Follonica to Marina di Castagnetta Carducci

May 13
Today we covered just over 80kms starting with an idyllic campsite in Follonica with your first waking sight being across the ocean to Elbe.

Loading up for what looked like another perfect day, weather wise, we headed inland to Sassetta on the way Pats GPS directed us to a gravel track with a river fording, Tracey propped and would not cross or use the gravel road. Back tracking cost us a little distance but we passed through more beautiful countryside, so all good in the end.

We made Sassetta our luncheon stop Tracey and Pat had some really nice pasta, sadly not much in the way of gluten free food on offer.

After lunch we made for Castagna Carducci , another medieaval Tuscan hilltop town. We have seen a number of these communities now but as yet have not grown tired of them. Typically they have charmingly narrow cobbled streets usually within an enclosing defensive wall and they ooze history. After meeting some crazy Danes and some Germans (not so crazy) we indulged in some memorable hazelnut gelato.

Leaving Castagna Carducci involved the steepest descent any of us had ever attempted we worried the brakes would overheat the rims. While congratulating ourselves on not having had to ride up it (impossible I think with loaded bikes) we discovered Tracey did not have her helmet on. For a very tense moment it looked as though someone would have to go back up until the helmet was found just sitting on the top of the rack, how it managed to stay there during descent is cause for wonder.
Seeing a steady stream of locals filling bottles at water outlets in the street we made some inquiries and it turns out this is where you get the best water (learning all the time).
Our camp site that night was not equal to preceding camps, this one featured slightly grubby amenities and enough mossies to carry away all but the most robust cyclists. Between 4-5 a.m. the locals tried to fumigate us (evidently they think cyclists should be sprayed/exterminated) anyway the roaring machine and the fumes it spewed effectively ended the night sleep and left us coughing and muttering darkly.
Tomorrow we turn away from the coast and start heading for Florence.