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Give it a break, @bks! Who are you to judge how anybody else walks? Everyone has his / her own way.
And btw, my wife is 73 years old. She had just run the Boston Marathon, placing in the top 10 in her age division. The day after the race, we flew to Sicily, where we walked the Magna Via...
I just created a thread on this. Bags Free now does day by day luggage transport. In the past, you had to use them for your whole trip and make arrangements for all the transport in advance, but now you can use them as little or as much as you want, and book just the night before...
While walking on the Via Francigena last week in Italy, we discovered that Bags Free now offers day by day baggage transport on the section from Lucca to Rome, and -- like in Spain -- it can be booked on an ad hoc basis whenever you need it. All you need to do is notify them the night before...
I echo what the others have said above. As to the bus from the airport to Pasejes, you turn right out of the airport entrance and you pick it up about 700 meters away. See Google maps transit option, as I said above , for exact details. It will take you right to Pasejes. The trail goes...
San Sebastian Airport (as opposed to its bus station) is not in San Sebastian, but on the outskirts of Irun, the start of the Norte. From the airport entrance, you simply turn left and you can walk to the Norte path in 15 minutes. It's just over a kilometer from the airport. I've pasted in a...
Thanks -- again -- for the tip. We were in Agrigento in 2016. Really looking forward to exploring it more this time, because we only spent one night in the town itself.
Yes, I can tell you for sure that they re-route it, in particular to take it off the road. When we walked it in 2019, I had the kml tracks from the Dutch Confraternity, and even though they were supposed to be only a year or two old, many changes had been made. Ditto with the tracks shown on...
Nick, Your pictures are exquisite. Thanks for posting them.
Our last few days have been (mostly) terrific. We avoided the rain yesterday, but it was threatening, so we opted for the alternative you alerted us to out of Campofranco. But once past the deviation point, the signage was very...
No, we're doing a few really leisurely stages. In Acquaviva Platani now -- only 10 k but (yet another) steep climb into town. Now chilling at the fantastic B&B Acquaviva, with no plan for the day other than to sit out on our little balcony and watch the world pass by in the cute little pizza...
Good point. I crossed in late-ish September, 2022, and there were maybe 10-15 people staying there altogether. Undoubtedly, it's more busy in high summer.
Great place to stay! Dorm rooms but very spacious, with no bunkbeds, and they won't crowd unrelated guests into a room, so you'll often have a room to yourself (I did). And you can even request one. Very hospitable. Communal dinner with the other guests. Food is far from gourmet, but by...
Nick: A great big "Grazie". for all your terrific descriptions and helpful "practicalities.". (I always use "logistics" to sum up the nitty-gritty, but "practicalities" is surely a better word, so I'm going to steal it hereafter).
Every morning before starting out I re-read your posts for a...
Thanks, Nick (yet again) for the heads--ups and the fantastic descriptions. A good walk for us today to Prizzi. Even with the kick-ass ascents, it felt like a piece of cake after the mud into Corleone. Almost a dozen pilgrims tonight at dinner. And we also had great lunch companions at Casa...
Sounds great! I'm not at the stage yet where the scenery has become monotonous, but variation is always welcome. These seem like pretty utilitarian towns so far (but interesting to me because they don't pretend otherwise) but I certainly won't reject a bel paese.
Oddly enough, it never rained very hard while we were walking, but locals here in Corleone say it poured the entire night before. But I did notice on the MVF Facebook page that others had previously commented on this section. One person said she had to be hosed off by a friendly (and laughing)...
Continuing from above:
For the rest of this section, Nick's suggestions are spot on, and his descriptions can't be matched. Specifically:
1. His means of avoiding the long detour when you first encounter the SS38 is perfect. Saved us, two Germans, and 3 Italians more than a k. of useless...
Andy & Kate's Day 2: To Corleone: What a difference 3 days make! When Nick came through, (see post #9), the sun was beating down relentlessly, and there was no mention of difficult trail. But for us, rain and temps in the single digits turned one section of the the trail into a quagmire like...
Thanks, Nick, for the heads--up. I do actually have it booked already, so we're set. Incredible mud today. I'll post later about it. And keep those great descriptions coming!
San Sebastian airport is not actually in San Sebastian but on the outskirts of Irun, which is on the border with France. From the airport you can actually walk into Irun, and then across the French border to the train station in Hendaye, which is the first town in France. From Hendaye, you...
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