I said goodbye to Andrew and set off at about 7.30. Andrew will be flying back to England once he's managed to despatch his bike or find a box to take it with him - both options proving impossibly difficult to pin down. The first half or so of the ride in the thin hard shoulder of a highway - cars & lorries thundering past with inches to spare - through flat prairie-type lands. Some big industrial plants, some of them derelict most not. Wheat & barley being harvested or ready to harvest. Extensive areas of land under plastic - literally stretching to the horizon. The plastic sheeting covers vineyards. No doubt good for water & heat retention - and for bringing forward harvest time - but what an ugly way to farm. Then a spell along a disused railway track - over two magnificent old stone viaducts spanning great gorges - with the new electrified trains on new tracks in places almost alongside and carried over one of the gorges on a massive brutal concrete bridge. And the last hour & a half or so - a minor road with little traffic. Hillier - but winding through crops, stubble and vineyards (not under plastic) illuminated by the late afternoon sun. And up to the astonishing city of Matera - the views of which took my breath away. I'm staying here an unplanned extra day!