I set off in the dark in order to rendezvous with Danilo's water taxi across the Po. This is the traditional way to cross the river, and there historic markers on both sides of the river to note the crossing's place in history.   Not knowing exactly how far I had to walk, I set … Continue reading Day fifty-four: Miradolo Terme to Piacenza →

I'm in the square - which constitutes down town in the village of Miradolo Terme - enjoying a beer, contemplating more camino karma, and observing Italian driving: so far only one car in 45 minutes has observed the stop sign, and they had to as someone was coming the other way. Even the local cop … Continue reading Day fifty-three: Piava to Miradolo Terme →

The extra km done yesterday paid off as it was only 17km to Pavia. So I arrived before lunch time to discover the info I had for the Ostello was incorrect and they are not open for check in until 1430. Not wanting to sightsee for three hours with a backpack, I went to a … Continue reading Day fifty-two: Gropello Cairoli to Pavia →

My intent was to walk from Mortara to Garlasco - a stroll of about 20km - and reassess energy levels. The next stop along the way is Pavia where there is plenty to see, so a shorter day fifty-two would be ideal. As it transpired the decision was made for me. I was not paying … Continue reading Day fifty-one: Mortara to Gropello Cairolli →

Day fifty and still going. I also caculated that the distance to Rome is the same as the entire Camino Frances starting from St Jean PdP. Yeesh! Today got off to a rough start as did not feel at all well after waking up during the night with a nasty headache. I think I'd slept … Continue reading Day fifty: Vercelli to Mortara →

The only hills today were over-bridges. This part of Italy is famed for its rice, so walking among the paddies will be the standard for the next couple of days. But there is lots to contemplate as the snow caps of Northern Italy recede into the distance. (See photo.) And being rice paddies, there is … Continue reading Day forty-eight: Santhia to Vercelli →

For the first time on a Camino, I set out from the accommodation in heavy rain. The complete set of dry bags was pressed into action and proved their worth. The new boots are labeled 'waterproof', which I can now verify through field testing. Unfortunately what it means is that one water gets into the … Continue reading Day forty-seven: Ivrea to Santhia →

Last night I tried posting directly using WordPress. Tonight I'm returning to posting by email: watching the 'donut of despair' spinning for five minutes to upload a photo (and then to have the caption obscure the photo in my mobile view of the blog) was too much to bear. WordPress Isa piece of crap when … Continue reading Day forty-six: Hône to Ivrea →

Another beautiful day walking down the Aosta valley - although there were so.e significant ups as well, as the valley is extremely narrow in places, and the available real estate on the valley floor is taken up with the river, the autostrada, local highway and railway. So the footpath is forced to climb up around … Continue reading Day forty-six: Chatillon to Hône →

The Aosta valley is a very beautiful walk, even if the path signs seem to conspire against you by endlessly indicating "Chatillon 1hr,40m". The valley becomes very narrow, guarded by sundry castles on both sides of the river, and the path needs to climb up, over and around rock outcrops and sometimes deep river gorges. … Continue reading Day forty-five: Aosta to Chatillon →