Gambassi was ok in the end. i was pissed at no thermal spring and the hostel opening late but when it did the owner was friendly, the accomodation quite good and they had a great restaurant attached & it all refreshed me. my life is like 'Groundhog Day' right now as before i knew it i was up packing again at 6.45am, out the door by 7.15. a quick coffee and pastry and then hitting the road - or the field. i've been doing this for nearly a month now and its become my life. the reality of life in Sydney will be surreal when i get back to it as this seems to be a better way of living: just a few possessions, no worries except food and a bed for the night. most of the day spent in the most beautiful countryside (when not on major roads). of course its just an illusion - the weather is warm, not cold. i have enough money to fund myself for 6 weeks and really its an indulgence. i may complain about pain or hardship or the frustrations of getting lost but compared to what other people have to deal with in their lives its incredibly minor stuff. i'm a pampered middle-class male from a weathly country just doing a 5-wk trek. to be honest there's nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary about what i'm doing. most of human history was spent wandering from one place to another its just now we're become indulgent, indolent and used to sitting on the couch watching TV. is that a life? i don't really have any answers but these are some of the questions that go through my head the days i spend walking and i do wonder how divorced we are from the world around us and how much we end up missing jut consumed with the complexities of modern life. forgive my digression - i've got no-one to talk to so i talk to myself via this blog!
leaving Gambassi i headed straight into the countryside and had a good few hours of solid walking before hitting a town i'd never heard of: San Gimignano. its famous for having 14 out of an original 72 towers intact and in the morning mist, as its outline appeared over the tops of trees, it looked like a modern city skyline with skyscrapers - but in the middle of the Tuscan countryside. the VF took me round a few hills, up and down a few minor mountains and then another big circuit before i found myself climbing into the main piazza. being so well known and famous meant that i had to beat away the hordes of tourists that ganged up in every available space and after the most delicious mid-morning break of coffee, OJ, a lovely mozzarella& tomato sandwich and wildberry tart i staggered off very happy indeed. i wasn't happy for long: the VF signage stopped as soon as i left the city & i took the road to Siena thinking that was kinda in the right direction but it wasn't. i should (in retrospect) have taken one of the more minor roads. typical that the VF signers think you should possess psychic powers. the rest of the day was less pleasant than the first simply as i had to walk a mixture of major and minor roads before getting to Colle Val d'Elsa which was my destination for the night. i got a hotel after searching for an hour but i didn't warm to the place at all. the old part was settled but dull and the major part of town seemed to consist of newish housing estates. for me it was just a chance to sleep and then go. the next day my destination was Siena and most of the walk was through the Tuscan countryside and then a day off so i was really looking forward to it. it'd rained during the night so everything was covered in dew and the early light made everything seem new and fresh and clean. i was in really good spirits - my leg was good, i had lots of energy and the route ahead seemed like it was going to be spectacular. the mistake came early. i came to a fork in the path with no signage. there was a house in front with a guy who spoke very good english and he told me to take the left fork saying that this was the old VF route. this was at about 10am. the path lead straight up, into & over a forest-covered mountain. needless to say it was the wrong way. 3-4 hours later after going up, down, around, in, out and sideways with absolutely no idea where i was or where i was going i ended up back were i'd gone wrong. the whole day wasted. i reckoned i'd walked 15-20km in circles - my single worst day of things going wrong. usually i'd be able to get back on track fairly quickly or get someone to help but it was now 2pm and i was still 12km from Siena. i know that getting lost and finding your way back is part of the Camino - it tests you. it tests your resources, your determination, your stamina and endurance. it tests you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually but this was one test too far. after calculating how far i'd walked that day already (& knowing i should have been in Siena already) i thought 'sod it' and got on the bus. 20 minutes later i was in the city centre & an hour later i had a bed and food. in some ways i was disappointed in myself but i i also know that sometimes you have to recognise when things aren't going your way. 95% of the time i won't compromise but there are sometimes (as in the blizzard that started on top of the Grant St Bernard Pass when i was due to start the Camino) where you have to regroup, rethink and replan. i have to keep reminding myself that this is not a contest, its not an endurance test (even though it is very tough) and its not something that anyone judges me on. the hardest judge i have is me and sometimes i have to take it a little easier and relax my self imposed rules. the Unecessary Mountain was a lesson i needed to learn so lesson over: its time for bed.
leaving Gambassi i headed straight into the countryside and had a good few hours of solid walking before hitting a town i'd never heard of: San Gimignano. its famous for having 14 out of an original 72 towers intact and in the morning mist, as its outline appeared over the tops of trees, it looked like a modern city skyline with skyscrapers - but in the middle of the Tuscan countryside. the VF took me round a few hills, up and down a few minor mountains and then another big circuit before i found myself climbing into the main piazza. being so well known and famous meant that i had to beat away the hordes of tourists that ganged up in every available space and after the most delicious mid-morning break of coffee, OJ, a lovely mozzarella& tomato sandwich and wildberry tart i staggered off very happy indeed. i wasn't happy for long: the VF signage stopped as soon as i left the city & i took the road to Siena thinking that was kinda in the right direction but it wasn't. i should (in retrospect) have taken one of the more minor roads. typical that the VF signers think you should possess psychic powers. the rest of the day was less pleasant than the first simply as i had to walk a mixture of major and minor roads before getting to Colle Val d'Elsa which was my destination for the night. i got a hotel after searching for an hour but i didn't warm to the place at all. the old part was settled but dull and the major part of town seemed to consist of newish housing estates. for me it was just a chance to sleep and then go. the next day my destination was Siena and most of the walk was through the Tuscan countryside and then a day off so i was really looking forward to it. it'd rained during the night so everything was covered in dew and the early light made everything seem new and fresh and clean. i was in really good spirits - my leg was good, i had lots of energy and the route ahead seemed like it was going to be spectacular. the mistake came early. i came to a fork in the path with no signage. there was a house in front with a guy who spoke very good english and he told me to take the left fork saying that this was the old VF route. this was at about 10am. the path lead straight up, into & over a forest-covered mountain. needless to say it was the wrong way. 3-4 hours later after going up, down, around, in, out and sideways with absolutely no idea where i was or where i was going i ended up back were i'd gone wrong. the whole day wasted. i reckoned i'd walked 15-20km in circles - my single worst day of things going wrong. usually i'd be able to get back on track fairly quickly or get someone to help but it was now 2pm and i was still 12km from Siena. i know that getting lost and finding your way back is part of the Camino - it tests you. it tests your resources, your determination, your stamina and endurance. it tests you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually but this was one test too far. after calculating how far i'd walked that day already (& knowing i should have been in Siena already) i thought 'sod it' and got on the bus. 20 minutes later i was in the city centre & an hour later i had a bed and food. in some ways i was disappointed in myself but i i also know that sometimes you have to recognise when things aren't going your way. 95% of the time i won't compromise but there are sometimes (as in the blizzard that started on top of the Grant St Bernard Pass when i was due to start the Camino) where you have to regroup, rethink and replan. i have to keep reminding myself that this is not a contest, its not an endurance test (even though it is very tough) and its not something that anyone judges me on. the hardest judge i have is me and sometimes i have to take it a little easier and relax my self imposed rules. the Unecessary Mountain was a lesson i needed to learn so lesson over: its time for bed.
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