Back on Track

Hi everyone, it was really great to have a week back in Milan with Maddie and her family. They say the only thing to expect on a pilgrimage is the unexpected, and that has surely been the case. I feel a bit of a fraud to have pulled out thinking I had a serious injury, but had such a lovely time chatting, reading, resting, seeing Maddie's school, and experiencing warm hospitality, that I have returned to the journey renewed and refreshed. Our planned meeting at Berceto yesterday went to plan. Tim and Sophie were waiting at the station in a thunderstorm, and looked glowing from their walk over the past week. They might have been glad to see me again too!

The train pulled in to Pontremoli (literally, Trembling bridge) as the storm continued. We had to put on all our wet weather gear to make the short dash to the Franciscan monastery we had booked into. Due to the rain we arrived far earlier than we had planned, and were left in a cloister for an hour before our host arrived to show us our very basic rooms. No heating, and not particularly clean, not even a kettle, and still pouring outside. Then the phones and Internet went down, so we could not book any accommodation for the next night after trying for over an hour. Finally we thought dinner was the priority, so Tim decided to brace the elements alone and bring back takeaway pizza. An hour later he was back empty handed, having found only one trattoria open in the whole town. As we tried desperately to keep up with him racing through the town, in the continuing rain and with emergency service vehicles everywhere, the impossible happened: Mr GPS could not find it. Finally just before 8 we found a supermarket about to close and grabbed a few things for ham sandwiches back at the monastery. Having somehow taken the wrong key with us that evening, Sophie had to jump the gate for us to get back into the grounds. Dinner tasted pretty good after our adventures.

Today we had planned to walk on to Filatteria or Villafranca but the Internet and the whole TIM phone network is down. We didn't want to keep walking on without booking accommodation first, so we booked into a hotel here. Tim and I wandered the streets and realised that this has been a major flood, one older lady looking down from the bridge over the flood waters indicated that she had never seen anything like this in many years. Traffic is being redirected through narrow winding streets, trucks sent backing down the road due to blocks ahead, and big pumps operating on the main road underpass to drain the floodwaters. People are cleaning water and mud out of their houses, and there are logs strewn along the river banks. People are out in force inspecting the damage and shaking their heads. We even have helicopters flying overhead and there are still numerous emergency vehicles patrolling the streets. Phones are still down too, even landlines, so it is good to be in a comfortable and clean hotel room for the night ahead. We are planning to eat at the now rediscovered trattoria tonight- Mr GPS has redeemed himself!

From Merran.