April 2017 – Page 11 – Via Francigena 2017

Charlie and I’ve been talking some about ways the Via in Italy and the Camino in Spain compare. So, I thought I’d write about it here.

How they are the same: Each morning you get up, dress, pack up your things in your backpack, tape up and bandage your feet, put on your shoes, grab some breakfast (maybe), figure out which way the path leads, and head out. You walk a certain number of miles and don’t have to worry about returning to your starting point. The destination city is so far away, you don’t think too much about it. It’s just one day at a time.

It’s usually impossible to predict what a day’s walk will be like. The path is constantly changing. From dirt to gravel to pavement to mud to rocks… And the scenery changes constantly, too. Sometimes you are walking through small town centers or by peoples’ houses. By farms, by industrial parks, through large cities. Through beautiful countryside and ancient towns.

You see people working in their gardens, driving their cars, going about their lives.

How they are different: We are alone on the Via. No other pilgrims to chat with, tell and listen to stories, compare blisters and helpful tips, share meals with, or to wish and receive a “buen camino”. There are not even signs of other pilgrims. No footprints on the paths (guess there has been rain since the last one walked through), no inspirational graffiti encouraging us on, no piles of prayer stones, no piles of toilet paper every time you find a feasible place to go behind a bush. (I don’t miss that one.)

We are sure this is how the Camino de Santiago was 20 years ago (except much less well marked and no GPS tracks) and we are grateful to the brave pilgrims who paved the way for us.

In the parts of Italy where we have been on the Via, there are fewer services. Bars for coffee and restroom are further apart. Sometimes we don’t find one until we reach the place we plan to spend the night. That’s not a huge problem since we are walking short days, but it was so nice on the Camino to know we could stop every few miles. Of course, Charlie reminds me, the Camino does have stretches, especially on the meseta, where services are far between. And the Via may have more places to stay and stop as we get deeper into Tuscany.

The locals here in Italy have been very kind and helpful, just as they are in Spain. But they seem more reserved and less interested. People occasionally wish us “buongiorno” (good day) and lately we’ve been getting a few “buona passeggiata” (good walk) or “buon viaggio” (good journey). We even got one “buen camino” early in our walk. That one was surprising because that’s Spanish, not Italian… the man who said it, said it with a grin. But, really, the good wishes are few and far between.

Maybe about 4 or 5 locals have stopped to talk to us while we were walking. Those have been nice exchanges. Today an elderly woman working in her garden greeted us warmly. She pointed out that we were on an ancient route. And wished us a “buona passeggiata”. Dogs behind fences everywhere do greet us with loud barks.

We haven’t had to compete with other pilgrims for places to stay. But there are far fewer places to stay. We’ve found it to be a little more stressful to pin down housing than we expected. This may change as we get deeper into Tuscany.

As Charlie mentioned in another post, the Via is not marked nearly as well as the Camino and we are grateful we have the GPS tracks. Since we have gotten into the province of Tuscany, the signage has been a lot better and there are even intermediate markers (not just at turns) to reassure us we are still on the path. We’ll see if that continues. We’ve noticed the signage varies depending on the “comune” we are in. A comune seems to be a governmental district bigger than a town but smaller than a county.

Walking on the Camino Frances (the “main” Camino in Spain) was so inspirational. Hundreds walking at the same time as you are, having St. James in common to watch over us (even though we talked about that lightly, it was fun to think about and play with), knowing we all had the same goal, knowing that thousands of local people were supporting us along the way. And some depending on us for their livelihood. Knowing that most of the steps we took were on the same ancient paths as pilgrims took in the middle ages.

The Via is less inspirational. The path is probably rarely the original pilgrimage path. There are often a couple of alternate routes. One route will usually go along an unpleasant highway so they are finding ways to avoid that along much nicer paths, but… not the original path and usually longer.

We pass lots of beautiful churches. Every town of any size has one. But they are rarely open.

In a way the Via more closely compares to the Camino Portugués or Camino Finesterre. While there are many pilgrims on those paths, you don’t get the same sense of history. The Camino Portugués often doesn’t travel the original path because that’s where the big highways are now. I’m not sure if that is the case for Camino Finisterre but likely.

Those are my first thoughts. I realize writing this that it’s not always a good thing to compare experiences. But, I guess in this situation, it is inevitable.