Got up fairly early after a decent sleep. Mosquitos didn’t bother me in the tent but they’re everywhere outside. Packed up, had a nice breakfast, hit the road around 9:45. Going north to Chioggia, then north/west to Trento or thereabouts. Ravenna is quite a bit further north than I thought – our trip through the Apennines was as much north as it was east from Foligno. Countryside here is so different than Umbria – very flat, with lots of lagoons and marshy-looking bits. Also lots of fields in various states of cultivation. The road we’re on is one lane in each direction, quite narrow and very busy. Lots of large trucks, and small cars (all cars here are small). Bypassed most of Padova, then went north – passed thru Cittadella, which has an old part surrounded by very well preserved walls and gates.

Continued north thru Bassano – can now see large mountains looming in the background. Into the mountains on our way north then west to Trento. Very pretty villages perched on the mountainsides every few miles. Sometimes driving next to the river Brenta.

Stopped in Trento and ate lunch in the van, then checked Colin’s camping book for a nice place to stay for a night or two. Chose one back the way we came – about 20 km or so, right on Lake Caldonazzo. It started drizzling rain as we left Trento, by the time we got to the campground it was pouring. Decided we didn’t want to stay there – no satellite access, so picked another campground up in the mountains a bit further. Found the place, but no-one was there – office and bar were open, but no folks to let us thru the gate or check us in. Looked for the next site, but the GPS kept trying to send us the wrong way down one-way streets, so headed to the next potential site. Drove a long way uphill on very narrow windy roads. Ended up at a very isolated campground that was so cold I asked if they had a room inside. Originally was told it would be 19 euros, then when I asked to see the room it was suddenly 35 euros. Decided we didn’t like the place so came down the hill to try the ‘no one home’ place again – still no one home. Continued on back to almost the place we started at near the lake. Drove right onto the campsite, bypassing the office by mistake – no barrier, so picked a spot and settled in. Wasn’t even setup yet when someone comes around the van and started speaking to us in French. Turns out he’s also a Brit living in France and he’d seen Colin’s French license plate, and he also is here following the Giro! When he first started speaking in French and we couldn’t respond in kind it was so funny – he realized pretty quickly that Colin was English.

Reminds me a bit of the area around Hope – very high, steep mountains, although as you drive around and thru the passes there is a village every 5km or so – very pretty.

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