Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: October — Broken Bells

“Remember what they say, there’s no shortcut to a dream / It’s all blood and sweat / And life is what you manage in between”

I have been yearning for proper fall weather since I left the mountains — the Alps, that is. Today’s cool and misty morning was the first sign of hope that the heat may be behind me….

I woke up Nathan at 7 to see how he was feeling — his pain seemed to have gotten worse overnight and neither of us wanted him to injure himself. He confirmed that he was not going to walk today, which I agreed seemed to be for the best. The soreness from yesterday seemed to have translated into some knee pain. I offered to stay and take the train with him but he insisted I still walk, so I finished my packing as he went back to sleep.

Just after 7:30 or so I was out of the hotel, a cornetto alla crema in hand, walking in the warm and misty morning into Aulla. It was a Sunday morning, so thankfully few cars were on the road. I ate the cornetto as I walked, wanting to finish the walk as soon as possible to that I could meet back up with Nathan. With this in mind, I quickly purchased a small sandwich to have on hand just in case and blew through the center of Aulla. Crossing a bridge out of town I saw some pilgrims ahead of me: I had caught up to my pilgrim squad from these last few days. In addition to the two couples I have been walking with was a Dutch couple who had also been staying in the church accommodations. I said hello to everyone, explained Nathan’s absence and my rush, and hurried along up the road.

Immediately out of town I started on a steep climb, which I was taking at probably too fast of a pace. First asphalt and then a narrow, rocky trail climbed up, up and within 15 minutes my calves were burning and I was drenched in sweat. I slowed it down a bit but the damage was done — the cornetto I had scarfed earlier was making me feel a bit ill on top of everything else. I pushed through the final uphill — 300 meters or so in total. At the top I sat at a bus stop bench breathing deeply, waiting for the nausea to subside.

After a few minutes I put my pack back on and continued along the path, the smell of woodsmoke and pine needles helping substantially. It had been misty when I set out this morning, and after an hour of walking the sun had done nothing to help. If anything, it felt like the mist had gotten even thicker — I was walking in a cloud. I came upon a small village called Vecchietto, passing through it quickly on a slight downhill.

Suddenly, the landscape transformed from the misty, creepy forests with fallen leaves to lush and green. The sun came out all at once, and a blue cloudless sky appeared above. I headed back uphill through backyard olive groves, then an overgrown path where I was scraped repeatedly by thorns. Then, back into green forest full of ferns as I continued to gain back the altitude plus more. Unlike the forests higher up on the Apennines, which were peaceful and serene, these forests were chaotic and scrubby. Periodically, the bushes to my left would open up and I would have a view to the mountains beyond. After one final difficult climb where I was semi-scrambling up rocks, I suddenly had gained all of my altitude for today: it was literally all downhill from here.

I continued on a flat gravel path when I suddenly heard rustling in the trees — something big. I stopped and scanned around me, looking for the source, concerned that this may be an up close and personal run in with a boar this time. Then I noticed a flash of blue: a man was crawling through the underbrush toward me. This was only slightly less alarming, so I called out to him, apologizing for startling but explaining that I thought he was a cinghiale. He gave me a weird look, and when I asked if he was hiking the VF, he held up a bag in his hands and explained he was collecting chestnuts. I wished him well and continued on.

From here the path was more of the same: flat gravel tracks, with the occasional view peering out from between the trees. I cut over to a smaller narrow track eventually, which took a steep and rocky descent, where I almost fell a few times. Emerging from the forest into a clearing, the path briefly picked back uphill, stopping near the ruins of an 8th century castle, where I stopped to have a quick snack (and somehow managed to forget to take pictures!) From there it was even more downhill, eventually connecting to a road. From here the views opened up, and I made my way towards Ponzano, a fantastic hilltop village just clinging to the mountainside. However, the Via doesn’t actually enter the town, so I hung a quick left to head down a steep alleyway and then onto a flatter road through more olive groves.

Here, passing by a backyard, I noticed a sign: “For pilgrims, etc.” I stopped to investigate and found someone had left grapes for walkers, clarifying “no pesticides.” I grabbed a few to snack on as I walked and called out a thank you into the ether. The path continued on this way, a comfortable downhill stroll through backyards, the occasional cluster of homes, and even what the guidebook describes as a “recluse’s campsite.” Rounding a corner past one home, an old woman came over to talk to me. When she heard I was walking the full VF alone, she began to shake her head vigorously. “You shouldn’t be doing this alone, no no. You need to go and get a boyfriend.” I informed her that I had a boyfriend, but he just couldn’t walk with me since he had to work. She inquired as to what he did and I said he worked in finance. “Ah,” she said, “in finance…well, never mind, you’re all set.” I laughed and continued on, reminding myself to tell Nathan about the exchange later.

Eventually, I had most of the descent behind me, and the path flattened out to primarily a path following the Lunese (after the Luni people who lived here in pre-Roman times) canal. I had taken much of the downhill almost at a jog and here I continued pushing the pace, even as I was starting to overheat. Just before 1pm, I turned onto the main road leading into Sarzana and entered the old city. As it turns out, I had beat Nathan here — his train pulled in a few minutes later. In the meantime, I set about finding a lunch spot (with some difficulty): the first 3 places I tried were either closed or full. Finally, I noticed a set of stairs where some well-dressed people had been waiting, and went up to investigate. It was a beautiful restaurant with outdoor seating in a loggia. They had space for 2 and didn’t seem to mind my pilgrim attire, so I sent Nathan the location and sat down.

Nathan joined me a few minutes later, and we enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch. We both started with the tuna tartare, then he had a calamari pasta while I had pasta with clams and asparagus. We sat for a long time, enjoying the beautiful space and the delicious food — we are actually close enough to the sea to eat seafood!

Afterwards Nathan and I checked into our B&B and chilled out for a few hours. When we were both feeling a bit more energetic, we re-emerged into a medieval fair! There were people everywhere dressed in medieval garb ranging from monks to knights to townspeople. In front of the Cathedral, a band played drums and waved flags. We wandered around for a bit, sampling a liquorice flavored liqueur, before making our way to the main square for an aperitivo. As we sat reading and writing, the medieval folks came to us, parading around the square in preparation to reenact a famous battle between the Florentines and Genovese. We snacked on a tagliere as we watched, curiously. As the reenactors dispersed, we admired the square itself. We both liked Sarzana — it feels distinctly Liguarian in comparison to Pontremoli or Aulla, and the piazza was alive with kids playing, a carousel spinning, and people enjoying aperitivo at various bars.

For dinner, we made our way through the historical center to Osteria ai Tre Archi, where we had a veritable feast: a seafood platter followed by cuts of steak which we cooked on a hot stone. It was a fun dinner and very good food, followed by a delicious tiramisu. I was already starting to get sad about his departure tomorrow, but tried to focus on enjoying our last real meal together.

After dinner, back at the B&B Nathan put on the Qatar Grand Prix. It was late already and I was tired. I made it maybe 10 laps or so before falling asleep — so, a typical GP watching experience for me.

Final mileage: 12.15mi
Walking time: 5h 19m
Elevation gain: 2,926 ft

Accommodation: Casa Giangare. A small pensione right in the city center and affordable priced. Well worth it