Whenever I’ve finished my pilgrimages it always takes some time to transition back to typical everyday life so part of that transition is writing my final blog post of course:). This being my 3rd long trekking/walking pilgrimage (Camino de Santiago – 2015, Camino de Fátima- 2017) I’m often asked how did it compare to my other caminos like my 5-week Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. I’ve come to learn that each pilgrimage ends up creating a life of its own and this one certainly did. All without fail have had their challenges, all have had, let’s just say, their unpleasant moments 🙂 (physically, mentally, etc.) and all have made a deep impact on me with unforgettable moments, places, people, events, etc and the Via DiFrancesco was no exception.
I was warned ahead of time that this was not like the Camino de Santiago and that was definitely true. From the number of people on the trail (much less), to the difficulty of the trail (much harder), to the costs of lodging/food(higher costs). Yet despite those differences the core of what I love about these journeys was all there! For example even though there were far less pilgrims I encountered on the trail, that didn’t prevent meeting and having some unforgettable camino moments with other pilgrims. From my 2 German friends who I met early on that I had a classic camino provides moment with them as I came across a nice hiking towel on the trail one day and then a few days later discovered the owner of it was one of the German guys:). I later had several good times coming across them at the end of the days walk to share drinks and dinner with along the way. To the 4 Italian women whom I crossed paths with several times and yes one of them found my sunglasses on the trail plus the many other Italians whom always identified me as one of their own especially when they heard of my roots coming from Calabria, Italy and of course the unforgettable night of all the Italians laughing and singing all night long during a large pilgrim dinner the night before the final walk into Assisi. To my 4 new American camino friends, who through the Facebook way of St Francis page I had connected with before the trip and then managed to connect with a few times during my walk and then lastly the one time we all were together to share and celebrate the completion of our journey with a great dinner in Assisi. And of course I also had another camino provides moment when coming across yes yet another lost item (sunglasses) on the trail that ended up being one of the American’s:).
The cost on this camino is definitely more than Spain or Portugal. Yes there are some opportunities for albergue/hostel type places but not always. Even so those places are usually 20-30 euros vs 10-20. The hotels and B&B are more like 50-70 euros so by American standards not expensive at all, but by camino standards higher than the other caminos I’ve done. You also don’t have the typical low cost pilgrim meals like on the camino, but the Italian food wow second to none:)!
Overall it was physically the most demanding of the 3 (camino de Santiago in Spain and Camino de Fátima in Portugal). Nearly everyday had significant climbs and descents. Very seldom did you have a flat stretch for very long. But on the flip side of that cutting through the Central Appenine Mountains of Italy gave way to almost non-stop awe inspiring views of the Tuscan and Umbria mountains and valleys! And the Italian cities and villages that are part of this trail were something special. Many highlights along the way that immediately jump out to me like the monastery in Camaldoli or the fairytale forest leading into the sacred grounds of Della Verna or the amazing city of Gubbio with its tiered city build on the side of a mountain and several other hill-top beautiful villages. And of course the city of Assisi, what an incredible finish to the journey – definitely one of the most beautiful cities with amazing historic sites I’ve been to. One thing they all had in common as did pretty much the entire trail is that the impact of Saint Francis is still very much alive and preserved every step along the way in these places. From the countless churches, frescoes, statues, etc. there’s no mistaking you are walking the same paths that San Francesco did over 750 years ago.
Another frequent question asked – pack items:). I was really happy with what I decided to bring and not bring this time. I had everything I needed and nothing I really didn’t use (except my med kit which was a good thing to not have to use!). My most important pack items for this trip:
- GPX tracks – overall this is not nearly as well marked as the Camino. especially the first part from Firenze to Della Verna. After that the markings are definitely better.
- Extra battery pack for cell phone – see #1:)
- Trekking poles – after doing my first 2 pilgrimages with no hiking poles – I have grown to love these! The best $40 I’ve ever spent at Costco for these carbon fiber light weight trekking poles!
- Water bladder – After my unsuccessful attempt at Corsica GR20 last summer and my dehydration issues I knew a change was in order and unlike the other caminos you are not constantly going thru Villages every 5k or less , not many opportunities to refill on many of the days and the bladder kept me well hydrated!
- Recovery drink – Brought along protein powder recovery drink along with a shaker bottle. First thing I did when i completed my walk for the day was make myself one of these drinks – I think this really helped the recovery everyday.
- Poncho – had 3-4 days of really tough weather – heavy rain, thunderstorm made for some difficult days.
As I mentioned the impact of Saint Francis was truly felt along this trail. It was pretty amazing to see that this man that walked these same paths over 750 years ago was still inspiring the lives of so many people. In Camaldoli the awful day of pouring rain, thunderstorms on a very difficult trail I found myself having to wait a couple of hours before I could get into the monastery where I was staying for the night. Luckily there was a cafe right next to it where the nice Italian girl let me hang out and keep dry and warm plus gave me free samples of many items – her name Francesca she said named after Saint Francis. In Pietralunga a very small village I went into to take a look at their very old beautiful church and in there a man came over to me and chatted – he was the parish priest and explained to me how that day was very special for the town as for the first time in 3 years they had services in the church. I asked him his name – Father Francesco of course:)…The other amazing thing was how this pilgrimage and in particular Saint Francis appealed to all different people. I came across people who were very spiritual, others that were not, some who were Catholics, others that were not, even talked with someone who told me they didn’t believe in God but were drawn to all that Saint Francis stood for and felt compelled to take a pilgrimage to Assisi. Places like Assisi, Santiago de Compostela and Fatima all have this very special feel and energy to them that is hard to describe. I always find it fascinating to finish in these places that for so many years (over 700 in Assisi’s case) countless people have been drawn to and continue to be drawn to visit.
So for now my camino travel blog is complete – which I never know if that means forever complete 😊. I do have certain hikes I know I want to do, but pilgrimages are different, very different. I never know what other pilgrimage may come calling….
Buen Camino – Spanish
Bom Caminho – Portuguese
And lastly as the Italians say – Buon Cammino!
14 days walking – 178 Miles (287 km), 28750 ft climbed (8764 m), 27850 ft descended (8489 m)
ts&tftnw
dam2015caminodesantiago 