A sad moment for us all

There were a few tears from all of us today as we made the very difficult decision for Merran to return to Milan to get her painful leg looked at. We all felt it would be important for her to have the support of Maddie and her host family to help with medical discussions.

This morning began on quite another note with us all feeling quite good and rearing to go. We walked the short distance to Piacenza in good time although it was all tarmac road walking which is tough on the feet. Coming into Piacenza Merran began to feel a recurrence of some significant pain she had had a couple of days ago. We talked through the options and tried to locate some medial advice. In the end after talking with Maddie it seemed best for Merran to take a few days to get a thorough assessment and do this with Maddie's help. If you can be thankful in these situations, we were relieved that this occurred in a town with a direct high speed train to Milan. Sophie and I nearly returned as well but there was nowhere easy for us to stay and little we could actually do, so we all decided it was best for us to continue the walk and stay in touch to see where Merran will rejoin us.

So we would value your prayers. Sophie and I will be lighting extra candles in the churches we visit. We are now in day 8, just about to leave the plains and begin the long journey up the pass over the Apennines into Tuscany.