Experiences of a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia (2016-19) and further adventures…
Many people who try multi-day trekking for the first time, and enjoy it, develop a curiosity about other similar routes around the world. Quite often, I compared notes about other paths with pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (Camino Francés) in 2022 (which I blogged about here). It was on that walk that I learned about “the longest ancient pilgrimage route in Europe: the Via Francigena.”
Now that piqued my interest!
Continue reading “Via Francigena 2024/2025 Days 1-10: Canterbury to Arras”After completing the Camino Francès in late 2022, which I blogged about here, I researched more ancient pilgrimage paths in Europe and discovered two with origins older than Christendom.
The first was a fortnight in England from Winchester to Canterbury on The Pilgrims Way in the Spring of 2024. Here is that blog post.
Following that warmup, I walked through France, Switzerland, and northern Italy for most of 3 months on the Via Francigena. My 90-day Schengen Area visa expired shortly after arriving in Fidenza, Italy, completing the first “half” of that trek. I will return to Fidenza in April 2025 to resume my walk to Rome and on to the furthest terminus south, Santa Maria di Leuca.
I have many stories, photos, and video clips to share, but I will wait until the entire journey is over before posting them in this blog. In that way, I hope to document the whole trek at once. Thank you for your patience.
Continue reading “The Via Francigena 2024/2025”Day 8: Oxted to Otford
After completing one week of The Pilgrims Way, I was settling comfortably into my Camino/Via lifestyle. My feet were sore but healing; the daily routine was becoming a ritual; trail conditions and weather were as expected; and my confidence was growing that I could complete this warm-up trek by next week and launch myself into the ultimate goal: the Via Francigena to Rome!
Visit my previous post for the first week of this walk.
Continue reading “The Pilgrims Way 2024 Days 8-14: Oxted to Canterbury”My 2024 trekking started in early April with two weeks of walking The Pilgrims Way in southern England as a warm-up to “the big trek.” My ultimate goal is to walk from Canterbury, England, to Rome, Italy (or at least as far through Europe as possible with my 90-day Schengen Region tourist visa) on the Via Francigena.
Continue reading “The Pilgrims Way 2024 Days 0-7: Winchester to Oxted”
