Sunday, 21 October 2018

OCTOBER 2018 : ITALY : VIA DI FRANCESCO : DAY 25 : Rieti - Agriturismo Santa Giusta, Poggio San Lorenzo - 23 kms - 6 hours


A 22km day today. A big one for us but we were pleased with our speed, about 4kph, so that we were able to have achieved half way by midday. The inclines at the end of the day were on good surfaces so it was not as stressful as expected. It was not a day of great scenic beauty or cultural interest, bar the Roman bridge, but we had a pleasant day and are delighted with our accommodation at the Agriturismo tonight.
The German girls’ guide book took them to Greccio today - another Sanctuario - and then to Montelibretti.


Only a 100kms to go..which means we’ve travelled about 450 kms in the last 23 days.


Leaving our apartment. We really enjoyed Rieti, particularly the atmosphere last night with the community swarming the streets for the ritual passaggiata.
It is a university town so there were lots of young people around as well.



Crossing the Velino River. Note the remains of the original Roman bridge.


View back towards Chiesa San Francesco




We bought sandwiches for lunch in the little piazza - bizarre fillings again - the stand out today was mushrooms and cheese.


It wasn’t long after heading off through some back streets that we had returned to the countryside.
Much of the walking this morning was on a soft path which bordered the highway.




A few interesting crops including this corn field.


The hunters were out early marking the areas where they were shooting today.
We saw some areas where wild pigs had rutted so we assume that’s what the hunters are setting their dogs for.


Some minor road walking



At midday we arrived at Ponte Sambuco, a third century Roman bridge, where we had lunch.
Unfortunately the area has not been well maintained. For the first time in nearly a month, there was a lot of rubbish along the trails today and unkept weedy sections.




Mark had a great day today with no issues with his knees but I was just plodding along.


Some muddy sections and some streams to cross


Last ascent to the main road near Poggio San Lorenzo


After 22 kms we were relieved to see a sign for our accommodation and not long to go


A friendly passer-by


Agriturismo Santa Giusta - €80






Delicious home cooked meal - pasta and chicken.


M&M

1 comment:

Julie said...

Another great day. Loving the blog.x