4 Km NW of Ortona, Italy

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4 Km NW of Ortona, Italy, October 17th.

It’s 17:30 and I’ve stopped for the day.  I started early and although it’s been thoroughly enjoyable I am a bit bushed..but…I made it to Ortona.

I had hoped to be able to visit the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery but as I was driving toward Ortona there it was right in front of me on a bend in the curve.  I drove straight in and spent some time walking amongst the young people buried there.  Many of the markers had personal sayings or messages from family and loved ones.  There are 1,615 residents of which 1,375 are Canadian. The grounds are immaculate with roses and other flowers growing by many of the markers.  The cemetery is surrounded by olive groves and is very peaceful despite the proximity to the road.

I was quite moved by this place.  Before I left home I had decided to pack one more stone just in case I lost one.  I went back to the car and found it and placed it at the foot of the cross.

When I got into Ortona I drove around looking for a place to rest my weary head but there didn’t seem to be a lot open.  I did see places open along the way to Ortona so I went back on the road toward Pescara and sure enough just a few clicks away, right on the beach, is the Mara Beach Hotel.  That’s where I am…call me…I’m in 804…with a view of the beach.

Now if you take a look at a map of Italy you will find that I’m just a bit further along the coast from where I started, but I took the long way to get here.  I left my digs this morning and headed for Trani because I heard it was cute.  Well…if you go down to the porto and wander a bit it is cute.  The rest of the town consists of apartment after apartment (which seems to be a trend in most of these cities). The centro storico is a maze of narrow streets (narrow means you can walk down it) and tall buildings (tall means three of four stories).  I ambled a bit and did the tourist thing with a camera but it was early and the road was a callin’.

I needed to get back on the trail of my boys so I headed inland to Andria and on to Canosa di Puglia.  Guess what happened in Andria.  I got lost.  I took a left turn one block too early and ended up in a rabbit warren of apartment buildings.  I’m sure I passed two skeletons of Brit tourists in a Fiat Panda who never made it out.  It took almost about 20 minutes of going back and forth on one way streets to get OUT.

Twenty km later and I was back on track passing through Canosa, then Cerignola and on to Foggia.  As you come out of Canosa you can see the Foggia Plain emerging.  Off in the distance are the mountains I’m heading for.  The plain is simply farm after farm…with a bunch of windmills thrown in.

I don’t know what Foggia looked like in 1943 but today it seems as if it’s nothing but highrises and squeegee guys….and cars…lots of cars.  I took the ring road around it…although I’m sure our boys went straight through.  It was about a 10 km trip and took me a good hour….and I didn’t even get my window squeegee’d.

Lucera was 15 km away and just outside Lucera, on the left and in a bit of a valley is where Arley Burley and Don Reid were killed.  I took some photos of that valley.

As you move down that road towards Campobasso you can see the mountains in the distance.  I say mountains but they are more like foothills.  You get somewhat the same vista driving north on Hwy 138 from Cornwall coming into the Ottawa Valley with the Laurentians in the background.

At this point I’m travelling on SP 17 then SP 645 following the signs to Campobasso.  Lots of spectacular views, lots of bridges, one long tunnel that sloped down, then more bridges and spectacular views.  Campobasso itself was less spectacular.  Parcheggio is rare on the city streets but I did see a car leaving a parking lot so I pulled in and parked.  I then went walkabout to find some lunch.  Now heres a rule you might consider following when in a strange town where you don’t know the language.  Watch the people that go into a bar/cafe.  If they look well healed that might be the place for you.  I watched two well healed types enter a bar/cafe and followed and had a very nice lunch.

When I wandered back up to the car, after deciding that this may once have been Maple Leaf City but no longer had any attraction, I discovered the sign at the parking lot that said it was reserved for the school employees.  I must have looked the type as no one batted an eye.

As I was leaving I spotted a park atop a hill and parked again and went up to take a look at the view. That may have been the most impressive thing about Campobasso.

On the road again and this time heading back to the coast to Tremoli.  Although the Canadians had been out of the line for the last part of October and most of November they were still being decimated.  Almost 4,500 men were incapacitated due to illness, and with respect to fighing effectiveness, this far outweighed combat casualties.  For most of the boys though it was a time of recuperation.

Monty soon had them back at it though heading north and east toward that  little town of Ortona.  But first they had to cross the Moro River…in Canadian military lore this period is reffered to as “Bloody December”.

I’m going back into Ortona tomorrow so I’ll continue the history lesson then.  Right now I need to find a beer.

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