Pende France

1st Sept.
In France at last! Thought we would've made it to Marseille but the road we took from Torino in Italy went over a high pass with windy roads that slowed us down. Instead we're half way down from the pass at a beautiful camp site along side a flowing stream. It means we will hit Marseiile tomorrow about lunch time.
It has taken us three months one day since leaving Chennai. I had thought it would be about that long. Yesterday morning we woke up to strong gusty winds blowing off the mountains on the Croatian coast. We had decided to forego the motorway north for a 200 km drive along the coast before leaving this part of the Mediterranean. The wind became stronger as we headed north and became so bad barriers had been put up on the road stopping caravans and large motorhomes from continuing. The gusts came racing down the gullies over the road and down to the sea which was a mass of white horses and spraying foam. It was very impressive but my concentration was more on holding the van on the road. This stretch of coast was quite deserted apart from the odd old house near the waters edge. There were stone walls built alongside the road on the mountain side of many of the gullies to reduce the chance of overturning. The bloke at the servo laughed when I commented on their strength, reckoned they would only be about 100 kph, that during the winter they get up to 180 kph.
On hitting Italy it was our plan to get on the autostradas and head west in a hurry. That plan was dented by the stretch from Trieste just over the border to Venice which was only 2 lanes each way. It was bumper to bumper both lanes then the signs began flashing that there were congestion further on. Sure was. Took something like 15 minutes to go a kilometre, that made us decide to take the ordinary road, a bit slower but at least we moved. After Venice the autostrada became clearer and we made good time turning off to find a camp site for the night around lake di Garda, near Milan. A nice site overlooking the lake but at 29 euros ($47AU) perhaps giving us a taste of what to expect in France and the UK. Up to now the prices for camp sites have ranged from about $6 to $30 per night. They add a fair dollop for the use of electrcity but we haven't plugged in once the whole trip. The solar panels we installed the day before we left have worked a treat.