The Way of St. Francis
May 10, 2026
Toffia to Nerola
Miles walked 11.64
Today is a watershed day. I’ll explain at the end.
My morning did not start out well. My little apartment had a washing machine (yay!) so I was able to do laundry. This is a real treat when one has been washing things out in the sink for several days. La signora even brought out a drying rack for me (another treat). So I washed and hung my clothes out. Before bed I brought in the dry stuff and left the damp stuff out.
Last night it rained 🌧️ 😢 and my clothes were sopping wet. I dried them the best I could and debated whether to walk today. It’s Sunday so no busses.
Well I decided to suck it up and rub some dirt on it. I set off…in the wrong direction.
I added two miles onto my day before I got back on track. Nonetheless I felt good, ready to conquer this day.
I had a three mile constant up hill. It was tough and yet I made it. Then came a good stretch of flat, great for recovery. Of course since it rained I came across a stretch of deep mud. In the mud I could see the prints of horse hooves. And you know where there are horse hooves there is horse 💩. I made it through to a large meadow studded with rocks.
And then came the descent.
Here I started a 2.7 mile descent. I know the path looks easy, but it is actually covered in loose rocks that are easy to slide on when the path gets a little steeper. The bigger stones just make your feet feel like they gone twelve rounds in the ring and lost.
At the bottom I looked up and saw a city on the hill and thought, “Surely not!” That turned out to be wrong. This was a much steeper climb (although shorter) along a series of trafficked switchbacks. About 1 km from my hotel, a time when I would normally be energized to be so close, I was completely wiped out.
The whole day was beyond challenging and even the amazing vistas were not enough to sustain me.
When I got to my room I made a decision. This was my watershed moment. It’s time to stop. I know that physically I can walk a 200 mile journey and 200 miles through the Appenine Mountains is not in my capacity. I have given this my all and now it’s time to be done.
And I’m ok. I know I did my best. It wasn’t what I hoped for and I know that there may still be another camino in my future. Just not this one.
It’s been a Buon Cammino!
One day I decided to go for a walk... 