Via Francigena - Rome or bust!
Thursday 26th September - La Giustiniana to Vatican
Having "cheated" yesterday, we didn't have a second thought about avoiding the first 7km of what looked like pretty unpleasant walking today. Of those having breakfast at the same time as us, it looked like only the Kiwi women were going to do the whole thing. Others were either using the train or getting a taxi to knock the first few kilometres. Who can blame them/us. we were all long enough in the tooth to know that walking along busy roads and through faceless suburbs is frankly, rubbish and only for the very masochistic.
Knowing that our paths were unlikely to cross in tourist filled Rome we said our goodbyes to all those we'd met along the way. We scuttled the mile down to La Giustiniana station and were on the 9.15 train heading for Monte Mario. From there, we expected to get across to the Reserva Naturale di Monte Mario within half an hour. This is a big parkland area on Monte Mario, a few kilometres to the north of the centre of Rome, and the Vatican City.
How wrong were we! The distance from the station to the park was a bit further than expected. However, our oh-so-reliable App took us on a route that led to, and through, a Military base. Well, much as the Italian forces are renowned for being able go quicker in retreat than attack, they weren't about to surrender us.
Fancy a run in with the Italian Military??
How lovely, a lengthy diversion down the hill along a dual carriageway, then turn right and back up. All we needed was the Grand Old Duke of York and 9998 others! At the top of the hill we headed past a big hospital that our written instructions (held by Deputy-navigator Mrs Norridge) said we should go through to find the right path. However, the App, held by the Senior-navigator said we should go past and turn left down a road. Despite the previous misdemeanour of the App, I pulled rank. When we eventually got to the Reserva Naturale we had a deserved rest and looked at Google Maps, and it turned out that the App saved us about half a mile of aimless meandering through another park.
The first views of the City centre
From the Reserva we got our first views of the City Centre, a few kilometres away, but no sign of St. Peter's. We walked for a good while through the parkland and eventually came back onto a fairly busy road. Across the road was Café Jungle, virtually begging us to go in. The lure of coffee, and a stamp in our Credentials was too much. The coffee was adequate, but no stamp. Whilst we weren't too fussed about getting about "Testimonium" certificates at the Vatican, we'd collected the requisite 2 stamps per day along the way, so we at least had the option. The other great benefit of the stamps and Credentials was that they would enable to jump the queue into St. Peter's in the fast track Pilgrims entrance. However, today's lack of a stamp was putting that at risk.
After the coffee, we briefly followed the road before heading back into the Reserva just above the Stadio Olimpico. Almost immediately we met the 4 English women. They were heading the other way, and said the path, that zig zags down the side of Monte Mario, was closed due to maintenance. There were workmen there, and you couldn't pass. I said that I couldn't believe there wasn't an alternative route down through the park, and decided we'd try to find it. We got our first view of the magnificent dome of St. Peter's and quickly found the blocked path. Just 10 metres to its left was another path higher on the hillside. Very quickly we could see the end of the blockage on the lower path, and our App urged us forward beyond it. Soon we found the start of the steep zigzag path down the hillside. I'd prevailed over the Orange-clad, Tango lookalike workmen. The path itself was horrible, resembling an old Roman road, made from large boulders. Twenty minutes later we emerged victorious, close to the Foro Italico (site of the Stadio Olimpico, the Italian Open Tennis, and Olympic swimming pools) and River Tiber.
Just under 3 kilometres of flat walking along the pavements to get to St. Peter's. The pavements were busy. It was a bit of a culture shock after the last 5 days, and neither of us particularly liked it. After a kilometre, we stopped at a café, and miraculously, they actually had a stamp. Pumped up on caffeine, this was the final push.
A walk that should have taken less than 20 minutes took well over double that. The tourist hordes just would not move at any kind of pace. We were really hot and sweaty, and I'd got one of my spectacular blisters brewing on my heel, and the bloody masses just bumbled along. My tetchometer was rising!. However, when we eventually got to St. Peter's Square we did get to jump the huge queue. After just a couple of minutes waiting we're waved in. Almost immediately we meet Ava from the Czech Republic, complete with her certificate. It was genuinely lovely to see her, and we had photos together with the Basilica behind us.
We bid farewell, and headed towards the steps, where we were greeted by a very cheery man in a yellow bib (like the ones footballers use for training). He points us in the right direction, where he promises we'll meet his wife giving out the Testamoniums. After a couple of wrong turns, there she is; also wearing a yellow bib. She checks and stamps our Credential passports, and before know it we've got our Testamoniums. I'm really pleased we got them. Although arguably they're just more paperwork that'll never get looked at again. Rather like football programmes; but don't mention that to Cate!
Yep, we only did 100k, but it was tough. Given how we doubted our "match fitness" for this challenge, we were really pleased to have done it. Yes, we'd "cheated" on two legs of it, but our overall walking (including around towns and villages in the evenings, etc) easily took us over 100k. Furthermore, this was enough of a taster for us to come back and do more. Almost certainly starting with the opening 20 miles from Canterbury to Dover. Frank and Gina, we're not done with you yet!
As we were getting our Testamoniums, a diminutive woman turned up behind us. She had overtaken us at least twice, and we had merely exchanged "buongiorno's". It turned at that she spoke English, and was a Pilgrim that a number of people had mentioned to us. Hailing from South Africa, she now lived in the UK. More importantly she had walked all the way from Lausanne in Switzerland. Her husband drove the route, meeting her each evening so she could sleep in their Motorhome. We estimated that she was in her early 70's. What an incredible achievement.
We had a brief wander in St. Peters. Although crowded, it was lovely and cool in there; just what we needed. However, we chose not to linger for too long. We'd been to Rome for 4 days last year (and very lovely it was, too), and that included a tedious, über-detailed tour of the Basilica. After 15 minutes or so we braced ourselves for the battle to get to our hotel. Although it was only half a mile away, and within 150 metres of Vatican City walls, that meant another struggle back through the hordes.
The rest of the day was unremarkable. Pretty much the same as the late afternoon and evening of the previous 5 days. Shower, rest, empty and refill our rucksacks, go out to eat, and then to bed early; tired out. The only difference was that there were more places to eat, more people around, and the prices were significantly higher! Benvenuti a Roma!
So that was it! I have to say that neither of us expected to get the same feelings as we did arriving into Santiago. There were so many differences in the overall journey etc, it would almost be unfair to make a comparison. But as we all know, life is not fair, so compare I will! In short, it was pretty anti-climatic. Maybe if we'd walked for several weeks it might have felt different, but somehow I doubt it. Quite simply, the "pilgrims", "walkers" (call them what you like) are barely noticeable in the hordes of St. Peters. It's so crowded, and there's little or no chance of getting that sense of camaraderie you get when arriving into Santiago. It's far less busy there, but significantly the "Pilgrims" are the dominant community in the square by the cathedral. It has the feel of a big festival and celebration*. So many people reuniting with "friends" they'd made along the way. However, we were lucky to bump into Ava again, and meet the South African lady. That certainly made it feel a lot more special. But it just wasn't Santiago special!
*Although the end in Santiago is beyond special, the sheer numbers of people doing the various Caminos are rising massively, and the locals are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with those numbers. Moreover, there are growing tensions with locals due to the selfish, thoughtless, and frankly stupid behaviour of a small minority of Pilgrims. The locals have my complete sympathy. It is their city, and visitors must respect that.
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