Day 2 - paestum to palinuro

Today was a classic case of biting off more than we could chew. After
an early start we headed south on what I thought might be mildly
adventurous B roads only to find the many of them had been washed
away. Numerous dead ends saw us back tracking constantly which added
substantially to the day. To say my navigation was scrappy would be an
understatement. I did a shit job. Just as well the countryside was so
spectacular. So were some of the climbs, with multiple typical coastal
climbs over rocky headlands. Some over 350m in elevation gain before
losing the lot 5 minutes later. The roads are outrageously bad, with
bad surfaces, ridiculously narrow and many washaways. One road late in
the day featured a repaired section with a warning sign saying the
climb was 12% grade. I think it was worse. In fact I have never ridden
anything as steep on a touring bike. Lisa had to bail out because she
has no weight on the front of her bike and she was sure she would flip
if she kept going. The day finally ended 11 hours after it started at
a small campground above the coast. We did 90kms but it seemed a lot
more. Lisa is riding like a true champ. As Bruce would say, " she
definately isn't stuffing around". She is strong and capable. You
would think she had been touring for years.
As we get further south we can't find anyone who has any English, so
communication is a challenge. However once you make the effort people
do their best to help you.
We can't beleive how dodgy and run down everything is. It's almost 3rd
world. However the scenery more than makes up for it. I don't think I
will get any video done tonight as I can't stay awake. I will catch up
tomorrow.
Ciao