David's Diary: Saturday, September 21, 2002

More Mobile Problems and Dinner Out

Last night I went to make telephone calls back to Canada. The mobile phone worked again, but I quickly discovered a new problem. No one I was calling could hear what I was saying. The microphone on the mobile was not working.

When I picked up the repaired mobile yesterday, it included the business card of Maurilio Maruccio, the manager at Microkey who had authorized getting my phone fixed for free. Around midnight I sent a text message to him describing the problem and within a few minutes I got a reply. We texted back and forth a few times and agreed to meet this morning at the Microkey office. The office would be closed, but Maurilio would pick me up and look at the telephone.

Microkey Service Department

Once again I made the half-hour trek from the boat to the Microkey office. Maurilio was fifteen minutes late, but he had sent me a text message saying he would be (sending text messages by mobile is a great feature of European mobile phones). Last night, we had communicated in English, so I started talking to Maurilio once we got in his car. I was surprised to learn that he didn't speak English -- he only could read and write it.

We drove from Brindisi to the inland town of Lecce. This was where the headquarters of Microkey was located. Maurilio took me into the service department and I got to watch as he took our phone apart, put in a new microphone, and then did a whole series of automated tests on the phone. He even called me to make sure that the new microphone was indeed working.

I then got to meet Maurilio's manager and his girlfriend Cinzia. We all went out for coffee and things were made easier by the fact that Cinzia spoke excellent English. As we were leaving the cafe, Cinzia asked if we would like to go on a tour and out to dinner with them that night. I explained that there were five of us and she said she knew since last night she had been visiting our Web site. I said great and we made a date for 5:00 PM.

Kevin at Castle in Otranto

Maurilio drove me back to Dragonsinger, a forty-minute drive from Lecce. I told everyone the news and at 5:00 we were all ready. Maurilio and Cinzia showed up with their friend Maurice and two cars. We headed off to Otranto, the next port along the Italian coast. We explored the cathedral with its beautiful mosaic floors and then the chapel inside. In the walls of the chapel are glass cases which were filled with the skulls and bones of 800 people killed in the Sack of Otranto. We next paid a visit to the 15th century castle that overlooked the waterfront. Then it was time to stroll through Otranto to enjoy the ambience.

Dinner Out

By now it was 8:30 and the boys were starting to get hungry. We explained the problem to Cinzia and she called the restaurant to see if we could get in earlier. In the South of Italy, dinner doesn't usually start until 10:00 PM. We drove from Otranto to Maurilio's and Cinzia's favourite restaurant on the outskirts of Lecce. We had special ear-shaped pasta, unique to this region of Italy. Other friends joined us at the table and we talked, visited, and got to know one another a little better.

Lecce

We next drove into Lecce, where Maurilio and Cinzia live. We had only started learning about this inland city today, but we already knew that it was famous for its Baroque architecture. Some call it the second Florence of Italy. When we arrived the crowds were out for a Saturday night stroll and the narrow streets were filled with people. We admired the beautiful architecture and stopped for an ice cream. With the streets still busy at midnight, we headed back to the cars and were driven back to Brindisi. Maurice, Maurilio, and Cinzia went out of their way to welcome us to their beautiful city and country making today one that we'll remember for the rest of our lives.