We struggled to find our rythym today. Maybe it was the late night with our new friends, too little sleep or just the heat taking its toll again, but by the time we got to Pavia we were shattered. We fought traffic the whole way into the city and the weather – once again hovering around 30°C and humid – took away what little energy we had. The mosquitos also did their part to annoy us. The area we are in now is famous for its rice which means wonderful risottos but also a lot of stagnant water for blood-sucking insects to breed in. We’d no sooner sat down to eat our lunch in a shady park in Pavia than several dozen seemed to pounce on us. We ate our food quickly and set off in search of the tourist bureau, touring the town for several minutes until we realised the information centre was right next to where we’d had lunch. By this time we were just fed up and tired. Yesterday we’d resolved to wild camp more, to try and save money instead of using overpriced Italian campgrounds, but this afternoon our resolve went out the window. We needed a refuge, a place to pitch the tent and just relax for a few hours before trying again tomorrow. So, off we went to the campsite in Pavia (one of the few in the region) and, after dousing ourselves in mosquito repellent, we were able to relax a bit and plan our route for the next few days. We are thinking of heading north now and into the mountains as quickly as possible to get away from the muggy weather that’s made the last few days not so enjoyable for cycling.