A man on a mission

Day 16 on the Via di Francesco

The goal for today was not just to get to my destination but to get some new walking poles. My route should have been nearly 20km today, up a d down several mountains and into beautiful valleys. I did the first few ups and downs which as always awesomely beautiful.

There was less forest today, the scenery was changing to a more agricultural landscape.

It was beautiful but I was feeling unsettled without my poles. There were a few tricky descents.

I arrived at the village of Lerchi where I made the decision to take a shortcut along the road, to make sure I was in good time to find the shop where I hoped I could buy some poles. It did cut a bit off my route and I entered the city at 11.00am. It was nice to cross the River Tiber as I arrived.

I went straight to the shop and got my poles. What a sense of relief. I have got so used to walking with them. It did mean I had a good couple of hours to look around. The place was a maze of medieval buildings which looked amazing. Weirdly I didn’t take any photos.

I was able to check-in at 3.00pm to a wonderful Franciscan house called the Rose of Jericho. I met pilgrims there who I had met before and at least was able to speak in English.

We had a great communal meal inthe evening which meant I could socialise!

Feeling stuffed I eventually fell asleep. Order had been restored.