Day 8: Stage 7: Pietralunga, 32 kms, Sun 28°

Ummmmmmbria!!

I’m in and a bit knackered! It seemed like I climbed all day long, and when I looked at the video at the bottom of this post, it confirmed that I had! Almost 1000 m of climbing today. To make matters more interesting. there wasn’t a single place to stop for refreshment and stopping beside the road was a non-starter because there were just too many flies. This left me with a simple decision, through-walk the stage. Which I did. This ultimately proved to be a good decision as I will explain shortly.

I neglected yesterday to mention that an exciting moment happened. I crossed from Tuscany into Umbria! You might recall that this was one of the main  reasons for taking this route. In honour of that moment, I named this post accordingly!🙂

After a quick breakfast this morning, I set off out of town on one of three options available to me. Two of the options involve walking on busy highways and are not well marked. My guide recommended the option I selected because it’s very well marked, and though longer and with more climbing it’s the safer option. 

This is looking back at town. I enjoyed a good stop here and would definitely recommend it as a nice destination away from the tourist circuit. 

The poppy fields continue to impress! I never get tired of them with their brilliant colour and random patterns.
One thing I have become very tired of is the heavy thick mud on the forest trails.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to spend very much time negotiating my way through the mud and big puddles. This stage is mostly on paved and gravel roads. This of course has its own issues, but I’ll take hard roads over slippery mud any day. Early in the stage, I caught up to a couple of women from California who had also experienced the rain and mud in the mountains and were delighted to be walking in the sunshine again. They were moving at a slower pace, so I said goodbye and moved on. I was committed to getting across this stage as quickly as possible because yesterday I came in a little bit later in the afternoon than I had expected to. The can result in a fairly compressed and busy time after walking much of the day. 

This fellow seemed curious about me. When I made a video of the sheep for the kids all the sheep started watching me.
This was fairly early on. The sound of fast moving water off to my right brought me across the highway.
It turned out to be beautiful fast moving rapids. I found a place to leave the highway and I climbed down to get a better view.


After that, it was essentially just a day of climbing. For most of the day it was a real grind. One of those stages that you know you have to do, so you just get on with it. Every route I’ve walked always has a few days like this. I just didn’t realize that it was going to be one of those days until I was in the middle of it.😂
For sure, there were some highlights. I love trees, particularly when I find a solitary tree on a hillside surrounded by blue sky. Bonus when located in a wheat or barley field. I have in my collection a number of these sorts of isolated trees from Spain, France, and other countries.

And then there are the beautiful giant irises. This particular iris was alongside the road by itself, sort of like the tree on a hill. I couldn’t pass without taking a series of photographs. Irises are an amazing flower.
And of course, another highlight is the moment I put on my dorky, but highly effective sun hat! It may not look too cool, that’s exactly what it is! Hey Rob, did I do a better job of my selfie today? 😅 Rob has been coaching me! Oh, and yes I do have my ear buds in. Also helps to pass the time on the grind. 
A few photos of the scenery as I walk. Definitely a way to keep myself distracted.


Around this point I’m beginning to notice the clouds are building. Something to keep my eye on when up on hill tops. 
Obviously for the under U3’s following me, but I’m ok if adults like this too!
Still watching those clouds. Noticing that they are beginning to go vertical. 
Pietralunga!
I ran out of water about here. I carried over 1.5 L  today, but the combination of climbing and heat didn’t leave a whole lot of surplus. Usually, I am pretty good at estimating. Actually, I guess you could say I was excellent at estimating today because I ran out of water at my destination. 😇

I climbed up into the centre of town. The old core is medieval which means that you always have to climb to get there. I stopped at the grocery store, but unfortunately they were closed for the afternoon. I was desperate to get some fluids back into me so I continued upwards hoping to find a bar that was open. I lucked out and found two bars open. Fortunately I sat outside beside the road. I had messaged my host for tonight and told them that I had arrived into town at 2 PM as I had advised I would. I mentioned that I had stopped at a bar for a drink. Not five minutes later, a real character drove up in one of those small European sort of pick up trucks that are very common in rural Italy. Through his open window, he asked if I was Geoff, and when I said that I was, he said he would be back in five minutes. All this said in Italian, of course. I went inside the bar and paid for my drink and purchased a cold beer and some potato chips (blogging food!). 

Did I mention that thunder had started ripping through the sky when I was at the grocery store? Well, it had. And at that moment lightning started flashing, and thunder was doing its clapping thing right overhead! Dennis skies opened up, and the rain pounded down. I was pretty delighted to be under this awning. A few minutes later my host drove up in his car and drove me to his B&B.

This is much of town as I will see today
I must say, my host was quite a character! He showed me through the house (I think I have the whole place to myself tonight) and explained how to use the stove top. He also showed me where all the breakfast food was, which means that I’ll be able to get away and very good time tomorrow morning. In fact, the Camino route is just down below me on the highway. He explained to me where the nearest pizza restaurant is located, about a 12 minute walk away. So very shortly I’ll head off in that direction and find some much deserved supper.

It’s funny sometimes how things work out. How do I stop for break on the walk today? I probably would’ve got soaked during a downpour. If I hadn’t stopped at the bar for a drink and messaged my host, I probably would’ve got soaked as well. 

Tomorrow I’ll walk to Gubbio and take a day off there to have a look around what is supposed to be a very interesting city

I think that’s about it for today. I’ve been sitting out on the covered second floor veranda listening to the sounds of thunder while writing this blog. Quite the experience!

Addendum: as I was hiking back to town to get my dinner, I went into the church, looking for a stamp for my credential. As I came out, I was asked if I was looking for a stamp by a priest who is on his way home for dinner no doubt. He said that I was and he took me all the way back into the priority and gave me two stamps, as well as explained the age of the church and the tower. It was very nice of him to take the time and he knows where I’m staying and the owners are very good friends of his. No surprise in such a small community. Introduced himself and told me that he was the parish priest, which came is no surprise, of course.

I am presently sitting in a very simple pizza restaurant, not having pizza. The prices are very reasonable, and I suspect the food will be brilliant. The parish priest told me so. He wouldn’t lie, right?🙂