11 km (up!) — 28oC and sunny — We met 13 pilgrims on their way to Rome.
(By Jim)
NEWS ALERT: WILD BOARS WITH SWINE FLU DISCOVERED NEAR FORMELLO
When we walked into Formello, we were blissfully unaware of health risks, travel advisories, and the new temporary Via Francegina route that bypasses all parkland between Isola Farnese and Sanctuary del Sorbo (including Formello). We had spent the night in Formello, so now had no choice but to walk out. Thankfully we saw no boars and Laurel assured me no bores either. Apparently my incessant whining about the Leaf’s early departure from the playoffs and quality of NHL refs was not as tiresome as I feared.
Today was a short day of only 9 km, according to the Sandy Brown guide, plus an extra 2 km to get to Casa Margot, our accommodation for the night outside of Campagnano. We hit the road at 7:30 and immediately began a steep incline that Laurel assured was a short-cut. It wasn’t, but it did help us consume half of our water in the first 45 minutes. There was still mist in the air when we passed a beautiful sculpture entitled Three Gates of In-Perfection. Our path was mostly secondary roads (tarred or dirt) with little traffic and enough trees to provide periodic breaks from the sun that was steadily intensifying.
At the Sanctuary del Sorbo, we paused to ration our water and then continued up to the summit of the first of two peaks for the day. Finally, we were finished with “up” and descended down into Campagnano di Roma. We ate lunch alfresco in a park near the town center and then groaned when we discovered that our accommodation was 2 km up another hill.
A communal supper was provided by our lovely host, Janna, where we met a cyclist from Israel, and three Italian plumbers.
Coffee looks good. I can't figure out the '3' Gates of In-Perfection--are they counting one gate for a very tall person and 2 gates for little dogs?
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