Camino – Following your feet

Day 177: Ilanz to Chur

I had a good nights sleep at the monastery, and went down to a good, but very quiet breakfast. There were more people at breakfast than at dinner last night, but nobody said a word. I hadn’t finally decided whether I would split today into two parts, walking ca. 25km and doing the rest tomorrow,…

Day 176: Disentis to Ilanz

Day 21 and the penultimate day of the 9th leg of my Sagres to Rome and Home walk. Today was very much a walk in two halves. The morning mostly along roads passing through small villages, and an afternoon along a path close to the Rein Anteriur river, with little to see, not even the…

Day 175: Acquacalda to Disentis

Wow, what a stage. This is certainly one of the most memorable stages I have walked, from the harsh terrain at the top of Lucomagno to the green rolling hills of the lower Alps. And throw in two suspension bridges and crossing a snow covered path with a drop on one side, this really was…

Day 173: Sementina to Acquarossa

The sun was shining this morning, which was a nice way to start a day where I will, depending on my legs, walk 42kms. As I get closer to the Alps, there is a gradual elevation from 230 to 570m. If my legs aren’t up to it, I can catch a bus and make up…

Day 172: Rivera to Sementina

Sementina is a kilometer or so off the trail, just outside Bellinzona, but I chose it to overnight after a short stage (18km) as there is a Tibetan suspension bridge close by (3km and 300m climb away) which I wanted to walk over. My worst fears for the day were confirmed when I woke up…

Day 171: Ponte Tresa to Rivera

Welcome to Switzerland and welcome to the rain. After a more or less rain-free walk for two weeks, and as soon as I enter Switzerland, it rains. It was a 5 minute walk to the border withe Switzerland. Walking was quicker than driving with a long queue of Italian cars driving into Switzerland, probably for…

Day 170: Santa Maria del Monte to Ponte Tresa

It was quiet at the top of the sacred mountain of Varese, and I had a good nights sleep. After a solid breakfast I was soon on my way. Walking up the mountain yesterday, I was thinking I could have taken the bus and funicular up and walked down today. Today the bus departures were…

Day 169: Castiglione Olona to Santa Maria del Monte

A yoghurt, donut and bottle of pear juice were the sum of this morning’s breakfast – not great, and my early morning nourishment as I set off on day 14. I walked back to the old village. It was packed with stands selling all sorts of art and second hand stuff. There were already quite…

Day 164: Chignolo Po to Pavia

It was 40kms from Chignolo Po to Pavia. As I left this morning, I was planning on doing 22km to Belgioioso, but I ended walking to Pavia. A very long day, but a day where I met several other walkers, mostly from Holland. I was staying in Pavia and therefore needed to take the train…

Day 160: Fornovo di Taro to Fidenza

I left the B&B after a good breakfast, 30 minutes after my Italian fellow resident. It was a steep downhill into Fornovo di Taro and the bridge across the relatively wide river Taro. I visited a church in town, before crossing the bridge. I then followed the river on small dirt paths for the next…

Day 159: Berceto to Fornovo di Taro

After a good nights sleep, it was sunny but cold as I went down for a pleasant breakfast. As promised The owner of the agritourismo drove me to top of the hill, and dropped me off at the spot where I left the Via Francigena yesterday, thus cutting 150 steep meters and 1,6km off todays…

Day 97: Noja to Santander

My last day on the road as I return to Santander, where I started stage 4 in the spring. “Only” 29km and 600 elevation gain, so a fairly relaxing end to Stage 5 of my walk to Rome. Two ladies at dinner last night told me that their weather apps predicted rain all day. Mine…

Day 96: Castro-Urdiales to Noja

It was a long day. The planned route was 40+ km and an elevation of almost 1.000m. Setting off, I hoped to make it to Laredo, 25km away, by 13.00, from where a boat sails to a lighthouse and drops me off at the next town, saving 5km. It was a good plan, but didn’t…

Day 90: San Sebastian to Getaria

When it rains, it pours. Over 30mm fell during 24 hours. And the result; mud, mud and more mud, plus parts where there wasn’t even mud, only water. 26km, mostly on road/pavement and 790m elevation. I waited to leave until 10.30 hoping that the worst of the rain was over. That’s when the heavy rain…

Day 88: Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle to Hondarribia

My last day in France, as I head towards the Atlantic and the French-Spanish border. A 31km day, with 3 initial climbs with a total elevation of 650m, and thereafter, it was pretty much flat all the way. Leaving after breakfast, the day started with a pleasant walk along the Nivelle river before starting the…

Day 87: Louhossoa to Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle

A shorter and relatively flat day, as the terrain become flatter as I near the coast. Only 22km and despite some fairly strenuous climbs, a total elevation of 650m. The climbs were steep but fairly short. It’s still fairly muddy, with the puddles the full width of the path in several places. The day started…

Day 86: Saint-Palais to Louhossoa

A day of many ups and downs, six climbs and descents, with a long descent into the pretty Basque village of Louhossoa with is characteristic red and white houses. All in all 36km and almost 1.000m in elevation. At Saint-Palais other walkers walk to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and the Camino Frances, whilst I will follow a so…

Day 85: Navarrenx to Saint-Palais

Today I’m tired, both because of walking, but equally because I have spoken French all day. Another day primarily along roads, 28km and 600m elevation. My day of speaking French started at breakfast, with the owner of the hostel. We talked about many things, but what he stressed as being most important was that I…

Day 84: Oloron-Sainte-Marie to Navarrenx

Another rainy day and another day downhill towards the Atlantic coast. A 22km walk, 300m elevation and a 120m fall in elevation from Oloron to Navarrenx. It was raining and 13 degrees when I went for breakfast and never reached over 20 degrees the whole day. Not even comparable to back home in Copenhagen where…

Day 83: Arudy to Oloron-Sainte-Marie

It’s downhill from the Pyrenees foothills towards the Atlantic coast. Whilst today had an overall elevation of over 500m, I walked downhill pretty much all day, from 420m in Audry to 220m in Orolon. Over the past few days, the scenery has barely changed – lots of forest, farmland, corn fields and a few villages…

Day 82: Lestelle-Betharram to Arudy

It rained all night. It rained all morning. It rained most of the afternoon. 30mm in 24 hours and on a day where I walked 29km and an elevation of 850m. Luckily I didn’t have to check-out before 12 o’clock, but I hoped that the rain at least eased up before that, given the length…