Do you ever wish that you had tried something much earlier in life? It comes to mind more often now that we are older and we’re slower to recover from certain physical activities. But maybe this is the time of our lives when we should start. It jumbles around in my brain. The outcome was that our first cammino left me wanting more! An accomplishment and an experience to always remember, it has given me the desire to continue searching out the many paths here in Italy.

Probably the most famous cammino (the Italian spelling for ‘the way’) is The Camino de Santiago, Spain (the Way of St. James), with its many alternate routes. [The most popular route (which gets very crowded in mid-summer) is the Camino Francés which stretches 780 km (nearly 500 miles) from St. Jean-Pied-du-Port near Biarritz in France to Santiago, Spain. The Pilgrimage Routes to Santiago de Compostela] Do you know the film ‘The Way‘ (Starring: Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez)? John and I have seen it at least 10x. We became hooked on the essence of the movie as well as the concept of travelling on foot from town to town, being able to experience the beauty of the trails and roads with a final destination in mind. As the average time to complete this cammino is about 35+ days, it would mean being apart from our dear dog, Romeo, much too long a time for all of us. We decided to look closer to our area of Italy for a cammino (or partial one) that we could accomplish in about 6-8 days.

Here in Abruzzo, there are a number of cammini traversing this mountainous region, such as Cammino dei Briganti (100 km, the one we just completed), Cammino di San Tommaso (316 km) , Cammino della Pace (470 km) and others. The Cammino dei Briganti is a ring course of 7 stages or tappe that traverses the mountainous regional boundary of Abruzzo and Lazio. The Cammino di San Tommaso starts in Rome (Lazio) and ends in Ortona (Abruzzo), on the Adriatic Sea. The Cammino Della Pace starts in L’Aquila (capital of Abruzzo ) and ends on the Gargano Peninsula (the spur of the boot of Italy) of the Puglia region. Hiking any parts of these are all on my radar. Some cammini are about a spiritual trek, others historical or cultural. The one we choose this year would follow the routes that the Briganti travelled in this region.

John and I agreed our first cammino would be with a guide and group. Not ever doing one on our own, we wanted to see what the planning entailed, not only for each stage, but sleeping accommodations, meals, etc. Spending 7 days with a group hiking, touring and eating together was going to be a new experience for John and I. When we take vacations, it’s normally just the two of us heading out to locations not frequently travelled by many tourists. We were going to be hiking with about 8 others. 🙂 What would the week hold for us?

Ercole and Appennino Slow tour group partnered for our cammino. Appennino Slow handled the booking of accommodations, luggage transport and collection of all fees. Ercole did all the day-to- day detail work as well as guide us, inform us, teach us, share his prose, plan meals… making the week an experience to remember always. You may be thinking at this point…’luggage transport’? This cammino we did not carry all our total needs, just our daily items in our backpacks. Each person was allowed one small duffle or piece of luggage that was transported to each accommodation daily. A bit of a luxury for us but certainly lightens the backpack a little. 😉 Next cammino we plan on backpacking everything we need for the entire trip.

This amazing week was chock full of wonders; breathtaking scenery, challenging trails and scenic roads, quaint villages, lovely accommodations and delicious food. The list is long. John and I hike well together; we are matched for stamina and style and we enjoy our time together on the trail or relaxing off. Ercole was inspiring and fun to get to know. He is friends with many people in this area, as he lives not very far from the route. This opened the door to meeting locals along the way that added a special flavor to the experience. I highly recommend that you hike with him someday!

And what about us hiking with a group? Truth be told, at the onset, it was a struggle for John and I. But as the week unfolded and we got to know the others a bit better, we could enjoy the diversity. John ended up being the only male hiker along with Ercole, but he dove in and had fun. Apart from us and Ercole, everyone else had met on another cammino in northern Italy a year ago. Italian was the predominate language spoken for the week, but most everyone knew a smattering of English. Each hiker had his or her individual strengths and experience, but also there were challenges we all had to meet. Whether hiking 22 km in hot humid weather, ascending or descending a trail outside one’s comfort zone, we all took pleasure from our accomplishments together.

Would I do another group cammino in the future with strangers, spending every meal and all my trail time together? In support , there was a strong sense of the daily accomplishments as a group…. To cheer one on when the going got tough ..To take the time to get to know someone and who they are off the trail. And to laugh at the end of the day over amazing food…..we all could smile at that. But on the flip side, for me as well as John, we would like to take more time in the villages that we passed through and to spend more quiet moments as we hiked. So, for us, future walks will be with each other and a few close friends.

With 2021 in our sights, I’m already researching other cammini (or partial ones) here in Abruzzo. John is just shaking his head…. he’s not ready to plan that far in advance. And how did we fare after we returned home? Believe me, the desire to do anything wasn’t very overwhelming. There weren’t aches or pains, but there was a serious lack of energy in both of us for about a week or so…. So a well deserved rest and on to other trails and projects.

The finale…. receiving our certificates of completion back at Sante Marie and a photo op with Ercole.. Just a grand week! We hope that you will also enjoy such an experience someday soon here in Abruzzo if not Italy!

• 

•