What can be a stressful or even aggravating situation while traveling often makes for a memorable and even funny story later. This type of situation comes to mind when I recall a trip to Puglia a little over ten years ago. I guarantee you’ll be laughing too, as you read about it here.
In the spring of 2015, I traveled to Puglia with other travel bloggers, Victoria De Maio and Susan Nelson. Susan and I actually went on one of Victoria’s small group tours. Arranged by Victoria, we stayed in a masseria in Puglia. A masseria is a fortified farmhouse in the countryside, often dating back to the 16th century. It usually consists of several buildings, a courtyard, and sometimes an agricultural area.
Today, many of these have been converted into rustic, yet comfortable accommodations.
This one was Provenzani Masseria, and even the old mill with a grindstone was still on the premises. I really enjoyed the masseria experience and highly recommend it.
Since I was traveling for five weeks this trip, I had to bring hair color with me and apply it while I was at the masseria. So one evening after our group returned from our excursions I set time aside to color my hair.
I waited the thirty minutes after smearing the black goo all over my head, and went into the bathroom so I could rinse it out and shampoo my hair in the shower. Imagine my surprise when I turned the shower handle and nothing happened. No water came out. I checked the sink handle and there was no water. Great, I thought. Now what? I knew I couldn’t leave these chemicals on my hair very long, and certainly not all night, so I had to figure out a way to get some water.
A masseria does not generally have a front desk or anyone on site to handle problems at night. Nothing is around since this is out in the countryside of Puglia.
Did I mention that it is 11:30 at night? I went outside and saw no activity anywhere. Of course not…most travelers were sleeping at this hour. I decided to wander around the property and see if I could find a hose. Can you believe that I came up empty? Not a hose in sight. I looked everywhere to no avail.
I remembered that the owner and his family actually do live on site so I wandered around to their rooms and saw a light on. Yes, thank God Italians stay up late! I peered inside the window and could see a man inside sitting at a table. So I knocked and when he answered the door, he found me with my soaking wet black head.
In Italian I tried to apologize for bothering him at this hour and explain my dilemma. ”Scusi Signore. Mi dispiace ma non ho acqua.” Excuse me, Sir but I have no water.
He nonchalantly replied, “Si.. è molto difficile.” Yes it is very difficult.
I had heard of some problems on another day with no water so I wondered if they shut the water off at night when they have to irrigate the plants. I really had no idea. All I knew was that I needed to have some water one way or another.
Using my best hand gestures, I pointed to my head and said, “Ma devo dormire e non riesco a dormire con la mia testa come questo.” But I have to sleep and I can’t sleep with my head like this.
Fortunately his wife was now standing next to him and she seemed to understand my problem with some amount of womanly compassion. She bought out four one-liter bottles of Italian drinking water, the kind that is served at a table, and gave them to me. I was thrilled and took them, saying “Grazie mille. Lo apprezzo. Buonanotte.” Thank you. I appreciate it. Goodnight.
Grateful for the water, I went back to my room and started pouring it on my hair trying to get as much of the chemical out of the hair. I already knew I wouldn’t have enough water to shampoo my hair. I was mainly interested in getting as much of the hair dye washed out. So I used three and half bottles and saved the remainder just in case I needed it in the morning to brush my teeth. By now it was after midnight and I needed to get to sleep. I wrapped a plastic bag around my wet head and placed a towel on my bed pillow, and that was how I slept during the night.
I awoke at 5:30 am, tried the water and it still was not working. I went back to sleep, praying that by the time I had to get up for the day, the water would be back on.
And by some miracle, that’s exactly what happened. By 7:15 am the water was back on and I took a long hot shower, shampooed my hair, and was grateful how things turned out.
The entire event made for lively conversation with my travel companions during breakfast.
As the Italians say, “Boh.” I never did find out why the water was off all night, but it didn’t matter. It was a new day and I was in Italy.
Travel is fun, yet flexibility is a necessity. If you can’t be flexible, you may end up having a miserable time. It really all boils down to maintaining a positive attitude, being able to make decisions, and utilizing some coping skills. And maybe even laughing at yourself!
Have you had a funny experience happen during a trip? I’d love to hear about it. Please leave a comment.
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Un po' di pepe
Oh wow-this brought back memories! My town-and most small ones in Puglia, used to shut water off at noon in the summer, as a water saving measure! the first few times I went to Italy with my family, this was the case. Everyone would fill their tub with water to flush the toilet with, and every spare pot and pan, plus empty water bottles and even damigiane were filled with water! I guess at some point in the late 80’s, they realized that this measure actually wasted more water and they stopped doing it! Ciao, Cristina
margieinitaly
Thanks for this Christina. I didn’t know this, but I can believe it especially after that episode of mine. The cool thing is about frustrating situations like that is that it always makes for a funny story later. I hope you’re having a great week. It’s good to hear from you.
karenincalabria
When I lived in Reggio Calabria, a lack of water was a frequent occurrence overnight as the city regularly shut off the water between certain hours. After cleaning myself for the first time with bottled water, I realized that I had to keep containers of tap water available, just like everyone else in the same predicament did. So I saved 2-liter water bottles and refilled them, together with pots and pans so as not to avoid the worst possible situation, such as the one you stumbled into!! Often B&Bs and locals in the center of town had water tanks with pumps – an elaborate solution to the city shutting off water at certain times of day.
margieinitaly
Thanks for this insight, Karen. I now realize that it’s not that uncommon a situation as I once might have thought. Italy has long been a proponent of energy conservation.
karenincalabria
Unfortunately, it’s more infrastructure problems and mismanagement of resources.
margieinitaly
Sad