After a night of unruly sleep I fled that uninviting B&B in Nicotera around seven in the morning. Nevertheless the legs felt fresh so I decided not to check whether breakfast was already available at the main piazza and went straight to tackle the only noteworthy climb of the day, 400 m of altitude up the southern slopes of the Monte Poro. The descent from there was particularly relaxing, with a gentle slope and scenic views of the coast of northern Calabria.

For much of the first half of the day I was accompanied by a light marine rain with occasional showers. There were clouds in all directions except for one sky blue spot in the north that I happened to be cycling towards. After I reached that spot near Amantea I got to enjoy sunlight for half an hour before it started raining heavily. At that point I had almost reached today's destination so getting soaked in the final six kilometers had quite a comical effect. The weather today brings back memories of the Scottish coast, it did however not change nearly as frequently and rapidly.

The threat of rain and a moderate headwind notwithstanding the stretch of road along the Catena Costiera was a pleasant ride. The Tyrrhenian Sea can be seen throughout and occasionally one passes by a beach. Virtually no altitude to be gained despite having line of sight to steep hills to west all the time, it's almost as though the road was constructed with cyclists in mind. No surprise then that today I encountered more cycle tourers than before, all of them heading south.

The Guardia Piemontese campsite has the charme and style of a shanty town. The proprietors were nice to get me a pitch on an elevated wooden surface so I might not drown in the thunderstorm that is being forecast for tonight after all. Not easy to set up the tent though when you can't use pegs; the apsis will have to remain collapsed. In the hectic -- it was still pouring after all -- I managed to spill pear juice all over the tent and had to expend about two thirds of my remaining toilet paper to clean it up. Sigh. More time wasted by scouring shops for small packagages of toilet paper, I can see it coming.

This was the second day I spent entirely in the Calabria region which I will be leaving tomorrow for Basilicata and Campania.

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