A complete change of scenery

After having walked the length of Tuscany, I finally met the sea, and had two of the most boring days walking of the trip. The Versiliana Coast may be fantastic in the summer season, but at this time of the year it is dead,dead, dead! I walked north for 2 days along the 'seafront' which was a very nice piece of road, with wall to wall 3-4 story apartments and hotels on the inland side, and along the beach, wall to wall private beach clubs, with a 5 metre access every kilometre for 'free' access to that strip and anything within 5 metres of the high water mark. At this time of year it is deserted and run down, although workmen have just started appearing to set it all up for the summer season. Even the little villages, located 1 street back from the 'beach' are also deserted, with high-end boutique stores all closed for another month at least. It took me an hour to find a bar that was open, and it was it's first full days trading for the season - most stores snd hotels dont open until the end of May - talk about a great place to film a story about the end of the earth!
From there I left the Via Francigena, the pilgrim's trail that I have followed for 10 days, and headed west to the Cinque Terre. As i have walked the Cinque Terre before, I decided to head further north to Framura, and walk 'back' from there to Monterrosso, which is at the northern end of the Cinque Terre.
I was able to use the train to stay at Levanto, and decided to have a rest day here, which has been great, and it was really nice to get up knowing I didn't have to don the pack today.
The thing I had forgotten about walking this coastline is that every time you meet a village you descend to sea level, and then have to climb another 300 metres on the other side of the village to get back to the 'transit' level - multiply that by 4 and you have my walk from Framura to Monterosso in some aspects, and it will be the same again tomorrow when I head north from here. There are a lot of holiday-makers out walking here, doing short day trips between the towns, so tht has made it quite different on the trail.
A couple of days walk and I will hit Genoa at the head of the Gulf where I turn South-west towards the French border. I had planned to start listening to my French lessons well before this, but the conditions on the roads have meant I wanted to listen for the traffic, so I'm behind on that too. Quelle domage!
Only 2 days to May Day, which will make it a holiday long weekend here, so it will be very busy.
Ciao tutti.

A new way to go?

After arriving in Lucca at lunch time, I crossed an item off my Bucket List, and took a ride around the city walls on a bike - I cerainly enjoyed the change of pace, and delighted at how much quicker it is, but then there were no hills.
I've been to Lucca twice before, but never had time to fit in a ride, but this time - YES!
If you get the chance - DO IT !

I have now walked over 250kms, and although injury and boot issues have seen me fall behind my schedule, I'm happy to report that my feet seem to love my new boots, and that there are no problems, other than a little initial stiffness. Hopefully, I can now start to build up the pace, and once I'm following the coast, I shouldn't have the getting lost issues to slow me down!

Ciao ciao

International Pilgrims Day

Dont know if there is such a day, but I think it might have been yesterday.
I have walked for 7 days along the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrim's route from Canterbury to Rome, having only met 3 French women walking to Rome from the north of Italy, and 4 Italians out for a day-walk on the VF.
So a bit surprised, when in the first 15 minutes, I meet a French couple also walking to Rome.

A few hours later, I meet 2 Austrians who had just started walking that day from San Miniato, my destination that night. A few minutes later I pass another man who barely says hello as he rushes past - I imagine he's another Austrian trying to catch his mates. After my lunch stop, I head off and see 3 pilgrims ahead just stopping for lunch, and to my surprise, they turn out to be Aussies, from Perth, who have been on the road for 6 weeks, again walking from the north of Italy, having done the French 'half' of the VF the year before. Their daughter was accompanying them, but from the body language, I don't think it would rate as her ideal holiday. Rod is 74, so made me feel like a youngster, and while we are talking another pilgrim struggles down the road, carrying 2 packs with his wife following a way behind. This time 2 Italians, who have been walking 2 weeks, and as Rita is fluent in Italian, they chatted away full speed, asking all about us, and interested that I was going to Santiago. I duly wished the all Buon Camino, and headed off in the 'wrong' direction as I'm heading North and against the 'flow'. Not 20 minutes later I pass a young male pilgrim who says "Bonjour" but keeps going.

Amazing - 11 pilgrims in 1 day, when I expected I'd be lucky to meet that many in all of Italy.

On another note - have you checked out the "My location" link at the top of the page?
Peter has done a lot of work on this, and it now shows my intended route as straight line between points, and also maps my progress, and if you click on each marker it gives stats on distances from Assisi and Santiago, as well as a distance walked to date, which is understated as it is based on straight line distance between each of my log-in points. As you know, probably the only place you travel in a straight line between 2 points is on the Nullabor, and let me tell you - this aint no Nullabor! - although at the end of the day, when I'm climbing up to yet another Tuscan hill-top town, I wish it was.

But thanks for the effort Pete, it's a great improvement.

What a difference........

................a new pair of boots makes!
Hope I'm not talking too soon but I now have the Rolls Royce of boots - in comfort, not price, as they were less than you'd pay in Australia.

Took a taxi back to Siena, which was an experience in itself - he was doing 140kph on the autostrada, mobile phone in one hand the whole time, and taking his hands off and swapping hands every 30 seconds - quite terrifying.  I kept thinking thank God I'm in a Mercedes, but then so was Diana.

I had passed an outdoor gear store on the way out of Siens, so he dropped me there, and the 3rd pair fitted like a glove - I couldn't even feel the painful spots in them, so I wore them around Siena for the rest of the day without any problems.

Then yesterday, I took the train and bus from Siena to San Gimignano to pick up my route, and had a short day from there of only 15kms, and my feet felt fine at the end.  After feeling so low 48hours ago, I'm now recharged, especially after the dinner I had last night. .  I had made the booking at this agritourismo, just outside of Gambassi Terme, with Geraldo, who had responded in English, but when I got here, I was greeted by Papa, Andrea, who has no English, and I have yet to see Geraldo - maybe at breakfast.  But the dinner served up by Andrea and his wife was fantastic, washed down by their own vino blanco, vino rosso and Prosecco with dessert.   Truly the best meal I have had in Italy - all fresh food, and made with care as they were eating the same out in the kitchen.  When he came out to ask how I wanted the meat cooked, I didn't understand the alternatives (which were probably well-cooked, or rare) and he then used other words - when I heard "Rosso" I said Si - I love my meat rare!

It was great, but such a biig meal I had trouble getting back to sleep in the middle of the night.

I have a longer day today to San Miniato, so my boots will get a better grounding.  I also stocked up on Compeed (a second skin for blister prevention), just in case!

Ciao

Que sera, sera

Yesterday, I left Siena feeling very gratefull to be leaving it behind.
It's a lovely city, and I'd be glad to stay longer under different circumstances, but even in the off-season, it is so crowded.
Now, I have to return.
Yesterday was my first 30km day, mainly due to getting lost, tracks being closed for army exercises, and having walked from Monterriggione to Abbadia, then back again, due to a misunderstanding in translation.
By the end of the day my feet were killing me, and while I hate having to change boots at this stage, I think the boots are the source of a lot of my feet problems.  My calf muscle injury has settled and no problem from that, but I have a blister on the top of my foot that looks on the verge of becoming infected, and both balls of my feet are very painful - a combination of blisters and bruising.
Some of the problem comes from the insoles, but I threw out my spare pair on day 2 (along with many other 'excess' items) to cut down on what I was carrying.
I could carry on, but I need a large town to have some chance to find a suitable pair of boots, So I'm returning to Siena before I get too far away from 'civilization'.
They say a part of any pilgrimage is suffering, and I now think I qualify!
Here's hoping I can find some boots, and that they're not too hard to break-in.
Ciao for now

La Bella Toscana

I feel so fortunate to be able to be here.

The last few days have been the most beautiful days in the most beautiful countryside. There really is nothing like Tuscany, especially in the Spring when the wildflowers are out, the trees are budding, fruit blossoming, and all the crops are coming through so everything is green. Soooooo nice, and I have been fortunate that for most of the time I have been off on back roads – all that research time and scanning Google Earth has really paid off in spades. The only thing that spoils the mood twice a day is air force jets screaming over at low altitude, but it is only twice a day.

Tomorrow, Siena and the first 100kms underfoot.

A new travelling companion

I was walking to Pienza on one of the back roads, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this big, young dog comes bounding up and gives me a sniff over. I gave her a pat and started walking on and she came too, running ahead or off to the sides, drinking from the puddles and jumping in every dam she could find. There were a few houses around but after 10 minutes she had shown no sign of breaking off, so I tried to shoo her off, both in English and what I think was Italian. Apart from putting her ears back when I yelled, she took no notice, and just ran around me and charged ahead again, so we continued. She was having a great time, stopping to wait for me if I took a photo, and exploring everything. After an hour I started to worry what would happen when we came to traffic again? Could I tie her up at the roadside? I had no rope. Would anyone find/help her? I was even starting to wonder if she could come with me all the way.

When we came to a stream with a tiny little footbridge over it I made my stand, growling at her, and throwing a stick in her direction every time she tried to put a foot on the bridge. She seemed to get the idea, even though the stream was only 4 feet wide and she could easily have crossed it if she wanted. With tail between her legs she started to head back. I started on climbing away, and she returned once, so I yelled and carried on again, and she turned tail.

I walked on, missing her company already, hoping she’d find her way home. She had a collar, but no tags. After 15 minutes I was starting to feel relieved that I’d shaken her off, when she bounds up alongside, happy as Larry to see me again.
Once over the stream, the road started to improve, and there were a few houses that I was hoping she might stop to explore. As we went on, we even passed 2 couples each walking the other way, and even though 1 couple stopped and made a fuss of her, she soon came charging back to me. After 3 hours we arrived in Pienza. Fortunately the back roads had avoided all the traffic, as she wandered all over the roads when we got there, and my B&B was right on the edge of town. I left her at the door and explained to the owner that she was lost. After unpacking and a shower, I went out to explore the town. Looking out from the front gate, I could see her a few hundred metres up the road, but I manged to get across the road and out of sight. I watched her, and she came back to the B&B again and sniffed at the door. It breaks my heart to ignore her, but I moved on into town, and when I came back later she was gone.

I hope she’s ok, and I miss her.

Co-incidences or, something else?

After a terrible 48 hours when it felt that I could not take a trick and that the universe was against me, everything changed in the space of a day. I was travelling to Villa Ambra, which I had thought was in/near Acquaviva, but which I only realised that morning, was 15kms west of there. I walked out onto the platform to wait for the train, and as I walked along, saw another bloke with a back-pack and we made eye-contact as I went past, and then I returned and sat next to him and we started talking. He was an Alaskan, on holiday for 5 weeks, and was fascinated by my project, and the connection to St Francis, as he was a lapsed Catholic raised by the Franciscans. The strange thing was that only that morning I had moved some of my cards from my bum bag to my pants pocket, and within a ½ hour I was handing one out. He was also turning 60 this year and at a transition point and we talked for half an hour before my station. As we were parting, he made the comment that we were meant to meet, and I had the same feeling about it.  BTW if you are reading this, pls email me.
Then when I left the station to get a taxi, I met Stefano, whose English was more limited than my Italian, but we had a fine conversation for 20 minutes or so, and it really gave me the confidence just to speak “off the cuff” without thinking first. While we were driving I was thinking, "How did I make this mistake, and book a place way out here?"  
When we reached the hotel Stefano followed me in with a map he’d had in his boot which showed a walking path that would avoid the most dangerous sections of the road to Montepulciano. Then as we were talking, Catia (the owner’s sister) offered out of the blue to drive me there in the morning, if I wished. Two cases of the kindness of strangers, that I have often read about in reference to the Camino in Spain, but which I had never before experienced.

To put the icing on the cake, when I went out for a walk, what pattern is all over the paths? The scallop shell, the symbol of the pilgrimage to Santiago. All of a sudden it hit me – all my troubles had been for the purpose of bringing me here today and giving me these very human experiences. Even my 'mistake' in the booking, now seemed not to have been a mistake but rather part of an 'intended' detour.  And, if I had not been ‘forced’ to change my plans, I would not have been here.

No doubt some of you will say that it’s just co-incidence, but I choose to believe that there’s more to it than that, and that belief strengthened me in my resolve, and transformed my formerly ‘negative’ experiences into something more.
This was affirmed again the next morning when I left in fog, to walk about 1km down the road to where the sentiero left the road. I had only gone a few hundred metres when a young Italian guy pulled up to see if I needed a lift, and that I was ok! Yet another demonstration of human kindness – I was sailing along with a spring in my step after that!

Life - not so beautiful

Day 2 was a totaaly different experience - wet and windy, which was ok once I sorted out my rain gear!  Quickly discovered that raincoat that fits easily at home, not fit so well with full pack and 3 litres of water bottles in the side pockets, plus the bum bag in front.  Once I stowed the bum bag in the pack, cosy!
I have also discovered that getting 'lost' twice a day by taking the wrong turn, then having to backtrack, is not conducive to making big distances, and by mid-afternoon when I pulled into Castel del Piano I was buggered, my calf was very sore, and my hammy threatening to go out in support.  All Italian towns look deserted at siesta, but nothing compares to Castel  on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon.  After accosting the few locals I did find in half an hour of wandering, I discovered that there is no inn in this quite large town, and that there was quite a difference of opinion as to where I might find a bed in a nearby town.   I went with the most common answer and took the bus to San Sisto, but after another hour of wnaderings and frustration, I still had no bed, so I decided to take the bus on to Perugia, where I spent 3 months in 2002, and where I was certain of a bed.  To say I was frustrated would be putting it mildly, but by 8pm I had a room.
I decide to give my leg a rest day, as I also wanted to lighten my pack by posting some stuff ahead to a guy I'm to stay with in Arles, and then the next day to get the train out to where I should have been if I'd managed to stick to my itinerary.
A most frustrating and depressing day - not a happy camper.

Underway at last

Assisi to Torgiano

A very interesting first day, starting with getting ‘lost’ on my way to the Basilica! I’ve been in Assisi numerous times, and have walked all its streets, but this morning I wasn’t concentrating on the way, and ended up at one of the lower gates. I had to laugh – here I am setting out to walk 2500 kms across 3 countries, and I get lost in the first few hundred meters.

When I reached the basilica they were just finishing a service in the crypt, so I sat and listened to the singing in quiet contemplation – quite serene. Then I fronted to the Office and got my first stamp on my Pilgrim’s Passport – your entry to the many places of religious accommodation along the way.

Then I left Assisi and descended to a path along a tributary of the River Tiber, which I followed for 3 hours before the path started to deteriorate, and then finally disappeared in the middle of the farmer’s fields. I had missed a crossing, and now I was faced with a detour to a main road adding kilometers to my planned route. By this time I was getting very tired, a factor of both a far heavier pack than I’d been training in, and of the fact that I have been unable to do any major walking in the 2 weeks before I left.

I eventually found myself in Torgiano, and tried to ring the B&B I’d booked which was still 2 hours walk away. I was hoping they would be aqble to come and pick me up, but I couldn’t get through on the number I had, so I checked into an Albergo in Torgiano, fell onto the bed, and went straight to sleep for an hour or so.

The good thing about the day was that my feet and calf felt fine most of the time, the main problem being adjusting my shoulders to the weight of a heavier pack. Have made some changes to the pack straps, so hoping this will ease the pull on my shouders.

Tomorrow has become a longer day, allowing for the extra kms not done today, and I will get away a bit earlier.

The weather has been fine, even hot today walking on the tarmac roads for the second half, and the countryside is magnificent – very green, spring flowers out, and the deciduous trees just starting to bud.

Life is beautiful

Less than 48 hours to go

It's now getting very real, and the time available to do things is vanishing rapidly!
A special thanks to my children, Fiona and Peter, who have been working hard to ensure that I will still stay in touch while on the road.  Their IT knowledge far exceeds mine (which isn't hard) - but they have spent many hours ensuring my new phone is up and running, that I am able to connect in the most cost-effective way, that I have translations on my web-page, and the latest gizmo being a tracker that will show where I last logged-in.
In some ways I feel a long way removed from the medieval pilgrims who made their way without any such back-up, but at least on a physical level, I intend to match their 'devotion'.  Thanks very much to both of you - your efforts are much appreciated!
Glad to report that my calf is returning to normal, and here's hoping it holds all the way to Santiago.
Next post from Italy - WOW.

It gets even better

Yesterday I was presented with cheques and cash totalling $1100.00 from the Mornington Peninsula Alpaca Breeders group - $525 was raised on the night of my send-off, and since then a further $575 has been donated - what a fantastic result, and I thank you all for your contributions.   The interest and support I have received from you is much appreciated!