From Lunigiana over Passo di Tea into Garfagnana!
With a long climb ahead of us, we set out from Fivizzano at the break of day. We were the first customers in the bar on the main square and actually had to wait a few minutes for the first croissants of the day to come out of the oven!
We began to climb up out of the town and into the forest, passing through the village of Turlago, past the churches of Reusa and Pieve di Offiano and walking along the road for a bit when we lost track of the trail for a while. At Regnano Castello we had to choose between two routes, and picked the one that was a little longer but less steep and less difficult to find (having already passed a couple of dubious points where we risked losing the trail in the morning). This route took us up a rough dirt track through a pine forest, then a stand of chestnut trees, coming out on the top of the ridge with fantastic views of the Alpi Apuane - seen from the back, as compared to how I'm used to seeing them from the coast!
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Turlago
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Turlago: A Madonna carved (or commissioned?) by a pilgrim passing through in 1658
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Church in Turlago
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What seemed by now to be a never-ending road eventually took us to Passo di Tea, at an elevation of 1000 metres, where we met a couple of friendly cyclists!
From here it was only a few minutes' walk to the ruins of the medieval pilgrim hostel of San Nicolao, and from there to the Santuario della Madonna della Guardia. After checking out the sanctuary we checked in at the campground below it, where we were assigned a lovely little bungalow with a double bed, bunkbeds, a bathroom and a kitchen. After washing out my sweaty gear I took a refreshing dip in the campground's ice-cold swimming pool and enjoyed a nice cold beer while waiting for the pizzeria across the way to open!
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The ruins of the Ospitale di San Nicolao
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Santuario della Madonna della Guardia
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Our bungalow at Camping Argegna
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These mushrooms are gonna be on my pizza tonight! !
Fivizzano - Argegna 23.5 km
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