The Ligurian hills.

Pretty much a transit day to but one with a superb sting in the tail. 874km to Italy. Leaving Beaune under grey and foggy skies we made our way south on the Autoroute crossing the flooded plains of the Saone and began the long slow climb into the Alps. Through the St Jean du Maurienne valley the fog lifted and we were treated to blue sky, snow capped peaks and an empty motorway. Either side the Madeleine, the Glandon and the Croix de Fer framed the scene perfectly. A quick coffee and pastry just before the Frejus tunnel set us up for the Italian Autostrada. Once we’d adjusted to the more Latin driving on the other side of the tunnel we made good time to the next coffee stop! Further fortified it was off the motorways and into the campagna, specifically the Ligurian Hills and the maze of craggy, damp, slippy and narrow roads. Italy in the winter is sleepy and felt very remote as we wound our way through villages, past farmhouses and over a dam to our ‘checkpoint’ just below the village of Barbagelata. Once we’d seen 39 cars safely through we headed out of the World Cup section and found Peter Scott, car 20 with the left hand rear wheel missing 100m short of TC3.9 the offical end of the section. No injuries or further damage so we left him negotiating with a local – presumably to secure some assistance. Another 50km or so got us back on the Autostrada for the last 183km to Firenze, the night halt.