While Andrea was very careful with his action and gave me a handshake when we first met, Manuela and her family greeted me with kisses on both cheeks. Not only when we first met, but also every morning, every time we left the house, and every night before we went to bed.

Welcome to the deep South, or ‘Il Profondo Sud’ that Manuela referred to.

After speaking English so fluently with Andrea in the past two days, it was time to switch into Italian around the table at lunchtime in Tricase.

I contacted Manuela, or Pocca, the nickname she had while she was studying in Pisa (which was a slang in her hometown meaning yes/sure) like a month in advance. She hadn’t been online for weeks and I didn’t have much expectation, but I sent her a message anyway because she was hosting in a family and she also loved chocolate.

To my surprise, she answered my request and said that her and her family would be happy to host my in Salento.

Not just hosting, but welcoming me to their family.


Apart from working in the IT department at the hospital in town, Antonio, her dad, also maintained a big orchard and kitchen garden, growing almost everything from strawberries to apricots to lemons to bunnies and chickens (for eggs). On the other piece of land they grew almonds, olives and grains to make their own flour for bread and pasta. They also made their wine, had solar panels and collect rainwater for domestic use.

I mean, wow, I was impressed.


I was not only lucky to meet and stay with this family, but also to be in Tricase, or Tutino (a small part of Tricase) on this weekend when they had this Christian festival/celebration called Madonna delle Grazie, which always happened a week after Easter. There was a ‘processione’ or a kind of religious parade similar to those found on Easter Friday, and afterwards a stunning fireworks display at a small castle in town. Then on Sunday morning there was a fiera, something like flea market that sold almost everything from panties to homemade cheese. On the last night they had ‘sagra’ where you could try traditional food very cheaply, followed by traditional live folk music and dance from Salento, where I learned the typical dance of this region called Pizzica. Thanks to Manuela for being such a good teacher!


Her aunt and uncle from Lecce also came for a visit that weekend. They had a business which imported goods from Bali and had been visiting Bali every year. It was very interesting to hear their perceptions of Asia, especially when they were from older generations and not the typical backpackers you would normally meet. We had a big lunch together on Sunday, with homemade orecchiette and ragu, rabbit meat, artichokes salad from the garden, ice cream with fresh strawberries that Antonio collected two hours before, ended with some liquor and dark chocolate from the easter egg.

Probably one of the longest lunches I have ever experienced.


When Manuela didn’t have to work, she showed me around Salento. We walked through the pine woods at Porto Selvaggio, visited more towers than I could possibly remember (and she knew the name of almost all of them!), and went to Leuca, the Southernmost part of Puglia where the two oceans (Ionian and Adriatic) met. The evening in Leuca, the sky was clear and it turned pink as the sun set. Unfortunately there was no places to stop the car and enjoy the colours, but she said it was much better in Gallipoli.

So one afternoon after work, she took me there to see the sunset over the sea.


The sky and the water turned pink and as the sun kissed the horizon. Every time I saw the photos from that evening, I could feel the warmth and kindness of Manuela coming out of them.

She gave without expecting anything in return, just to see my happy and she was content too.

I didn’t know how I could possibly thank her enough. I hope she knew how much I enjoyed the time at her place, and how much these 5 days meant to me.

In the past two weeks, I kept asking myself what was the reason that all these ‘strangers’ were so kind to me. That day, I stopped asking. I just turned to Manuela and told her how wonderful she was, hugged and kissed her on the cheek to say thank you.


The last five days with this family marked the end of my trip to Puglia, and it was the best ending I could possibly asked for.

It was the ending that made me decided, with strong will and determination, to come to Puglia again in September (if not before)

Because I knew that someone would be waiting to welcome me back here.