Road to from Rome Day 15: Alife - Faicchio (19 km)
We have now left behind the province of Caserta and entered the province of Benevento!
Today the majority of the Road to Rome group and the local walkers who joined the group for a Sunday walk covered two stages in a single day, partly by bus and partly walking, but as they have scheduled a rest day tomorrow, the purists among us who want to walk all the way to Santa Maria di Leuca set off on foot or by bicycle directly from Alife. Alfredo and I walked as far as Faicchio today, 19 km, and will walk the remaining 13 km early tomorrow morning. We're always the first ones up and have to wait until everyone else is ready at 8, but tomorrow we will finally be able to leave at dawn and walk in the cool morning air!
After visiting the Roman mausoleum we had unknowingly slept on top of, our group got a ride back to the centre of Alife, where we had stopped walking yesterday, and set off along the side of the provincial highway. We soon turned off the highway and walked on minor roads with little traffic, among fields of corn, olive groves and vineyards. All the roads here seem to be paved, however small; perhaps to save on the maintenance required by gravel roads, which is fine for cars but hard on the feet for walkers, especially in hot weather! Another problem we have faced in this part of the Via Francigena in Campania is the lack of markings on the ground: it really is necessary to walk with a GPS track and pay close attention to it. But the Via Francigena south of Rome is still under development, and hopefully once the route has been finalised and made safe, trail marking and signposting will follow! In the meantime, we can enjoy the feeling of being pioneers on a new cammino.
And enjoy the friendliness and hospitality of the local people! These are places that don't see much tourism, so the locals are curious to talk to us, to ask where we come from and where we are going, and whether we need anything. We got talking to a couple in a house by a fountain where we stopped. By another fountain where we rested for a while, two Polish cyclists pulled up, greeting us enthusiastically, as they had not met anyone else on the route since leaving Rome five days ago! It turns out that one of them lives near the town where we will spend our last night on the road before reaching Santa Maria di Leuca, and she invited the four of us to stay with her when we get there... A great example of how "the cammino provides"!
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| Ready to go! |
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| Me taking the picture above (photo by Massimo of Walking for Charity) |
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| My laundry airing on my balcony at Affittacamere il Colle just outside Faicchio |
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