26th May 2015
From San Miniato Basso to Gambassi Terme
27.99km
Beautiful day to start with becoming overcast about lunch time & spitting early afternoon
Shorter version:
Started out earlier than usual & slogged up 110m in altitude over a distance of 2 km to San Miniato Alto then took to small roads and dirt roads along the ridges for 15km, all the time accompanied by extraordinary vistas on all sides. Arrived in hostel which is attached to a most beautiful 12-13th century ‘pieve’, small church
Longer version:
Shared a room with the same Italian couple as the previous night but this time I slept well and was awake early so was ready to go about 7h15 (could only pack up once they woke up) & I then went to the local grocery/bakery to get food as today there will do no stopping places on the paths.
The slug up to San Miniato Alto was quite something but it was interesting to see this historic town spread along the crest of the hill and the views from its squares were fabulous. Had an early cappuccino before setting off to walk. Today was both a very strenuous exercise and also the most beautiful stage so far, walking most of the time along ridges with views to both sides.
To get technical, my map tells me that over the distance of 24km (ignoring my initial walk up) I walked up hill for 13.6km (a total ascent of 619m with an ascent slope between 7 and 12%) and downhill for 9.7km (a total descent of 596m with a descent slope between 8 and 11.5%) but suffice it to say it was a strenuous walk… However the views of a real northern Tuscan landscape were superb – rolling hills, very green as it is still spring, but with many wooded areas as well as olive groves, vineyards, some cultivation, and of course cypress trees everywhere.
The wild flowers were a dream in all colours. I saw some little dark red flowers I’d not seen before and they made carpets in the olive groves and in vineyards and at one point I saw a hillside which I thought brown but it was covered in swathes of these little flowers.
I thought that this flower would be today’s star until I saw some wild sweet pea flowers in a purple and red combination. I kept taking photos but they don’t represent the reality – as they say you have to have been there…
So, after leaving San Miniato Alto and walking along tarred roads (at one point there was a short stretch of subsided road with permanent traffic lights for one way traffic) for about 5km,
it was then for most of the time along the vie sterrate which are “dirt” roads except that they have much stone in them as well as many loose rocks, gravel and stones, so it is easy to slip if one is not attentative (& this evening the Italian man has a sprained ankle because he slipped…back home to Milan for them tomorrow). I kept looking at my sports watch to count off the km… My Italians (my Romanians of yesterday) were often in front of me but sometimes we caught up. Along the way I saw two First Aid boxes on stands, for the use of pilgrims, which contained basic medicines, syringes, a pen, phone numbers for help, etc. as well as commemorative plaques for the 500th anniversary, in 2006, of the founding of the Swiss Guards at the Vatican.
After 6km of these stone roads I walked along the remains of a Roman road into Coiano where I saw an Italian woman with a van and a T shirt with the logo “The Wayfarers”. We spoke and she was waiting for a group of tourists who were also walking but without packs and with every facility laid on – gourmet picnic, water stops, an olive-tasting in a fattoria in Coiano, etc. I saw her again a couple of hours later much further on and she said they’d be having a late lunch at 14h30 as they’d only just left the olive tasting place (where she said they tasted the olive oils but didn’t use the bread…). I asked her if they were staying in a hostel and she said no that this was an expensive trip and that they’d be in very good hotels but she did tell me to look out for the little pieve (church) at the entrance to Gambassi Terme and this is exactly where I’m staying tonight so perhaps luxury hotels don’t always have the privileges…
I kept stopping to look at the views, drink, take photos. After Coiano there were more narrow and grassy tracks through woods and then I saw that some of the paths had been widened by the grass each side being cut and I finally came across the man who was doing it.
It seemed he belonged to an association which was trying to improve the tourist possibilities of under-developed areas. It told me it would be another 2 & a half hours to Gambassi Terme so I thought I should have my delicious sandwich of fresh marinated anchovies with buffalo mozzarella which the woman at the grocery store said would make them taste less salty and she was right. I encountered a new pilgrim, a Frenchman who said he’d heard of me from another pilgrim…no secrets on the Via, but he is staying further on tonight. Then it became more overcast and started to spit rain (the Frenchman said we were only 5 minutes away from finer weather but am not sure how one could make up the 5 minutes) so I covered up my rucksack.
I walked the rest of the way in spitting rain and finally arrived at the little pieve and admired it from the outside (but door locked) & started walking the last km to Gambassi Terme when I suddenly realised the hostel name at the church was where I was staying for the night… Found some lovely volunteers running the restored buildings linked to the church and I splurged and asked for a single room (at the great cost of €4 extra) instead of a dormitory… Also for a small cost dinner and breakfast were provided. Before dinner I went into the Romanesque church from the hostel and it is simply stunning. Look up the beautiful Santa Maria Assunta church at Chianni (near Gambessi Terme) all in yellow stone (like the Cotswolds) on the Internet to see some photos. Chiara, the young woman at the desk, said people come from all over to get married here…
Then my new friend from The Wayfarers turned up with her group to visit the church…
I was sorry to hear that my Italian companions (& sometimes “Romanians”…) would be leaving to return home tomorrow because of his sprained ankle as they’d come for just the week and had only done 3 days… We had an adequate meal in the hostel and then it was off to bed. The weather has turned cooler and everyone had added a layer of clothes this evening. My room was quite cold so I was glad of an extra blanket.