Radicofani to Acquapendente - a slog

Packed early. I went to breakfast while Anne did work things on the phone, before she had breakfast, too, and we were chauffeured to Radicofani at 9. Lucky I was early: coffee was available by appointment, but everything else was good. We looked at Radicofani briefly, bought bread and cheese, and by 9:32, when the bell rang, we were already partway down the hill. Don't ask us why the bell there is always 2 minutes behind...

Radicofani to Aquapendente is around 26km. The first 12km is almost all downhill, with great, open vistas all around, and walking on unsealed tracks. That took us until exactly noon. Then came an intersection and a choice. Go left, and it was 14kms to the next town, walking mostly on a flat, concrete-solid highway. Go right and it was another 350m hill, and 6km longer, but not all concrete, the road went through a former Etruscan town (Proceno), and you had the chance to see the Radicofani fort dominating the northern skyline almost all the way on the next 20km to Acquapendente.

After two hours - one on a sealed road - we reached a little gateway where Tuscany joins the region of Lazio, and I was losing interest in the fort. It was a long trudge in the unseasonal sunshine, with more sealed roads than was fair.. We mentioned mad dogs etc several times, and told ourselves that Proceno better be worth it. We might have stopped for lunch at the Tuscan border, but the shaded table was taken by a British cyclist, so we stopped at 3:30 where the farmer had put two chairs and bench under a huge tree right by the road. We saw the farmer, but not a single vehicle, and our enthusiasm for the spot, which was almost an idyllic dell, may have been increased by simply having a rest after 6 hours walking.

Proceno was another few kms, and only just worth it. A nice old town, with nobody in it. Then a mere 7kms more to Aquapendente, which was a walk through some woods as well as more sealed roads.

Tonight we are in an Albergo, which conjured up youth hostels or "Master of the House" style inns, but the room is nice, and neither dinner nor breakfast is outsourced. Dinner was rustic, and the restaurant surprisingly crowded.

45,121 steps, 36.2 kms and 35 flights. The last of the long days became the longest. Thank goodness we did the 4.5km yesterday... although if we hadn't, we might have taken the highway. And 170 km to go of the original 419. Tomorrow is a mere 23 km.Read more