Day 9, through the Valle D'Aosta to Vercelli 1439KM

Day 9 took me right into the heart of Italy, into the rice-growing region of the Po Valley. After the mountain I was feeling quite lazy, and ended up in a town called Vercelli, south of Milan. There was no campsite, so I ended up staying in a run-down hotel called 'il croce di Malta' (the cross of Malta). 25 euros a night, broken glass all over the outside area, mangy dogs running around, and drunks leaning against the rusty railings on the pavement.

Because of the rice-growing in the Po Valley there are swarms of mosquitos at particular times of day- one hour in the mornings, and between 8 and 10 every night.

Here's a vid of the cycle down from the mountains into the flat plains of the Po Valley.