I began my day at 5:45 a.m. with surprising news. While waiting for Ignatio to arrive outside my B&B location, I noticed a message on WhatsApp from him. His note indicated he didn’t feel up to walking today (he’s been fighting a painful heat rash/chaffing for days) and planned to take the train and meet me in Pentremoli. So, I set out unexpectedly alone for a difficult day of hiking. I was glad to get on the trail early but disappointed I wouldn’t have a walking partner.

Alone, I made my way through the quiet streets of Berceto and onto the trail which began a pretty steady vertical climb shortly after leaving town. By 7:30 a.m., I’ve reached the highest point of the day at Monte Valoria and the panoramic views are amazing.

My second bit of unexpected news in the day came again through WhatsApp. At 8:00 a.m., I decide to check-in on my friend Mark to see how he is feeling after a fall yesterday on the same route I’m doing today (the descents we’re treacherous and relentlessly long). At 9:00, I learn he and Gord had made the difficult decision to end the Via Francigena journey in Pontremoli (they began at Saint Bernard Pass just before Gabe and I began in Aosta) and would journey back to Canada the day after tomorrow via Florence and Frankfurt. That was disappointing news as I hoped to finish in Lucca with the two them and I was disappointed for the two of them having to end their pilgrimage prematurely. The silver lining in Mark’ message was the opportunity to have a last meal with them tonight in Pontremoli.

As Mark and Gord had warned me, the afternoon was a grind of steady, incredibly rocky and hazardous descending for roughly 10 kilometers. To make matters worse, there were no “services” (cafe’s/bars, restaurants, markets, etc.) the entire day. At the one bar that was supposed to be on route at Passo della Cisa, there was a crowd of motorcyclists, bikers and Saturday tourists waiting for the bar to open (Google Maps indicated it was open). I decided to pass on the waiting and forgo my morning macchiato in favor of continuing to move on a day expected to be very long, hot and challenging.

One pleasant surprise at Passo della Cisa was the small Sanctuary of the Madonna della Guardia church pictured above. Just behind this church, the trail ascends sharply and I passed through from the region of Emilia-Romagna and into Tuscany.

Despite the harrowing descents and challenging distance the afternoon continued to provide panoramic views and lots of geographic interest.

I finally rolled into Pontremoli around at 3:45 p.m. and found my B&B and began making dinner arrangements with my friends.

Enjoyed a final dinner with Mark and Gord before they depart for Florence tomorrow and then to their respective homes in Canada. They invited a pilgrim from Israel they met on the Via Francigena, Shim, to join us for dinner. Shim is hiking the trail solo with no specific timeline. She was very comfortable conversing in Italian, English and Spanish. I am sad to see Mark and Gord go. I was hoping for more time with them. Arrivederci my friends!