Sunday 22nd July 2018
I do enjoy travelling on these overnight sleepers, or at least the ones I've been on here in a warm climate. I like the gentle background noise of the train on the tracks as we race through the night, the occasional change of tone as we go through a station, the gentle breezes coming through the open window, a comfortable mattress below and fresh linen around me, all of which usually ensure a dreamless, or exhausted, lovely sleep.
By early morning the sky was lightening and the guard came along the carriage to knock on the doors of those passengers leaving the train at Bari in 45 minutes time, and hand in 3 small breakfast trays. The two toilets with washing facilities at each end of the train sleeper coaches were sometimes the unpleasant part of sleeper travel, but lack of running tap water in them occasionally was often the least of these slight irritations. No matter, we arrived at Bari station about 6 a.m. and disembarked onto a quiet platform. I believe the train distance we travelled was 787 kms.
Local buses were outside the station and people were out and about, and we found a small local coffee shop to sit and plan the morning. We were all going home today but had time to enjoy some time here in Bari. The local port bus took us down to the quays and there was a surprise as we could see RIGEL III in the Italian sunshine. Photos taken across the water, we could get another bus back to the station and then head for the airport.
Ships seen: Rigel III, which I remember seeing many years ago as Regina della Pace
I flew back to the UK having enjoyed another amazing and interesting ferry trip, in July 2018.
