Mei's Vakantie

with an unexpected leading role for Leco

We made the most of it, this vacation. Because my beloved had to work and we had only had four whole days off together (two of which fell on the weekend), we were allowed to stay a day earlier and a day longer in our beloved Puglia.

Does it never get boring, people sometimes ask. But aside from the fact that I do go to other places (I believe this was my fourteenth foreign destination this year), we also discover new things every year. Like now La Rotonda, such a throwaway place by the sea where you eat the very best fish. One with wine from a carafe and where you always burst out laughing when you get the bill, because it’s so low.

My beloved also discovered a secret little bay on the other side of the heel. When it blows hard on the Adriatic side (they call it tramontana, a lovely word), you have to seek refuge on the other side of the heel. If they are bothered by the wind (or the sirocco, that’s what you want to name your horse, right?), then you go to the beach here. Anyway. That tramontana was there and so we headed to Lido Gandoli. Feel free to spread the word, because it’s so hard to find that we seriously considered suing Google Maps for ruining our vacation hours, but eventually, yes indeed, we were there. In paradise. The bay is so deeply set into the land that the water there is about five degrees warmer than the water in the sea. The water is so clear that you can count your toes, there are a few Italians lying around and otherwise it’s peace and quiet that you find.

The next day we went again, because: tramontana and a craving for the sea. That hour's drive wasn’t bad, because we knew the route now and we also love driving. Halfway through the drive, our little screen tried to tell us something. Not panicking, but a little text appeared. ‘La moto e stato bloccato’, something like that. I don’t remember it word for word because I had something better to occupy myself with: the engine, which stalled. What could it be? No fuel. Ah. Of course, we could have kept an eye on that ourselves, but hello, I’m used to cars (this rental car was clearly not from the friends of Renault) that timely give a beep and a beep in the hope of moving you towards a gas station. This one didn’t. Fortunately, we were going downhill and could coast quite far so we didn’t come to a stop right at the bend of the highway.

My beloved took on the hero role, crossed the highway, and went in search of a pump. I learned a lot from my mother, but especially that you should never stay in a stationary car on the highway, even if your hazard lights are flashing and you’ve set up the warning triangle. So I swept my girls out of the car, unfolded the towels that were meant for the beach on the grass along the highway, calmed an angry dog who found us intruders, and kicked some beer bottles aside. Indeed, we had a wonderfully idyllic spot.

My beloved called. A nice little fishmonger had lent him a jerrycan and the pump was a ten-minute walk. So far so good. I started applying sunscreen on the girls and pumped up the air mattress for later, so that was done. When he came running back twenty minutes later with the filled jerrycan, it seemed the suffering was over. Except that my youngest seriously considered running joyfully towards her father, across the highway, and that made both our hearts race towards 180 beats per minute. At the car, it turned out the diesel tank was sealed by a flap that only opens when a hard object, like the nozzle of the diesel pump, fits exactly into it. We tried one of the broken beer bottles. Nope. The water bottle we always had with us was too soft. A piece of rubber that was lying around our picturesque spot was too soft. Then my eye caught Leco's brush, with that nice sharp point with which you make a firm parting. I looked at my beloved. We could try it. Like a dental assistant, I stood next to my beloved. I first handed him the brush and then slid the long piece of rubber into the created gap to keep the flap open. And yes. Eureka. Hooray. Praise. It worked. Leco. You were already my hero, but now also that of the whole family.

And they lived happily ever after.