Day 2: Stage 1: Pontassieve: 22 kms, cool 18°

Walking The Arno! 

I enjoyed a leisurely morning before starting as the stage wasn’t too long and I couldn’t have access to my room where I’m staying tonight until 14:00. Besides, when I woke up this morning, it was raining outside, and as usual, I was in no rush to start under those circumstances. After a light breakfast, I did eventually get out the door at about nine and walked across town towards the Arno river.

As I walked, I couldn’t help but reflect on other cities I’ve walked out of at the beginning of a long Camino: St John Pied de Port, France; Seville, Spain; Leon, Spain; Coimbra, Portugal; Le Puy en Velay, France; Tokushima, Japan; London/Canterbury, England; Palermo, Sicily; Montpelier, France; and now Florence, Italy is added to the list. Walking distance has taken me to some amazing cities and places! 

I passed in front of the Basilica where I’d received my first credential stamp yesterday morning. It was a good thing I took care of this yesterday, because the Basilica wasn’t open yet.
Soon afterwards, I reached the Arno. I was surprised to see that the river level seemed even higher than it had yesterday! Perhaps I was imagining things given I’m still fighting off jet lag, but I’m pretty sure it was higher today. 

Whatever the answer is, the river is flowing with a significant volume and moving very quickly. This has resulted from the heavy rains experienced these past days up in the mountains where I’m heading tomorrow.

As I walked, I kept a close eye out watching for the first trail marker. There were lots of other interesting stickers on the polls, but it took quite a while until I finally found my first sticker. This wasn’t it.!
But this was.

About halfway through the stage, I stopped to take my cycling vest off. It had sprinkled a little bit, but it was clear that there wasn’t going to be any major rain while I was on the trail. I also ate a huge apple that I had taken from breakfast. A very fine apple! 
From here I headed inland and began a modest climb out of the river valley. 

I came across this little cat and thought of my friends Ken and Costanza who both stop to admire, and if possible, pet each cat they see. 


One of the things that I love about walking in the spring are the multitudes of flowers that line the roads and trails. 
The poppies were in bloom all along the route today! They always remind me of other walks in France, Spain and Sicily. Bright dots of colour and often even fields of red to carry me along my way. 
And then it was time to head down and back towards the river. I was never very far away from the Arno all day. 

The trail again turned in land, and lead me up through some beautiful vineyards that no doubt were flowering a short time ago. What a change from last year, when I could simply reach out and taste the grapes as I passed by.🙂

I had my first experience with heavy mud as I walked through the vineyards. I don’t have any pictures, but I can assure you that it was gumbo-like mud that stuck to everything. The tips of my polls were soon covered in great balls of mud! It took me some time after crossing this field to get my boots relatively clean.
Simply stunning!

I thought this place looked a little out of character for the surroundings🤣 It was a little different to the cowboy bar on the Camino de Santiago, but both seem to be out of place.
A short time later, I arrived into town and stopped for a late lunch in a small bar and pastry shop, all under one roof! An interesting mix! The food was great, and I think I’ll stop there for breakfast on my way out. While today is rated as a somewhat easy stage, the opposite can be said for tomorrow’s stage. It’s only about 17 km long, but it’s the first real climbing stage in the mountains with almost 1200 m of vertical. That should definitely keep me busy! Hopefully I won’t find any rain up there, but I’m not too optimistic at this time. When I asked about tomorrow’s weather in the bar, there was a generally unanimous agreement that I could expect to find rain. I plan to call ahead to the ostello where I’ll stay tomorrow night. The operator there is very involved with the Cammino in this area, and he should be able to advise me about the state of the trail. 

I’ve struggled to stay awake while writing today’s post.😂 That darn jet lag has sapped my usual energy level a little. I’m hopeful that some sleep tonight on what feels like an extremely hard mattress will help me too push through it. I wish I could be a little more optimistic about this. I will report the outcome tomorrow! 

PS. I checked with my next host and he told me that the trail is open, the streams are high and the walking is good. Onward!