Pilgrim’s Blog

Distance: 20.3 km – Elevation +330 m -400 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 24 degrees We had a shortish day ahead so enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before leaving the hotel at 7.30 am. We were now in Piedmont and the landscape was becoming more gentle, we were leaving the mountains behind. As we climbed out of Pont St. Martin I took a last look along the Aosta Valley. Soon we reached Carema with its votive chapel,

Distance: 19.5 km – Elevation +150 m -200 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 27 degrees I woke early and saw the sunrise behind Lake Sirio from my bedroom window. I had asked for breakfast to be left outside my room so that I could have an early start to my day. So it was just 6.30 am when I left my hotel to rejoin the Via Francigena path. I found it again just as I arrived

Distance: 22.7 km – Elevation +100 m -180 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 26 degrees I woke early to see the sunrise above the lake and prepared myself for the day’s walk ahead. I go to the dining room for breakfast at the stated time of 7.00 am and find the hotel deserted, with no one in reception. I ring the bell and call out with no response. I try the front door to the hotel

Distance: 22.1 km – Elevation +20 m -60 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 27 degrees It was a warm night but I slept remarkably well. I was ready to leave at 7.00 am and as I signed the visitor’s book I noticed that Jean Pierre had stayed the previous night. Temperatures were already around 25 degrees when I left and the humidity was probably close to 100 %. Much of today’s walk was via tracks winding

Distance: 15.7 km – Elevation +30 m -30 m Weather: Sunny/Clouds. Temperature: High 32 degrees Another hot humid day in the paddy fields beckons as I leave the Cerruti Hotel at 7.00 am. The hotel is some distance from the Via Francigena so I plot a route to rejoin the path. Already at this time in the morning, I am finding the humidity oppressive and challenging. The path at times becomes a maze through the rice