Day 26: Sarzana to Massa

I left Sarzana at 8 am and didn't arrive into Massa until after 6 pm! These long sections (31.8 km) are really making me work hard! It was a brilliant sunny and warm day - a little warmer than I like to walk in, especially when shade is hard to find. The walk today was surprising; it was like walking through the suburbs. Even when I walked along the canal, I was surrounded by houses. One good thing, it was fairly flat - just some climbing and descending at the start and for about the last 8 km. I met up with seven French pilgrims today; a group of four, a single female, and a couple whom I have briefly encountered three times over the past five days (they walk like legends). Massa looks like a really vibrant place, but I'm simply too tired to explore (as was Sarzana). Today's highlight is that I've now seen where Carrara marble comes from! The mountains (the Apuan Alps) from which it is quarried are impressive. Oh, and I also toured (€2) a Roman amphitheatre at Luni. One final thing, I was impressed that the streets of Aventia were paved with marble, then I get to Massa, and the gutter is made of marble - not to mention the dirt mountain road that was strewn with marble!Read more