“Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.” A warning label on the side mirrors of cars
****you get a two posts today since I could not send out one yesterday****
I went to bed at about 1 am (I was writing, of course) and woke up at 5 am, well before my alarm. I couldn’t go back to sleep so I got up and walked out the door at 6:45 am while everyone else was sleeping soundly.
It was a beautiful morning. Very still and peaceful. The morning light was gorgeous as it filtered through the trees.
The trail started out remote but quickly merged with a narrow and dangerous road. It wound through the forest and then the path took an unusual turn through a neighborhood and locals’ backyards and driveways.
I realized while putting this post together that I took much more video than photos, so be sure to check out the video at this link.
The houses in this area reminded me of the fairytale story of Hansel and Gretel.
I walked for several hours alone, in the quiet and stillness of the morning. I encountered a few barking dogs and a woman who was walking out of her front door on her way to work. She saw me sitting by a fountain with non-potable water and made sure I didn’t drink it. It had moss growing out of it. She offered to fill up my water bottle in her kitchen but I had plenty of water at that point. Sweet of her to stop what she was doing to help a pilgrim.
The trail switchbacked up a hill to an overlook with a bench and an amazing view of the city below. I sat there for about 30-45 minutes taking it all in and consuming the food that was left in my bag for breakfast. Canned mackerel and green olives. I got to use my Fondue stick from Switzerland. See, it was a wise purchase!
While digging in my bag, I found a mini (portable) traffic mirror that my Aunt Nancy gave me so I can take TMS’s (traffic mirror selfies) everywhere I go. Get ready folks, wild times ahead. “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.”
Not long after this stop, I ran out of water. Dammmitttt! Ugh. I was complaining to myself about the annoyance of not noticing (I’m sure they were there and I just didn’t see them) a fountain in a while, when all of a sudden a huge dog started barking at me in the street. I stopped and stared at him/her. A man from behind a fence scolded the dog and it ran off. I thanked him and then asked about water (in Italian). He responded (in Italian) to come around the fence into the town square to get some water. Woo Hoo!
There I found a woman doing her washing. We had a sweet conversation in my broken Italian and a fun game of Charades. I joked about her muscles being bigger than mine…because they were! She laughed and flexed her biceps. She said she prefers this method over the macchina (washing mashing).
As soon as I got back to the main road I saw Sarah (NZ). She left over an hour after me and here she was. I lollygag too much. It’s a little funny. I guess after hiking so many camminos I don’t really care so much about the destination anymore.
Just a few paces down the street was a bar where many of the locals were hanging out. The guys out front invited Sarah and I to sit with them. They even showed us that the bar had a pilgrim stamp that we could get for our passports.
The guy next to me in the photo below is Niccolò. Remember him because he will make an appearance later in the story.
Guess who showed up! MAYAAAAA! 🐾❤️
The whole gang was back together for a bit. It was great to see everyone.
After a drink and a little rest, it was back to hiking. It was warming up and we needed to keep going. The biggest hill of the day was next. Ugh.
I was the last to leave, slow poke, and on my way out of town, just at the edge before the trail started again, I heard someone screaming, literally screaming, EMILIA!!! EMILIAAAA!!! I looked over to my right and there was Niccolò sitting on a bench yelling my name. Hahaha! I started laughing and he had a big grin on his face. I stopped and waved, and then he gave me the Italian hand gesture for “Get your ass going and up that hill. ANDIAMO!!
Off I went.
That damn hill sucked. No shade and it was hot. I was sucking wind. I ended up catching up with Alessandro and Alessia when they took a break with Maya. It was such a steep hill I don’t even have photos of it.
The trail went on in a blurrrr…and then we made it to Châtillon. That’s all I remember. My brain was fried from the heat and that damn hill.
Châtillon is a beautiful town. If you visit the northern part of Italy, it’s a cute town to visit. I actually decided to take the day off here to catch up on the blog since I didn’t have service yesterday.
A nice guy named Lorenzo took care of me all day while I sat in his bar from noon to 10 pm, and worked on writing the blog and editing videos. I think I’m caught up for now.
Yes, one of those Aperol Spritzes was for meeeee. 🧡
Hiker stuff:
Day 4: Nus to Châtillon, Italy
Mileage: 9-10 miles (14-16km) conflicting reports
Difficulty: Challenging
Accommodation: Monastero Francescani Cappuccini
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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