Two walks were offered on each of five days.
Maja and Claudio led the walks.
Saturday was a free day, J and I opted for the guided tour of Alberobello, aptly led by a man called Guido.
The countryside of the region is noted for its arid limestone geography. Much of the water needed is brought from around 300km to the north along an aqueduct.
The agriculture is dominated by olive groves, figs and almonds.
We also saw cows, goats and horses at a studfarm.
One of the prettiest attractions, in my view, was the hilltop town of Ostuni.
All the walks were between about 4 and 8 miles.
J and I chose the shorter walk to start the week gently.
The coach dropped us all off at this church. The walk was leisurely, along stony tracks bounded by drystone walls with fields around us.
This part of the church shows elements of the Trullo style of building.
On the second day of the program, our longer walk takes us along a ridge above a dry valley.
We encountered a lot of goats at this location, probably providing milk for making cheese.
The week after this holiday there was to be a heatwave across Europe and the British Isles.
Good timing avoiding this!
Today Claudio led the walk which took in two dry valleys, along which there were formerly inhabited caves.
This was one of the bigger ones, where there were spaces where animals were kept.
I paddled in the Adriatic just to say I've been there for the first time.
Unfortunately there were no ice creams or beers available before we boarded the bus back to the hotel.
Though others went to neighbouring towns to explore, J and I decided to do the guided tour of our town Alberobello.
I did a recce after breakfast to ensure I could find the start point, as another 6 people wanted to join us.
This is the cathedral at Curri Plaza near our start point with the guide called Guido.
Given there was an extensive menu of beers, we sat outside with a couple of glasses and watched the world go by.
The old town was heaving with busloads of tourists and school children.
I recall this may have been the day I had a swim in the hotel pool, J taught me the correct breathing method for my breast-stroke. Hopefully I can swim properly and not like an elephant seal in the future.
J and I decided on the short walk today, as we were to have time to explore the beautiful hilltop town of Ostuni.
First off, the bus dropped us all off at this major archaeological site where important history is being uncovered from ancient caves.
This is a part of the site being restored.
It's hard to see from the photo but it represents one of the major archaeological finds of this site.
With the promise of some really nice ice cream, a few of us walk up to the top church where the ice cream is sold.
Here is my delicious salted caramel cone and my coffee.
That was very good gelato.
The final walk was entirely in this wood which is located to the southwest.
The wood is adjacent to an old armed forces base.
The Italians are slow to invest in their outdoor leisure and footpath networks.
We didn't see anyone else during the day's walk.
All packed and it's time to leave the hotel and head to the airport.
This is the view from my hotel room.
I had a couple of swims during the week.
The water was very cold but I found it best to jump straight in and get it over with.
Jane showed just what an effortless swimmer she is, while I am willing to learn.
Throughout the holiday I was often looking at opportunities to practise my Italian.
My previous Italian holiday was the Sicilian volcanoes trip, so it's nearly 8 years since I last spoke Italian.
I was very encouraged how a lot of my language came back to me.
For example, I had successfully used it to ask a shopkeeper where I could buy a bottle of milk.
I am thinking that I ought to start revising and adding to my Italian, it's a lot easier than German and I will use it no doubt in a few weeks time in Cinque Terre!
