Day 49: Stage 39: Sarzana, 28 km, sun, 28°

Will We Ever Be Done With The Damned Downhill?

A short stage, a late start. We didn’t get up until 7:45 AM. It was amazing! The slave driver said we could sleep in today.😂 Our host made us a lovely breakfast including many jams and preserves she’d made herself. It started with yogurt, but then she asked me if I wanted an egg, and then she asked me if I wanted cheese, and then she asked me if I wanted ham, and then it was all about the tea. In short, it was a really good breakfast after a very healing sleep. It’s amazing what a little vitamin I with a good sleep will do to refresh the body. After 3 tough mountain stages my body was complaining a bit, but today it was feeling itself again. A good thing as I still have over 3 weeks in front of me. 

Our host dropped us off in town and after saying goodbye we immediately began to climb, steeply. We knew it was coming, and it’s always best to face a climb first thing in the morning when you’re at your strongest, but nevertheless it’s always a shocking way to wake up!

Some parts of the early stage were a bit gentle, but other sections were a genuine scramble. But it was all good and we enjoyed the walk today.



We came upon the mediaeval mountain village of Bebola (hope this isn’t getting boring) and there was a sign before entering that said if you want to walk to Roma that you have to go to the top where the castle is and look at the panorama. So of course we had to climb all the way through the old town and up to the castle. Like we needed more climbing!😵‍💫



To make matters worse, the castle was pretty rundown, but at least we made the effort.

Looking back. 

And then we continued to climb. Still feeling like I need to pinch myself some days when I’m here doing this. All the stranger with Annemarie now back in Canada. 

There was yet another old village, though this one was not quite as well-maintained. I did really like this door. I have quite a collection of beautiful old doorways at home, and I’ll be adding to it after this amazing journey. A winter project to sort my many photos from this adventure. 

Evidence of the wine making tradition in these somewhat remote villages.

I neglected to mention yesterday that we are beginning to see olive trees, and in this case the trees are terraced. Always beautiful.

And after we’d climbed to the highest point of today’s stage we stopped to make sure we were on the correct trail. There were several options. 

There’s actually a pretty steep scramble on many parts of the trail and my guide warned about missing these sections in the rain..Walking for hours with this loose angular stone is not the most pleasant, and as usual going down is a little more challenging. However, it was the only game in town today, so we played,

Finally after reaching the summit of the second climb we began a slow descent. 

Nice fresh signage all day! Our thanks to the volunteers who do this. Much appreciated!



We were heading down the side of the mountain when I happened to notice through the trees the next mediaeval village. More importantly, in the distance I saw the Mediterranean for the first time on this trip. Always a special moment.

When we crested the top of the second climb I could feel the change in the air. It was heavier with more moisture, and I knew that we were pretty close to the Med. To see it made me very happy! Since 1975 I’ve spent some good times travelling along the coast of this lovely sea in many different countries. Always a high lite! 

We didn’t stop to investigate this hill town. The real joy came as we walked downhill and away from it. Looking back we saw a view, the type of view that draws so many people to Italy. The iconic Italian hill town! Wow!!

To make matters even better, we were there for the noon church bells. Something I won’t soon forget. Enjoy!

Once down we followed a canal into town. Along the way we talked about how steep the dissents had been these last 4 days, and how hard on our feet they had been. Yesterday when we finished Costanza sat down on a curb and I could tell she was basically done. Hours of coming down the sides of mountains over several days begins to take a toll. We talked about this again today and agreed we were basically done with the damned downhill! Somehow I doubt it’s done with us though.😂

We were greeted by the locals in our way in. A short people we thought. 

This town has a nice feel to it. The buildings are well-maintained and freshly painted with some nice colour. No longer just the drab yellows of the past.beautiful colours!

As we had some time to wait to get into our room we wandered down to see the Fort which is where Costanza is presently. 

I was enjoying a quiet beer as I wrote this blog entry, but I was frequently dive bombed by huge pigeons as they endeavoured to get a hold of my peanuts. I finally gave up and left to find a quieter place to write. I’m currently sitting in the Piazza where there are at least fewer pigeons! I’ve never seen them so aggressive, and fat!

One of the city gates into this walled city.





We have a much longer stage tomorrow, some 28-30 km. There will be climbing, and there will be descents. The one thing I know is that we will really enjoy the day! We changed up our plan and decided not to walk down to the Mediterranean coast because it’s very touristic, and accommodation there is pretty expensive. So we will stay on the Via Francigena official route, where we have booked a couple of rooms down the way for tomorrow night. Part of the joy of travelling with someone who speaks the language is that she can make calls on the fly to find places to stay. Yahoo!

Oops, almost forgot to record that we left Tuscana and moved into the region of Liguria. We will return to Toscana tomorrow. Promise!