6th May 2016 Radicofani to Acquapendente
24km in beautiful weather.
I slept well as I didn’t hear the church bells strike the hours (as some of the other pilgrims did). Perhaps the sleep of the just…I was vaguely aware of people getting up during the night (are all over-50s blessed with poor bladders?) but went back to sleep.
Was up at 6:30 & the 5 others were also getting going. The bar opposite opened at 7am for breakfast so everyone was lined up there for a drink and some sort of sweet thing to eat. Mine was just a cappuccino as there was nothing decent to eat (& I forgot I’d bought a banana the night before!). Then I went to the alimentari and smiled to see about 6 backpacks on chairs outside… The lovely lady inside was flat out making all the sandwiches. As she gave me mine she tapped my arm and wished me Buon Cammino.
A group set off through the town gate at 7:30 am on a glorious morning. The views in the soft morning light were simply stupendous in all directions with flowers or flowering shrubs all along the way. I was soon walking along a dirt road and feasting my eyes on all this beauty. It was sheer delight to be alive and walking in peace on such a morning – even the weight of my back-pack seemed to be lightened.
Up hill and down dale on what had been Roman roads often along the top of ridges. I heard a cuckoo singing to its heart delight, saw sheep huddled together but also gambolling around, smelt some farmyards, admired the many different types of flowers, saw some beautifully tended vegetable gardens around farmhouses. Many fields of grain crops which are already quite high covered the hillsides although it was still quite wooded in parts.
After 11kms I arrived in Ponte a Rigo and as I walked towards the bar on the main road, I noticed the street behind was named after Giovanni Falcone so he is still remembered in so many places.
I had a wonderful pot of tea (no cappuch as that had been my breakfast!) with which I ate the remains of a good sandwich from the day before…) and several other pilgrims turned up. There was wifi!!
As the young woman had asked me how to say in English “bitumen road” and “dirt road” which I had written down for her, she gave me a beautiful oblong sticker for the Via Francigena. When I went back into the bar, there were a couple of carabinieri in their splendid uniforms so the young woman insisted on taking a photo of them with me.
On then again for 5km, mainly off the modern Via Cassia main road which I was following on parallel paths, to the following little village. I crossed into Lazio from Tuscany, so Rome is ever closer. But then it was hard slog along the main road facing the on-coming traffic with no foot-paths. I met up with many of the pilgrims I’d seen in the last 3 days so it was comforting to always see someone ahead or behind.
At one point one of them told me that we’d soon get off the road after the next place name onto a short-cut for the last 3 km into Acquapendente. However there was no place name so, as I was ahead, I just kept walking and only realized after a km that I’d missed the turning but it was too late to go back. Then I had a 4 km uphill slog on a twisting road in the face of on-coming traffic…not very pleasant.
However I arrived in Acquapendente and walked to the city centre (a very old town) and asked someone in front of the municipal buildings about a hotel and was pointed to a super small one in a little piazza right off the main square and which I found had been mentioned in my guide book. As I have the time I decided to spend an extra day here as a birthday treat and to care for my tired body. I have a lovely little modernized room which is mine for two nights and with a wonderful simple but excellent restaurant. In the piazza below the market stalls were packing up & I was amazed to see how the stalls packed up into a truck – simply amazing.
After a lovely shower, changing clothes & washing I was amazed to see that my clothes bag was empty which goes to show how little I have…and I realized that I was managing adequately.
I worked on the iPad trying to advance with my travel tales while drinking a big tea, then went out in search of a good gelato at a bar recommended by the woman patron. There were many people sitting around the main square and once again I marvelled at how sociable Italians are and how important being part of the life of the community is. I have been checking up on my theory that socializing makes people live longer and always look at death notices stuck up on walls. Sure enough, there are notices for people dying at 85, 88, 90, 92, 94, 95…
The bar was was simply wonderful with delicious home-made gelati (had scrumptious pomegranate, lemon and bitter chocolate) & the little cakes were to die for so I’ll go back there tomorrow.
When I came back to the hotel for dinner there in the dining room were the four pilgrims I had eaten with last night & whom I had missed saying good-bye to today when I missed the turning and as I was not going to the hostel… This restaurant had been recommended to them by the ostello & was it good so I was very happy to eat with them. And another two I’d eaten with the previous night came in afterwards…
No comparison with this pilgrim menu to what I’d had so far in other places – this was all very good home-cooked food, all for €15 with water and wine included! Beautiful anti-pasti including a delicious chick pea salad with orange, couscous salad, etc, a first course of home-made pici in delicious tomato sauce, followed by grilled chicken with roasted potatoes & rocket salad, and a wonderful ricotta and strawberry tart to finish. The time came to say a sad good-bye to my fellow pilgrims but I was glad to have seen them again! Over dinner there had been interesting discussions about the current political and administrative state of Italy but one senses that, although everyone criticizes the status quo and worries about the prospects of their children, there is a fatality that nothing can or will change.
When I returned to my room and took in some of the clothes I’d aired hanging from the shutters I discovered to my great surprise that the heating was on!!! So much for no heating after the 1st May (& I’m not knocking it!). I can hear children running around the piazza and playing and it’s now 10:30pm…
I have not mentioned my feet so far but you may be interested to know that I have new socks which are double-layered and said to “guarantee” freedom from blisters. I am in on-going discussion with my new best friend Karin (from 1000 Mile socks) and can report no blisters so far although I do have a patch of just worn-through skin which will no doubt benefit from a day’s rest. So all good!