Assisi Diary Post 11: 03/08/2008, Sarzana

Assisi Post 11 - 03/08/2008, Sarzana. 728 kms to go

Well this is another milestone or rather a couple of milestones.

I have just crossed another mountain range, the Apennines and I have arrived at Sarzana where in 2006 I joined the Via Francigena having walked from Santiago de Compostela. That day I was suffering mildly from an extremely late night and 5 pints of Guinness! In Sarzana I stayed in the Franciscan Convent, my first pilgrim accommodation since just before crossing into Italy. I remember feeling a sense of being at home there. At the time Sarzana was hopping as there was a huge antiques fair all over the old town. Also there was an outdoor 'live' painting session going on where several artists had huge canvases which they painted over several days. There were chairs set out for the public to sit and watch the proceedings I remember being amazed at the confidence in the weather - what if it had rained overnight? I could not imagine a similar event happening in England. OK enough of the reminisces, what about now?

Well I didn't have 5 pints of Guinness last night although I could have the night before in Pontremoli (but that's another story). However I am again staying in the Franciscan Convent and amazingly enough the antiques fair is here and the open air painting has started - see below

So how has the walking been I hear you ask!

For a start the heat that I had been expecting for weeks has now kicked in with a vengeance. In my 2006 diary, like the pain I was suffering with my feet, I played down the severity of the temperatures. Who wants to read a diary that is full of negative remarks like "I was in constant pain for xxx hours" or ¨I thought I would collapse with the heat¨? Anyway I had been dreading the onset of real heat as I know I cannot walk very far in it! Well it has finally arrived. For example, this morning at 10:40 the temperature was 33 degrees. If you have had a dry sauna (as opposed to a steam sauna), just imagine being in the sauna room with a 26lb backpack on, and walking. That will give you some idea of what it can be like if there is no shade and in 2006 often there was not! Mind you, in 2006 the heat had been really climbing since about mid-June and continued until about the start of the 2nd week of August. For over two weeks when I walked in Italy the temperature did not drop below 29 degrees, even at night, so sleep was difficult. Oh and during that period, add in high humidity. So enduring this heat only for the last 6 or so days has not been so bad. Also I was fortunate in that as I said earlier I have just crossed the Apennines and the temperature moderated as I got higher.

OK that's the hard luck story over and done with so how about the Camino?

For quite some time I had been walking through fairly flat countryside. The area prior to my last posting is a rice growing area so is quite wet. Where you have warm and wet you also have mosquitoes! Even beyond the rice area the mosquitoes continued to plague me. However I seem to have left them behind now. There have been fields of those round straw bales that somehow remind me of weetabix (and yes I know weetabix is not round but oval!) so I thought you might like to see a pic

The approach to the Apennines included a stage which I decided was too long, given the heat and the ascent requirements. It was only about 26 kms which I can do but it included a quite steep climb of around 800 metres. Now the walk up to St Bernard's Pass entailed an ascent of 1000 metres and granted I was pretty wiped out when I arrived, but I was able to do it. That day it was clear blue skies and sun but I suspect the temperature remained below 30 (surprisingly enough a thermometer is not among the items I carry). Here it was different. Somehow when the heat is turned up, the rucksack gains about 7lbs (or so it seems) and the effort to walk is so much more as your body is now working overtime to try and keep you cool. Anyway I decided I would camp wild - this being the first time this year in Italy. After a steep ascent through a wooded area I found a suitable place and pitched the tent - pic below. It was only about 5 kms from the next pilgrim refuge.

Yet again I was being looked after (thank you all for your prayers) as about 30 mins after getting the tent up, the clouds gathered and a storm broke out, thunder, lightening and of course rain! After the storm died down, I heard my first 'unknown animal' noise. I have not heard it before and it was a cross between a bark and someone saying 'bear' at the same time. Given that I had pitched in a field I felt that whatever it was would probably stay in the woods and not approach the tent. Later that night the thunder and lightening returned so it was a bit on the sleepless side. The following morning it was overcast and looked as though rain was imminent so despite still being tired I got up and packed and was on the road at 06:00.

In fact the clouds disappeared and the rain didn't appear. My decision to wild camp though was vindicated as it took me more than 2 hours to do the next 5 kms. I stopped in the village for coffee and met 2 Belgian pilgrims I had encountered the day before when I stopped for a break. They had stayed behind to eat at the Bar/Restaurant. At the time I wondered whether they realised how hot it would get, and how difficult the route was. Anyway when I met them again they said it had also taken them well over 2 hours to do that stretch and had not reached their accommodation until 19:00.

Given that I am on a pilgrimage to Assisi, (don't you love the way I change subject with no warning!) at long last I have received a stamp from a Church dedicated to St Francis.

This was in Fidenza where I stayed at accommodation provided by the Parish Church of St Francis run by Franciscan Friars.

Also I like to photo water features and the one I took in Fidenza came out reasonably so I thought I would include it for your edification!

And not to be outdone by man, I feel it appropriate to include this water feature done by nature (it was not taken at Fidenza though)

As I said earlier I have crossed the Apennines. This was at the Pass of Cisa a mere 1041 metres high. Although on the day I crossed I only had to ascend 200 metres, I had to go down over 800 metres to reach my destination, Pontremoli. My leg muscles are still complaining! Perched right at the top of the pass was a beautiful (and open) little Church

As I sat taking my well-earned rest at the Pass and supped my coffee, the souvenir shop opposite was just opening for business. Out came a bucket of brightly coloured windmills to attract the children and suddenly I had an 'I want one' moment. So I now have a very brightly adorned rucksack! Alas the power generated by the windmill is not enough to actually carry the rucksack.

Well that's about it for now. Tomorrow I head for the coast for just one day's walking by the Mediterranean Sea so expect a photo of feet in sea in the next posting. And my pilgrimage enters another new phase as a good friend of mine is coming to Siena to walk with me. I found a Guinness pub in Siena in 2006 so no doubt we will sup a drop or two!

Before I go I should include a photo or two of the route up to the Pass

Take care all