Stung on the butt...

For today, the journey ends in the Po Valley near Parma. The smell of suppliers for the famous ham is in the air at every corner. Emilia-Romagna is one of the wealthiest areas in Italy, with companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati, or Barilla based here, just to name a few. The aforementioned Parma ham comes from this region, as well as balsamic vinegar from Modena or genuine Parmesan cheese.

The Po Valley soon turns out to be a calm, flat agricultural land with countless huge harvested fields, reminding me a lot of my hometown, Oderbruch.

The number of mosquitoes is also similarly high, and they attack us in masses without being asked, right at the first step towards the Po water at an otherwise fantastic standing place for the night. No escape from the bloodsuckers, so we quickly look for an alternative. In doing so, we cross a clattering and rattling bridge several times, made of wooden planks stored on pontoons, which is truly a little adventure for the German driver.

And over again, because it's so much fun and also needs to be filmed! A guard has his little house on the bridge. He makes sure that no plank breaks and waves at us during the third crossing. Each one makes such a deafening noise that we wonder what occupational diseases the man has besides hearing damage. On this afternoon, he has his grandson on board, and they apparently have a lot of fun together.

Our spot for the night is very close today, and the clattering accompanies us until late at night. Just like a million bloodthirsty mosquitoes...