Recreation | Chris in Namibia

Italy 2023 – Via di Francesco: Days 3-4

Via di Francesco – Day 3: Sansepolcro to Citerna

We learned too late about the forecast of afternoon thundershowers…

Today’s stage was always planned to be a short one and relatively flat across the agricultural fields of the Upper Tiber River Valley before a final climb up to the medieval fortress town of Citerna, so we were in no hurry to get up and out.

Then, too late, we read the weather forecast. Sure enough, the weather folk called it right, and we were forced to put the rain covers on our packs for the last 30 minutes of the route. It was still too warm and humid to comfortably don our own rain gear, so two soggy bodies arrived at the doorstep of our apartment in the mid-afternoon hour.

Italy 2023 – Via di Francesco: Days 1-2

La Via di Francesco (The Way of Saint Francis)

The Via Degli Dei we just traveled is a relatively new recreational trail. In contrast, the Via di Francesco is a pilgrimage route that commemorates the life and inspiration of Saint Francis of Assisi and is built in two main segments. We plan to walk the northern path from the Sanctuary of La Verna to the beautiful hilltop town of Assisi over the next eight days. The southern way lies between Assisi and Rome. Both trails are typically walked from north to south, but there is signage for anyone wishing to do the trip in reverse. Some pilgrims walk just one or the other segment, with a few combining them into a longer trip.

Italy 2023 – A rest day in Florence and a travel day in Tuscany

Rest days are always challenging when on long through hikes. You’re often in unique places that call out loudly for attention. Florence is no different. We did our best to stay off our feet, recovering from the Via Degli Dei, but still managed to get out and explore a few of the famous sites of this magical city. Here are some pics and videos from the day, plus a few from our travel day to the start of our next journey on the Via di Francesco.

Italy 2023 – Via Degli Dei: Days 5-6

With only two completed days out of four on the Via Degli Dei, we were excited to get our legs beneath us this morning. From now on, I vowed to use only the main AllTrails routes and to stop trying to second-guess the connections from the Via to our lodgings and vice versa.

Italy 2023 – Via Degli Dei: Days 3-4

Bypassing the long trail yesterday for an unscheduled rest day wasn’t in our original plan, so we were extra motivated to get out and hike this morning. Our B&B host kindly prepared our breakfast at 5 am, allowing us to get onto the trail early. We hoped this would help us beat the worst of today’s forecasted heat.

Italy 2023 – Via Degli Dei: Days 0-2

When walking the “French Way” of the Camino de Santiago last year, I learned about many other multi-day, inn-to-inn, through hikes in their countries from pilgrims I met. (I have built a database of these hikes that I will happily share with anyone interested – just let me know!)

Two such routes in central Italy seemed a good introduction for Joanie to this type of trekking. She is still working hard in her career and limited in her available time off, so the 6-day Via Degli Dei and the nearby 8-day Via di Francesco seemed ideal for this trip.

Adventures around the world

Some folks have asked for easier access to specific posts over the years. I hope this page serves as a convenient Table of Contents for this blog:

The Pilgrims Way 2024

Southeast Asia 2023

Italy 2023

Namibia 2023

Utah 2023

Thailand -March 2023

Camino Francés 2022

Le Chemin de la Liberté (Pyrenees Freedom Trail) 2022

English Lake District & Scotland 2022

Namibia Naukluft 8-Day Trail 2018

Dubai 2017

Peace Corps Namibia 2016-2018

Namibia 2023 – A brief visit to my second home

Between my trekking holidays in Utah and Italy, I returned to Namibia to take training hikes out in the bush and catch up with friends and former colleagues.

Utah 2023 – Calf Creek Falls and the Valley of Fire

In our final days, we found a couple of shorter but no less spectacular hikes to wind up our trekking holiday. The first was near the town of Escalante (a target for future holidays, to be sure!), and the second was across the border to Nevada on our drive to the airport in Las Vegas. As much as we had seen on this trip, we agreed that we had just tapped the surface of what Utah offers anyone who loves being immersed in raw nature.

We look forward to visiting again!

Utah 2023 – Bryce Canyon National Park

To reach our last resting stop in Utah, we drove across the state through Canyonlands and Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon, three of the spectacular national parks in the state. It was a long day in the car over scenic Utah State Route 12 (which gives car drivers the same nervous ridgetop thrills as The Portal Trail gives mountain mountain bikers in Moab!). The steady climb to higher elevations brought overcast skies, lower temperatures, and fallen snow as we hiked the Peekaboo Loop Trail from Sunrise Point to Bryce Point. Words cannot describe the beauty around us, so I will let the photos speak for themselves.

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