Eva on the Via Francigena (and beyond)

Song of the Day: Colors — Donovan

“Green is the color of the sparkling corn / In the morning, when we rise / In the morning, when we rise / That’s the time, that’s the time / I love the best”

There have been a lot of days on this walk with incredibly vibrant colors where I have considered using this song. But I was struck by the brilliant turquoise of the Elsa river, so today is the day.

At around 6am, my little campervan began shaking as the person next door lumbered around preparing for the day. Since I was awake, I started to slowly pack. It was chilly outside (fantastic!) so I remembered to put on a layer before throwing on my pack. It was cloudy this morning so even though I left just before sunrise, it was still quite dark.

I followed the road for a bit, craning back to see the lights of San Gimignano in the distance, before turning off onto a gravel road. This quickly headed downhill into still-dark forests, and I remembered what Sylvia had told me yesterday about how wild boars were everywhere in Tuscany, even in the vineyards. I started to sing again until I was out of the woods and in a more lit area, meandering through olive groves and vineyards.

The next hour or so was spent gradually heading up and down over rolling hills, with some views of the Chianti vineyards on the neighboring hills. The sky was slowly starting to brighten as the clouds began to lift as I made my way past vines and olive trees, the occasional villa, and through more forested sections, even fording a small stream.

After about 2 hours of this the scenery had changed somewhat, and the picture-perfect green hills were in the rear view, at least for the time being. I entered another section of forested hills and came to a decision point — here the VF would split into two, both routes taking me to Monteriggioni. One passed through Colle di Val d’Elsa while the other would take a meandering route through a string of small villages. I opted for the first, which brought me up a hill, past another agriturismo, and then on a series of relatively quiet roads into town.

Colle was lovely — still with a well-preserved medieval town center, but without the hordes of San Gimignano yesterday. The downside of this, of course, was that there was nowhere in the old town to sit and eat — or to get a stamp. I meandered through the old streets, enjoying the views of the countryside, and then headed to the still-charming lower town where I posted up at a coffee shop for a cappuccino and a nutella crepe. After sitting for longer than anticipated — almost an hour — I headed out of town. But, not before buying a needle and thread — my shorts, which I purchased brand-new in Reims, are failing at the inner seams, so I’ll need to patch them up tonight.

The next section was the true highlight of the day and some of the prettiest scenes of the walk (this is saying something as the Tuscan countryside has of course also been beautiful). I followed a trail called the SentierElsa, which tracks alongside the Elsa river. The color of the water is astounding — a sort of cloudy teal that glows in the morning sun which streams through the trees. It runs smoothly over rocks in rapids that look like they could be photoshopped, they are almost too perfect. And the path ambles through the dapped sunlight, crossing the river itself 3 times over a series of stones, with rope handrails for support. I had seen photos, but the place was even more spectacular in person — I started laughing, almost giddy, at I made my way over the first crossing.

I walked slowly here, admiring the water and stopping frequently for photos — how can you not? I met another pilgrim headed in the opposite direction, from Rome to Santiago, who told me there would be even better views ahead. He was right — after a short climb I found myself at the top of a cascade, looking down on an emerald pool of water. I was transfixed.

But, this couldn’t last forever of course, and soon I was back on the streets heading out of Colle di Val d’Elsa. The next section was quiet — I was listening to a podcast as I crossed recently-tilled fields, surrounded by green hills and forest on all sides. Podcast done (and after drafting a firmly worded email to the hosts in my head about some lines of questioning I felt lacked important nuance), I found myself entering the charming, well-preserved borgo of Strove.

I will say, I did have the best intentions here — I was planning to eat the food I had in my pack (cheese and salami purchased in San Gimignano), and I went to the bar outside of town just to buy an aranciata. But, standing there waiting to pay…everything just smelled so good. And when I saw they had a tagliatelle with duck ragu for 10 euro, I was in. So, I retreated outside to sit and have a real lunch, figuring the remaining food could be a snack, or lunch tomorrow. And the food was spectacular — lightyears away from the mediocre pasta I had for lunch yesterday. I was so glad I stopped.

Sated and refreshed, I made quick work of the last few kilometers through a lovely forested area and then through olive trees, to the former monastery at Abbadia a Isola. From here I had views to the hilltop town of Monteriggioni, where I had intended to stay tonight before discovering the hostel didn’t have space. So, I was instead in the pilgrim hostel here in Abbadia, where the very gregarious Ali from Senegal let me in and showed me around.

As it turns out, it would be a busy night at the hostel. There were only three “proper” pilgrims (no offense to the others, but you will understand what I mean): myself, Denis, the Frenchman I met two days ago in Gambassi; and Jan, a Dutchman walking in the opposite direction from Rome to Santiago. Besides us there was a group of 14 American kids on a gap year program plus their handler. I was a bit nervous about hearing so many American voices — and to be honest, was shocked at how young these kids looked….did I look that young my first year of college? — but they seemed like a good enough group and weren’t too disruptive. (As I am writing this, I can hear one of the kids out of my window loudly complaining “why are we giving them our money” because she couldn’t do what she wanted, so I may revise this assessment…)

I walked around the abbey complex, which includes a few homes and an austere church. This used to be a large monastery which would house pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Ali came and sat outside with me for awhile and wanted to talk about faith and the afterlife. I’ll admit I didn’t contribute much to the conversation besides si, si, certo, but it was very interesting to get his perspective, especially after my last few days of conversation. One of the few locals living in this small collection of houses came by to chat with Ali, and I sat listening as they caught up on the local gossip — which was juicy, but I won’t share here….

Dinner was served at 7 in a chapel-turned-dining room, where the group from the Monteriggioni hostel joined us. This was a group I had seem since San Miniato: a combination of blind pilgrims and their seeing guides. I ended up sitting with one of the leaders, and it was great to hear more about the mission.

Final mileage: 15.22 mi
Walking time: 7h 19m (incl. lunch stop)
Elevation gain: 1,732 ft

Accommodation: Abbazia dei Santi Salvatore e Cirino pilgrim hostel. Of the two in Abbadia, this is the better option as it offers the option of a group dinner. However, I still think I would have preferred to stay in Monteriggioni if possible.