Curaçaon drink. 

the reason why you go to Curaçao

One of the main reasons for me to visit this island was the beach. I wanted to stay at the beach for a couple of days. I can tell you I spent so many hours at the beach but still it was not enough... ;-)

Mambo Beach - the clean part

The nice beaches are on the southcoast of the island. On Curaçao you have to pay to get to many of the beaches. For sure you do not have to pay for the beach if you stay in the hotel at the beach... But for other beaches they charge you a couple of dollars for the access and even for the chairs.
One of the most popular beaches is Mambo Beach because on fridays and saturdays there are beach parties all over. The wet 'n' wild is like a huge bar with a stage. I recomed this one for people who like to go crazy and do party like @ Ballermann in Palma de Mallorca. Next to it there is a really big restaurant/bar with live music. (They had a very good salsa band on that night...) It is all openair and at the beach!

Behind all these are some shops, snackbars, restaurants and more bars. It is a two floor building which reminds me a lot of the promenade in Playa del Ingles in Gran Canaria. Upstairs is this salsabar with good DJs and brilliant dancers. We have been watching this dancers for hours. A lot of local people were in this bar.

During the day this long beach is just heaven on earth. It is quite, the water is warm and crsistal clear.

Caracas Bay with tower and ferry in tha back

On my first day some guests of the hostel took me to Caracas Bay. It is a huge bay with a long sandy beach. This beach is uses by locals and very few tourist. It is free and there are two bars. The water is clear and you can see lots of fishes!!! Very close by there is an old dutch tower on hill. Behind this hill there is a harbour with an old ferry which is out of service. Behind this ferry are some buoyes. After you crossed the last one you are able to see a ship wreck. It is amazing how many different fishes are living in there. Explore also the riff just a little bit further on. But be carefull with the current and the waves.

sunset in the harbour

On of the most beautiful places should be Kenepa Beach. I heard it is a peaceful but a bit crowed beach. I had to relax that is why I did not went there. Sorry...

One of my favorit places is located next to the Sunscape Curaçao Resort. There is just the end of the Mambo Beach. There is a very small beach on the left and a harbour with a some fishing boats. This beaches are free and the resaturants serve very good food. I recomend you to have a drink during the sunset and after a bite in the Surf and Turf just next to the harbour.

Besindes the beaches and the snorkeling diving is a big thing in Curaçao. There are diving centers everywhere. I did not have enough time to take the course. I will do that the next time.

Little Curaçao is a small sandy island in the southeast of Curaçao. It is popular for day trips by boat. It is one of these Robinson Crusoe islands with nothing on it than sand and some small vegetation. You can hire boat or go on some organised trips by boat or sailing ships.

sleeping day and night

I was quite surprised about the prices they charge for the hotels on Curaçao. Well, as on any other beautiful place the beachfront hotels are quite expensive. But I can tell you that they provide a perfect service. I spent five nights in the Lions Dive & Beach hotel @ Mambo Beach. A white, sandy beach with palmtrees, a cool beach bar and so on.... The kitchen is very tasty and the drinks are awesome! But it has its price. In my opinion this is the best hotel at the beach for a reasonable price. And it is just an hour walk from town. By Taxi it is about ten minutes.

for good nap during the day

If you do n ot have a lot of money no worries there are a few backpackers on the island. I stayed in the Moonz. It is quite close to Willemstad and has a couple of rooms and serves a delicious breakfast. The owner is a very nice dutch lady and it is runned by this jamaican lady. As the neigbourhood is not the best I recomend you not to walk there during night. During the night dogs are barking and in the morning you here the roosters crying. I slept were bad there but it was really worth to stay there because I got a unvarnished picture of the people and the standard of living on the island as you have a close look at the neigbourhood.

getting around safely

Curaçao is a small island but not as small as one of these maldivian islands... That means you can not explore the island by foot. Well you could but nobody would. There are different ways to get around the island. The roads in the city are not too bad but they get worse if you leave the city. 

Rental cars are about 30.-$ per day if you get any special deal. 

Curaçao has public transport. The buses are very cheap and run theoretically by a timetable. The main lines run as far as I understood once an hour and serve all the cities and villages. The thing is that in the evening the service is reduced. So if you want to go back to Willemstad where the central bus station is you should go early unless you won't go buy taxi back. 

A good alternative are the minibuses. They are a little more expensive than the normal buses. As the big buses the have their route. What I  really liked about them was that they would take you to your place. Just tell the driver your address and he will drop you there as long it is on his route. The minibus service is reduced from 21.00.

Taxis are quite expensive. Arrange a price before getting into the car. Normally you pay around 30-35$ from the airport to the town. 

Starting from 20.00 I think the fares for minibuses and taxis is around 25% higher. If you need a friendly and professional taxi driver do not hesitate to contact me. I met a cool and reliable taxi driver. He also does up to 8 hours island tours for a good price. 

Talking about security I can say that I never had problems. Well you should not go through the nasty parts of the city when it get's dark. People in general are very helpful and nice. Of course there are poor people but I did not see any beggars. The police is always around by bike or cars. At Mambo Beach and near the hotels are lots of securities with dogs. I felt safe during my trip.