Ok, just a few reflections, higgledy piggledy, for what they're worth...
The preparation: Spent one whole year pondering 'shall we? Shan't we?' weighing the pros and cons (VF vs CF mainly), changing our minds every 5 min. Where to start? When?Then finally with a month to go met in London and in the space of an hour over a cappucino mapped out the whole itinerary. Sorted!
It seemed so easy, combining 2 days' walk into one as some stages seemed so short in the guidebook... Mmm
The packing: I am an 'extra light' adept, even as a novice on my first camino I kept my pack under 5 kg. This time I overpacked, at least 500g! Lol A swimsuit (used it twice, not worth it!)
and a small bag of stuff I meant to leave behind and packed by mistake, doh! (The dog dazzer, the swiss knife, the bed bug sheet, the torch) Actually the torch came in handy in a b&b in San Gimignano, where there was a power cut for hours and we couldn't open the door in the dark!
The mistakes: having a 3 course meal in Aosta with still half the way to go (15k)
Staying in ostellos with no a/c where sleep was impossible.
Not training enough on uphills!
The shame: getting lost so often! Until I used the Sloways App. My saviour!
The unexpected: blisters! At one point the skin of my whole left foot detached itself! I have no idea why but it nearly put an end to that camino. I took the train for 2 days and the 3rd day, on a 31km stretch, I 'trained' the first 10 and walked the last 21k. I decided then that if I couldn't manage even 21k, I would quit. Phew, It didn't come to that.
The expected but still hard-going: the heat. Lucifer ruled! 38/39 deg. was the norm and even higher, I was told.
The bonus: a free sauna, day and night!
The joys:
The beauty all around. Stunning. I knew a lot of Italy already but as a tourist. This was awsome.
The people we met. Only a very few but oh so memorable. The lady jogger who put me on the right path when I hopelessly got lost on the wrong side of the mountain. She walked back with me (at least 5k,) and we had a wonderful chat. The train conductor, Salvatore, who turned out to be a pilgrim too! He's walked caminos in Spain and the VF from his home. He cheered me up when I was feeling very low. A young French teacher from Grenoble, Laurence, who finished early but we are still in touch. A wonderful Italian couple, Mario and Ana. I hope they come and visit in London. The young French couple on honeymoon, I only briefly walked with them one morning but we met again out of the blue when arriving in Rome!
The French couple with the donkey who were walking all the way back from Rome...
Three young Austrian girls who were sleeping rough most nights. Always so bright and cheerful. A few others I won't bore you with but stay with me.
Something interesting: all were there obviously for religious reasons. Not something you see on every camino. And most (well, all the young people anyway) were on a ve-ry tight budget.
The acts of kindness: too many to cite them all but one comes to my mind. I hobble to a cafe very early in the morning, trying to work out how to get to a Decathlon, for new shoes? New soles? Anything! (I couldn't walk). I ask the men on the terrace if they knew of a bus. Nope, was the answer, no idea. End of conversation.
Then about 10 min later, one of them shouts at me'come, come...' They had actually stopped a bus! - which by then was blocking the narrow street whilst they were discussing with the lady driver, who then offered to drive me (free) to the bus station and explained which bus I needed and where to buy the ticket etc. Bless them all.
The disappointments: having to take the train/bus!
The accommodation: The parish ostellos we stayed in were fabulous, very clean, often brand new bathrooms and very cheap (10 euros was the norm). We chose in the end to stay in b&b or hotels quite a lot though just to have a good night sleep: the luxury of air conditioning and no-one making a racket getting ready to leave at ... 4pm!
The irritating: the mosquitos in the flat lands! In the heat and some long stretches, impossible to stop for even 5 min.
The tragic: just before arriving to Rome, I received the news that my best friend had - suddenly and unexpectedly - died! We had only talked on the phone 2 days earlier, planning her mother's 90th birthday party. It should have been today in fact and was the one reason I was pressed for time. I have just come back from France where I attended her funeral.
I mention it because of course it colours everything, my view of things, of life....
All in all and so as not to end on a sad note: a wonderful journey. Not easy by any means but obviously do-able if you are reasonably fit. My best advice to anyone contemplating it would be to walk the whole thing in one go, if at all possible. This is my one regret. We had stopped in Besançon 3 years ago and this year, time was at a premium. I wouldn't have found the mountains so demanding if I had had a few weeks' walking behind me!
Buon caminno to all!