Day 11 - Verdon to Ventimiglia, 290 km

Day 11: Verdon to Ventimiglia - 295 km.

So... I made it to Italy. But France really didn't want to let me go.

Turns out all those squiggles on the map meant it was a lot further than I'd anticipated - no way I could have made it yesterday.

A lot of road today too, including an uninterrupted 95km section taking in the picturesque Gorge de Daluis.

Switchbacks

On the trails, I was getting tired of gravel switchbacks, especially downhill, because the front tyre has worn faster than I expected. All those hairpins I guess, but it was starting to skip and push on. Then as if to prove a point, I got a puncture. No great shakes to fix, and the front is easier than the back I said to myself.

Uses for my pulley system, no 3.

Pressed on to the border, stopping at sign for photo, only to pull away with a flat rear too! Arse. No second spare tube. Can't patch UHDs (but I tried). In the end I was forced to limp in to Ventimiglia on the rim lock, destroying the tyre, and hope I can replace the set tomorrow (and carry an extra spare tube from now on).

This time it was moderately less amusing. That's literally the border signpost. Just out of shot to right: squad of gendarmes stopping all traffic from Italy. Thank you to Matt who stopped to offer moral support and a phone number to call him back if in dire straits.

Terrible campsite. €24, more for shower, next to motorway, train, a dog kennel it seems, and various screaming children. Now *this* is "camping sauvage"!

PS For those who thought the caravan yesterday was incongruous, here's a treat from today! 

Good job she's anchored to that tree. Altitude: 550m.

NB: Functionality disabled to prevent extracting KML. If you want to follow the route, get the latest data from TransEuroTrail.org

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