Day 6 - San Gimignano to Gracciano

It was another long day today, about 22 kms, but there was no rain. It was lovely walking weather but by mid afternoon it was quite warm (27 degrees). Unfortunately the mud was still everywhere, mainly because Italy has had months of wet weather.

We left San Gimignano through Porta San Giovanni and walked out through the suburban part of the city where we looked back to get another good view of the city of towers.

Soon enough we were into the woods, enjoying the peace and quiet. There were so many people in San Gimignamo and the tourist high season hasn't begun.

I pelligrini - the pilgrims on this journey are more that I expected. On the first day we saw about twenty pilgrims (and two dogs), all passed us, but that didn't bother us.

We have also seen several bike riders. On the second day we didn't see any, they had probably left earlier than us!

This morning this man passed us, fully equipped. Some are people like us with just day packs and others are fully laden with huge packs. Not many have English as a first language and possibly we are not the oldest on the trail.

With lots of rain comes not only mud but swollen streams, but luckily they all had stepping stones. This was the first.

The strainer wires in the vineyard were good for removing mud from the shoes. Sometimes it became almost impossible to lift your feet. But look at the view!!

This was the second crossing, care needed.

And then the third one which required removal of shoes and walking on the steppers in ankle deep water. That was the easy part, finding somewhere not muddy to sit and dry feet and replace shoes was more difficult.

The hot feet did appreciate the cold water and would have liked to stay longer.

Along one section were some encouraging words. This one says 'You can't have a rainbow without a storm'. Another said 'When a challenge seems insurmountable think of those you have won.'

We took the detour to Abbazia di Santa Maria a Coneo and cos we found some steps to sit on, we took a lunch break.

For two days we have been walking on roads which I believe are ancient Roman roads. Note the edging especially. Many have been driven on so the central pavers have been destroyed. Some are made from small rocks and some from huge pieces.

This led us to thinking once again about Sigeric ... what did he wear? If he was wearing sandals and a robe he would have been very wet and muddy.

Looking at the map the question was raised as to why we were wandering about, and I believe that the answer is that Sig was walking on the ancient route and that followed the Roman road.

All of this route is extremely well sign posted and you could do it without notes or the GPS. In fact we have spent two days meeting up with an English couple who have no notes or GPS and are only booking a day or two ahead.

However, we are having a ball using the walk notes booklet as it is like a treasure hunt, so much fun. After the first day when we learnt how to use the App, we now only use it to confirm our location if in doubt.

We seem to arrive at our destination about 4.30 pm every day and we arrived at Gracciano right on time. We liked the Hotel Il Pietreto with its casual feel, friendly staff and especially good dining options.

I didn't feel like pasta or heavy meat so asked if I could have an antipasti platter. The waiter was a bit bemused but agreed, he looked at me in astonishment and said 'For one?' Thereafter every time he passed the table he gave me a thumbs up or a congratulatory smile. As he collected the empty platter I said 'Buonissimo! That brought a big smile to his face.

Kel enjoyed wild boar cooked in red wine with parmesan toasts and roast potatoes.

We always say that the things you talk about are the things that go wrong, but don't be misled by mud and rain, or over the challenging hills that I haven't mentioned. We are having a fabulous time and already talking about another small walk next year. Why didn't we know about these long distance walks when we were much younger?