Today was a bit longer, at 16 miles walked and 2,000′ of climbing. Our total for this journey is 47 miles.

The countryside in Tuscany is beautiful. Here is the view from our terrace yesterday as darkness was settling in:

And in our hike today:

Each day is different, and we’re enjoying each day for what it offers.

Burning Matches:  This is an expression in cycling which means you only have so much fuel (matches) to burn. And when it’s gone, it’s gone. Today’s walk was all about saving matches until the end. Even if you felt really good in the beginning and wanted to go fast up a hill, slow down … you’ll need those matches, later. Why? Today’s path finished with a big climb in the heat of the day. If you didn’t save some matches for that last climb, you could be in a world of hurt, in the mid-day heat.  We saw a number of pilgrims fading badly on this stretch.

Directions: This is actually a revisit to a topic from earlier hikes; you really do have to walk your own Camino. Following someone else is a recipe for getting lost, and an excuse to put the blame on someone else.   This morning, we were following 3 pilgrims out of San Miniato. Within a few 100 yards of leaving the town center, we noticed the absence of trail signs. They didn’t.  We spent a bit of time figuring out what went wrong and how to get back on course.  Lesson re- learned. Actually, within another mile our compatriots missed the trail … again. We were paying attention and made the turn. Now, to be clear, we make our share of trail mistakes.  By being your own guide, you stop blaming the “other guy” for getting you lost.  You (we) are that “other guy”.

Enjoy your own Camino today. Ciao

Today was 8 miles and 1,200′ of climbing. Our total so far is: 55 miles walked in our 5 days of hiking.

Like the prior days, this was again a beautiful journey through the Tuscan hills. (San Gimignano in the background).

Rhythms: The walks. Like France, many of the villages are built in hilltops for protection during earlier times from the invading hordes. The agriculture was located in the valleys, for access to water,  and the roads connected the two. For us travelers, going from village to village, our path is a rhythm of: climb to the hilltop for the village, then down to the valleys, then back up to the villages, etc.. Today’s profile shows this up-down-up-down rhythm.

Rhythms, departure and arrival. When we leave a town and when we arrive are functions of the day’s distance, the day’s temperatures, when we can check in and when we have to check out.  So, hotter days mean we leave early to avoid the heat. Likewise,  longer distances require earlier starts. However, on shorter stages, we can be limited by check in time. If we get to the town at 11:00am, but can’t check in until 3:00, it can be challenging to figure out what to do for 4 hours with our backpacks in tow. We are finding that early departures are better in these hot August days, so we often hit the trail by 7:00 am.

Rhythms, people:  We are becoming pretty familiar with “our class” of pilgrims. Notably, there is the Belgian, who walked out his door in Belgium in June and has been going ever since. He is about 1,200 miles into his journey and will stop at Rome in a couple of weeks.

Rhythms, mosquitos:  Okay, August in Tuscany is hot and humid. The little nippers love this weather. If you are a natural attractant, like Bill, then you need to make good friends with a bottle of DEET spray; don’t leave home without it!  Once applied, you can go about the business of enjoying Italy!

Rhythms, food:  Okay, you don’t come all the way to Italy and not enjoy the food! It is excellent! Here’s a brief glimpse of our dining:

(Press the image to see the gif)

Speaking of Rhythms, it is time for showers, laundry and exploring!

Today was 12 miles.  Our total, to date is: 85 miles walked and about 8,000′ of climbing. During this time, we also logged an additional 35 miles of tourist and errand walking.  That’s a lot of time in the feet!

We will stay two nights in Siena to rest our feet, etc. for the next stretch.

Yesterday evening we stayed within the walled village of Monteriggioni. We are learning that not all walled villages are the same! Lucca (our first walled city in Italy) would require about 30 minutes to walk from one side to the other. San Gimignano, about 25 minutes. Monteriggioni, on the other hand, took about 3 minutes … If that was a casually paced 3 minutes!

The view in the outside gives some perspective:

But the real perspective comes from looking at a panoramic shot of the interior:

Yep, that’s about it.  Why this was important was that it was Sunday afternoon (businesses close) and we needed to buy breakfast and lunch supplies for the next day (we needed to start early to avoid much of the Monday heat).

As you can see, our options were limited. We settled for bread and some cheese and considered ourselves blessed🙂!

Of note:  While walking, we were warned of dangerous animals. Here’s that sign:

We took appropriate caution!

Tomorrow is a rest day in Siena. For now,  we’re in a park awaiting the reception hours (4:00pm). It is a difficult life we lead, us transient pilgrims!

Today was a rest day. No journey miles walked, though about 5 miles of tourist walking. Today was a day of rest, eating too much, restocking mosquito repellent, and seeing the sights!

Siena, like Florence, has a phenomenal cathedral.

It stands about 250′ high and is about 300′ in length.

Like the Florentine cathedral, it is built with alternating layers of granite and marble to give it that remarkable layered appearance. It was started in 1215 and completed around 1300.

So, how did they do it? Imagine, building a huge building on the top of a hill. You are using several hundred pound blocks of granite … tens of thousands of them,  and you are laying them out over 300′, IN A PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE!  If I laid a 5′ brick wall in the garden, it would wobble like a drunken sailor! These lines are perfect!  How did they do it?

Next, how did they inventory all the granite and marble they needed? Imagine being 2/3rds done with the building and running out if one color of marble? The top 1/3 would look different from the bottom!  You could fire the contractor, but since this project took 80 years, you’d probably be firing the grandson/ granddaughter of the contractor!

Imagine trying to lay the granite blocks 250′ in the air? Again, the lines have to be perfect, but moving around an 800 lb. block that high up is no easy feat!

Imagine finishing the stone ceiling, again some 250′ in the air. The engineering and stone cutting had to be perfect!

Now, imagine doing this before calculators, computers, laser levels, cranes, tractors, etc.

This is fascinating to me,  and a bit humbling. When we get overly enamored with our current intelligence/ technology,  it is good to step back and see the profound ingenuity our predecessors demonstrated, nearly a millennia ago.

That’s all for this day off. Ciao!

Today was 13 miles, bringing our total to 98 miles walked. It was a bit of a scorcher, with early afternoon temperatures in the mid-90’s, and not much in the way of shade on our walk today.

After a day’s rest, we left Siena, heading southward towards Rome.

(The view of Siena from our “rear view mirror”).

The walk was rolling, but generally downhill, passing dried wheat field after dried wheat field. Still beautiful, but in a different sense than forest land.

So, what happens when the Chamber of Commerce writes the guide book? First, let me provide a couple of photos of much of the walk:

What you can see here is an enjoyable, but sparse landscape, with not a lot of trees to offer shade. Enjoyable, but barren.

On  the Camino Frances (Spain), the primary guide book (Brierley) would describe the Meseta (very similar to this countryside) as:  “another dry walk along the soulless senda (trail)”.

Here in Italy, this type of terrain is described as: “Among the most charming stretches of the Tuscan route … offering a different landscape in every season, even the extraordinary uniformity of these hills, nearly without trees and almost entirely cultivated with wheat: green in spring, bread crust in summer, in autumn after ploughing they reveal… the greys of the clay earth. The settlements are few …”

So, lets put this paragraph through a Google translator filter to translate from “chamber-of-commerce-ese” to English:

“The landscape is boring and dry. It is treeless and without villages to get a cold drink. This is true in Spring, Summer, and Fall. Don’t even try this route in Winter! ”

As you can see, the pen is truly powerful when wielded by a Chamber of Commerce writer!

Ciao, for now!

Today was 8 miles (7.55, but that rounds up to 8!), bringing our total to 106 miles hiked, to date.

Our stay last night was off the beaten Francigena path, but it gave us a chance to break up a 20 mile stage into something more comfortable.

(The hotel Borgo Antico as seen on our departure)

The walk was pleasant, following a rail line in one side and a field of sunflowers on the other, for several miles.

The last few miles, the trail began the more serious up and down we’d seen on earlier days, and anticipating the climb up to about 3,000′ in a couple more days.

Ultimately, the village was in view and our days hike, finished.

Flexibility: August is vacation time in Italy, as it is in much of Europe. For Italy, that means that many businesses are closed for much of the month, or at least have reduced hours. You need to be flexible when shopping for needed items during this time. Add to that, the week of the 10th – 16th was a festival week. More businesses close during that time. Now, the 16th was the primo holiday day, and you had to be lucky to find a shop or restaurant open! It all works out. Just be flexible.

Flexible, the trail: Okay, yesterday we knew we would have to jump off the trail at some point, to get to our hotel. We planned that. However, about 1.5 miles before that plan, the trail zigged, and Bill zagged!

(The blue line is the actual trail. The red line is the “lost walk”. The green line is making a new course to the hotel. 🤔)

Shortly after our errant zag, we were staring at the back gate of home/small farm that appeared abandoned. Well, Bill figured that since we were sort of heading in the right direction for the hotel, why not use this as our off-trail launching point? What could go wrong?

Diane was a bit more skeptical and waited while Bill traipsed through the seemingly abandoned farm/ home. It seemed clear so he called Diane and soon they were both happily trespassing across this home! Ignoring the “video surveillance” signs, they found the other side without encountering polizia! Flexibility!  A 2.5 mile walk through town streets led them to their goal and all was well.

The side lesson here is: don’t believe Bill if he ever says “I never get lost!”

We’re now in our hotel room in Bounconvento, listening to thunder. Gotta be flexible!

Very poor (no) internet. We walked 14 miles today, bringing our total to 120 miles.

Tomorrow will also be bad. Lots of thunderstorms in the afternoon. We beat today’s by about 10 minutes

10 miles walked, bringing the total to 130 miles,  overall.  There is no wifi here, and the cell signal is very poor. Net, no pictures and very limited text.

Yesterday we arrived to thunderstorms which lasted to about 8 PM. This morning the skies lit up with lightning and thunder at 7 am. We delayed our start until almost 9 am to minimize risk. For thr first 2 hours, we had a bunch of rain. For the remaining time,  we dealt with the resultant mud. It’s all an adventure!

We arrived to a very quaint B&B, with sparse accommodations (no A/C), but very gracious hosts. With temps in the mid-70’s instead of the mid-90’s, we’re going to be just fine.

Tomorrow is a long steady climb so we should get a good workout. The rain tomorrow is projected to startt at 2 pm, so we’ll try to be done by then.

That’s all we’ve got for today. God bless you. We are enjoying our blessings each day.

Ciao