Stage 57: Châtillon

A lot went wrong today.

We knew the sun would be blistering so we left at 4H45 for an 18-mile trudge. The way out of Aosta was nice, and we enjoyed the vineyards, etc. However, we made a couple navigation mistakes that cost us a lot of time and added distance. I have no real idea how far we walked, but it was definitely more than 18 miles. We stumbled into Châtillon at 15H30. Awful day.

To wit:

1.) I am deathly afraid of heights. Our navigation mistake took us high up the mountain where we had to traverse multiple sagging wooden bridges and too many metal grates spanning deep canyons. A nightmare, but not the worst part. The path was blocked off in the middle of nowhere. Way too many miles to backtrack. We ended up having to hold on to a railing for dear life while we climbed around the barrier with only inches of foothold over a deep chasm. I could feel my life shortening.

2.) Liam had serious physical challenges today. He was fine in the morning but with the distance, the effort and the awful heat he got sick. Breathlessness, profuse sweating, tinitus, and, most importantly, a racing heart we could not slow down. I found myself trying to figure out where we were in case I had to (somehow?) call for help. The reality was that we had no choice other than to continue walking, even to find help.

We crawled into the first bar we found and the owner ran over with water and Fanta and a beer for Liam. Italians are great!

We are now in a pilgrim refuge. Our first toilet/shower experience of this kind. All’s good now!Read more