Valpromaro - Lucca - Altopascio 16 + 19 km 9th and 10th of October

Yesterday a short nice walk of 16 km to Luca. Nice to walk a long bit of it along a canal and into this fantastic town of Luca. As it was Sunday the streets and squares were still pretty  quiet, but as the day went on more and more people appeared until the (main)streets and squares were packed with people. Shops were open and I managed to score a new pare of hiking shoes (Asics) as my old ones (Merell) were pretty much worn out on the sole after only some 750 km. Thinking about that, it is still a fair distance of about 410 km left to Rome from Altopascio. I recon 21 days give or take..

In Luca I stayed at this nice B&B The Gem of Elena, and shared a room with a young German guy Tim and a young Englishman Zack and we had a nice talk. They were just sightseeing this part of Italy. In the evening I met with Tuulla and Yarri from Finland, Neil and Anne from Australia and Caroline from Holland. It was nice to catch up again and share a good meal together.  The Fins told us about their sauna habits and we had a great evening and a good meal in the street. All restaurants in the streets and the squares are full and It is quite normal for Italians to take out their family for a meal at 9 O'clock in the evening. A three course meal of Primi, Antipasti and Secondi is ordered and as the wine glasses seldom are empty everybody has a good time and enjoy life in the still warm evening. Great people.

To day I walked together with among others George ( the guitar man),  German pilgrim Maria and Caroline to the next place on this stage Altopascio. A nice little town and we are going out for something to eat shortly. As one can see, life of a pilgrim or wanderer consists mainly of walking, finding a place to take a shower and a bed and occasionally wash some clothing. Eat and sleep. Get something for breakfast (maybe only a croissant and coffee) get some food for lunch and start walking again. It is a simple life with a simple rythem. You just put one foot in front of the other and keep going. The only worry we might have sometimes is finding a suitable and affordable place to sleep. To night another little B&B in Altopascio.

To morrow stage is 29 km to San Miniato. I'm not sure I want to do such long distances, so maybe I'll stop in vucecchio which is only 20 km from here.

Buena notte!