Day 79: Taranto, Italy

After a couple of diversions due to weather, we were once again back on schedule for this portion of the world cruise. Today we visited Taranto, Italy. Located in the upper heel of boot. Taranto was founded by Spartans in the 8th century BC during the period of Greek colonisation, 

Our early morning sunrise arrival was greeted by a parade of tugboats performing a water show as we glided into the harbor. The ship was soon tied to the industrial dock, and we were soon ready to head out, before breakfast, on today’s mission to travel to the local Apple Store to repair Dan’s iPhone that he broke in a fall at the Old Fortress in Corfu, Greece.

We took the port shuttle to the gate and used Sue’s phone to request an Uber listed as 5 min away. After 15 min and no Uber in site, we canceled and negotiated with a local cab (thank you google translate) to take us to the Apple Store about 2 miles away. Even with tip it was cheaper than the Uber quote. We made our way along the coast, through the heavy morning traffic to finally be deposited in front of C&C Taranto – Apple Premium Reseller. We had made an appointment online and they were ready to greet us (in English) as soon as we entered the store. They looked at my phone, filled out the paperwork and let us know that it would be about 4 hours to evaluate/fix. They then called us a cab to take us back to the ship (Sue was still feeling under the weather from the respiratory illness we’ve been fighting for weeks).

The cab ride back through the narrow streets and traffic was a thrill. I think our cab driver was a retired Formula 1 driver. We drove on sidewalks, over medians, down back alleys, and cut through parking lots, all at a breakneck speed. He blew kisses to the guard at the terminal gate as they let him past the security barrier and deposited us at the ships boarding ramp (other cabs had to drop fares at the shuttle gate, then folks had to take the shuttle in). Dan made sure Sue was safely aboard and then headed back to the Apple Store on foot since there was time to kill. It was a nice walk, and as Dan approached the store, the owner was at the door giving a “thumbs up” sign. The phone was fixed and looked brand new. He paid the 400 euro bill (later reimbursed by American Express as part of their benefits) and was on his way. We can’t say enough about the wonderful experience we had at C&C Apple, professional start to finish.

Fixed iPhone in hand, Dan made his way back through town, this time taking photos, and returned to the ship in time for the sunset sail-away. Mission complete.

Random photos of today may be truncated. Click on photo for full view.