21 May – Approx 255km Piverone to Bernex (by car, train, car)
After consultations with my physio/Nordic walking teacher/friend Catherine, after hearing from my wonderful “readers” of their various “tendon” experiences, and after not having had a miracle cure from San Rocco’s angel or dog overnight, I decided this morning to be wise & take a break in the V F “pilgrimage” & head back to Geneva for treatment of my tendon, starting tomorrow. I will be really sorry to stop (& not receive all your mails of encouragement on such a regular basis) but I just hope this is a pause “pour mieux recommencer” ( to enable me to restart better) as the French say.
This morning I awoke in my wonderful B&B & to a beautiful morning and to an even more sumptuous breakfast – fresh fruit salad, juices, some cereal, nuts, hard boiled eggs, prosciutto, Parmesan cheese, toaster & bread, home-made jams, sweet home-made biscuits, etc, a table laid with beautiful crockery & glass-ware, served in a room which looked like something out of an old Dutch still-life painting. Photo attached which I hope does it justice. This B&B is officially 2 star as it doesn’t have air-conditioning (because it is Eco-friendly) but warrants much more as the lovely hostess does whatever she can to make the stay pleasurable, not to mention the beautiful garden. When I told her that after all I would not stay an extra day but intended to return to Geneva & asked her what time the local bus left for Santhia station, she insisted on driving me there. As a follow-on from yesterday she also confirmed that the Val d’Aosta is in fact an autonomous region now (& said that this is why it is so prosperous). A lovely encounter.
However the day had its excitement when a woman sat down opposite me on the train & spoke to me in perfect English. I learnt she was Italian, 57 years old, a members of the old bourgeoisie who had the right to use the title “cavaliere”, but living & lecturing at a university in Manchester. So for an hour, without stopping as there was no opportunity to stop her, I played the agony aunt & heard the whole story of her life & problems, etc… Talk about “the life styles of the rich & famous” & how one can complicate one’s life… I was glad to descend at Milan station but this experience certainly passed the time as I had nothing to read & no wifi on the regional train. Reminded me a little of taking the bus to the city in Brisbane where one has often heard the fellow traveller’s life story by the time one arrives…
Forgot to mention yesterday when speaking of map reading from a little local map that, unlike Switzerland which has the most fantastic detailed maps for walkers, all detailed maps of Italy up to a scale of 1:100,000 (except for around Mt Blanc mountains area) are reserved for the army. Perhaps this explains why Italians are often not familiar with their immediate surroundings – so I have been pleased to have my wonderful guide-book (thank you Alison Raju) which is the only detailed one for walkers so far in any language of the Sigeric route from Canterbury to Rome.
For the information of any future pilgrims among you: I have read that the ancient pilgrims wore sturdy lace-up boots or stout sandals, a heavy cloak of untreated wool (reasonably waterproof) & carried little else other than a gourd for water and a staff of up to 2 metres with an iron spike at the end, as a defence against wild animals & dogs! Also before setting off, not knowing if they would reach their destination, let alone return home, they would make their will, make a generous donation to the poor & needy, and generally put their affairs in order. They also, like me, got their “credenziale” which was stamped along the way and enabled them to get into pilgrim hostels en route which were provided by religious organizations. But they also had to walk back home once they completed the pilgrimage to Rome…
So different to my setting out with a modern pack of 8-9kg with all I needed, modern equipment like Exped bags, water bottles & eating utensils (including my titanium “levitating” spork), light retractable walking poles to help me move forward, modern trekking clothes, staying in relatively (& sometimes more) comfortable places, mostly good restaurants & “alimentari” for purchasing food, the iPhone & iPad to be able to communicate with the whole world (but only with access to electricity & the phone networks!), a fantastic guide book ( mine is already battered with being consulted so many times a day) & the reassuring way-markings along the way! Fabulous weather all along the way has also helped and being able to get by in Italian has enabled me to converse with local people. And finally, being able to walk into a small station & purchase a train ticket home in the time it took to flick the “plastic” through the credit card reader is a privilege unknown to early pilgrims.
So I have sat in this station restaurant using the wifi & also reflecting on my journey so far… How privileged I feel to have the good health and energy to undertake this walk, accompanied all along the way by your wonderful & supportive emails, verses, news, etc. I have had 9 days of freedom without any appointments, any access to media, or books (except my guide book) as well as being alone, taking the time to observe life around me & having the luxury of choosing what to do when, but also with the challenge of motivating myself to keep moving forward each day (& to learn when to take a day off!) – in short a break from everyday life. It has been a very rewarding, stress-free and also exciting experience (excepting blisters, but thank God for Compeed) which is I hope only being temporarily interrupted. I am going home refreshed & hopefully having learnt a thing or two. For my birthday, an artist friend whom many of you have met gave me a female wire figure with one leg stepping out entitled “the first step” and I feel that this is what I have taken. I am sorry to disappoint those of you who have said that reading of my doings had become part of your daily routine but as I had allocated until the end of June for this adventure perhaps I will be able to return to the “via” soon & you can tune in again. So this is perhaps just an “arrivederci”.
