16 kms, 5.5 hours with breaks.
Still 20deg and warm.
More ups and downs, some mud, some rough tracks, some great views and Roman stuff – another fantastic day on the VFS.
Highlights – so many today; ruins, the section on the track through the forest, and the Roman road.
The day begins similar to yesterday, with a steep descent out of the town on a rough track.
Just down the path there are three dogs who are not so welcoming.
One piece of advice I received from a catch-up prior to the walk is that there will be dogs on the pathway. If threatening, either have a rock handy, or reach down to pick up a rock, or at least pretend to pick up a rock if one is not on the pathway – this is usually enough to send them on their way, otherwise throw the rock in their direction, of course not aiming to hit. Have your sticks ready as well in case you need a bit of a barrier.
There are plenty of rocks on this steep, dirt pathway, and DC sends a few in their general direction; they scurry off into the trees and though we can still hear them, we don’t see them again as we pick our way down first the steep, rocky, dirt track, then the paved (still steep descent) and over the Roman bridge at the bottom of the valley.
This is overall such a beautiful day; there are some long though quiet road sections, and the only bar we saw at the small towns we pass through was unfortunately closed. We haven’t organised ourselves with lunch, though we do have a couple of oranges and carry a tin of “emergency tuna” for such an occasion, or any other time that someone might be getting ‘hangry’ – today our big breakfast keeps us going.
There are gorgeous sections through shaded cuttings, plenty of fields, and a number of ruins, but the two real highlights come in the second half of the route. After leaving Fontanelle we soon find ourselves on a beautiful bushwalking track through the woods, with views across the valley, over the ferns and through the oak and chestnut trees.
We tread carefully through the next descent, with autumn leaves and chestnuts covering the stones, it is a bit slippery, and we really do not want to slip and land onto the very prickly chestnut casings.
After another road section we are on the final stretch to Teano, a stretch of Roman road. A dog has followed us for some time, just quietly keeping an eye on us.
Stay and eat – Monastero Santa Caterina (donation).
We have reached a decision point as we had lost so many days early on – keep walking through Campania but skip sections later on, or move forward from here and try to fit in as much of Puglia as possible. Ultimately, the decision is made for us as DC wakes up the next morning with a bit of a strain in his back – perhaps gained in trying to protect his knee. We decide to return to a few days of sightseeing as we try to get back on our original timing schedule and let the muscle strain settle. We always planned to have a rest day in Benevento, then catch the train across the Apennines, bypassing a couple of long hard days. We also expected that the weather might be very cold by this time impacting the crossing. We have only had a taste of the VFS in southern Lazio and in Campania, but still hope to be able walk the length of Puglia.
Buona notte
Richo and DC 