Il Cammino di Celestino

Technically, we did a walk in the Parco Nazionale della Majella. But truthfully it was one of these most challenging, tiring but exhilarating experiences of my adult life. Six stages that allowed us to visit 2 abbeys and 7 hermitages, retracing the steps of Petro Angeleri the hermit who was elected Pope in 1294.

See my previous post ‘Preparation‘ for background information on this cammino, and how the three of us got ready for a week in the mountains of Abruzzo.

This trip was not for the faint of heart or a casual hiker. John, Alex and I carried all of our necessary supplies for the week apart from breakfast and dinner. We also chose to stay at B&Bs and hotels instead of camping. For those younger than us, we would grant the week would not have been as daunting, but as we three are all in our 60s, with me a few months from 70, it was an eye-opener. Deep ravines, canyons, tumbling waters, alpine meadows, precarious ledges were all a part of our week. But don’t get me wrong! It was amazing. To have completed it and to have seen and experienced what we experienced, unforgettable….

Pre-cammino

As we had a lot of running around to do even before starting the cammino , we decided to go up the day before our start and just relax in Sulmona that evening. We did drop off our pets at the kennel, met up with Alex to ride-share from end town (Serramonacesca) and parked our car for the week. We chose the B&B La Dimora, not far from the lovely historic center and the huge imposing Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi. The accommodations were lovely with our gracious host, Oscar. The location gave us plenty of excellent choices for dinner, time to visit the historic center and a good launching point for tomorrow’s first stage (tappa). We previously had visited Sulmona a few years back, but never took the time required to truly appreciate this city. We really must return someday soon..

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Tappa 1

Sulmona – Badia Morronese – S. Onofrio Al Morrone – Pacentro

Our first day started out with clear skies and a bit warmer than we expected for the first of June. As we decided to leave our car in Sulmona for the week, we added 3 miles to our day by hiking from the B&B to the Abbey Badia Morronese, the beginning of the cammino. The Parco Nazionale della Majella office is situated inside the Abbey, where we received our first stamps, pin and patch, etc. for our backpacks. We were excited! Even a bit nervous. We knew these 6 days would be a challenge, but oh so rewarding. Our first hermitage San Onofrio Al Morrone was just a short hike up the trail from the Abbey where it clings precariously to the side of the mountain over looking Badia, Sulmona and the Valle Peligna. As we found out, most of the hermitages are only open on the weekends, especially so early in the cammino season, so we enjoyed the expansive views, a short respite, before we continued back down and onward to Pacentro. We arrived at our first day’s destination in the blazing afternoon sun, happy with our day’s accomplishment. This evening’s stop, the B&B in Centro a Pacentro, was just what we needed: quiet, lovely views, center of town, gracious hosts. Alberto gave us a most interesting tour of the ‘family museum rooms’ of the B&B, with a long generational history in Pacentro. We had an evening walk around town and then enjoyed a delicious meal before a very sound night’s sleep.

Tappa 2

Pacentro – Passo San Leonardo – Roccacaramanico – Caramanico Terme

Finishing a lavish breakfast, situated on the terrace with a stunning view of the town, we gave our appreciation to Alberto and started up the trail to Passo Leonardo. After a steep climb, we entered the lovely meadows you see in the photo above. This would be one of my favorite days as the views are long and wide and very green this time of year. We stopped at the pass for our lunch and sat back to enjoy the majesty of the mountains. A note about lunches, every day we packed ‘Il pranzo al sacco’, whether a pizza, panino or some other bar type food. First couple of days, we purchased lunch at a bar before we started out. The last few days, we were able to buy lunches at our accommodations. Lunch plus our granola & powerbars, electrolyte gels kept us going until we reached a local bar at the end of each day.

After lunch we headed down from the pass in the direction of Caramanico Terme (a famous town here in Abruzzo for their thermal baths). We stopped at a small lovely hamlet; Roccacaramanico, that is slowly repopulating. Onward to our destination, we passed many free-ranging horses enjoying the mountain pastures. We made a point to stop at a refreshing fountain in the hamlet of San Vittorino, as again, the weather we would find this week, warmer than normal.

We arrived at Caramanico Terme, found Hotel Viola to check-in to our rooms, walked around a bit and had dinner back at the hotel. All the food we ate during this week of cammino was excellent. Some of the accommodations I chose for this week were a bit more basic than others, but all facilities were clean, food always great, and hosts helpful and gracious. I did notice that the hosts were glad to see tourists returning after a long and painful year of Covid.

Tappe 3

Caramanico Terme – S. Onofrio All’Orfento – Decontra

Our third day tested us… our endurance, strength, and for me, a bit of courage needed. I’m not good with ledges – edges of cliffs with too many feet between me and the ground below. But undaunted, we entered this evocative and challenging valley. It is called La Valle Dell’Orfento. We Americans might think of this more of a canyon or gorge! Not sure of the exact terminology but it was definitely a deep fissure in the landscape.

To enter this valley, you are asked to register at the park office at the edge of town. Once we completed that, we headed out onto the trail, skimming the edge of the valley as we worked our way down to the river. The trail undulated through lovely forests, across footbridges, always taking us towards the top of the valley. The sound of the running water tempted us to enter, but we left the water behind for our first challenge of the cammino – Piscia Giumenta: a 100 foot long ledge equipped with a steel rope. The drop-off gave me enough pause to make my palms sweat, but I hung my hiking poles onto my pack and just hand over hand made my way. Phew… challenge accomplished and we continued on. One more river crossing before the hermitage and some slippery rocks took Alex down into the water. Thankfully just wet boots and socks, no major bumps and we climbed a short steep path to the remnants of the hermitage ‘San Onofrio All’Orfento‘. After a short visit, we returned to the valley trail then picked up a route to take us out of the valley to the hamlet of Decontra. It was an intensely hot climb to the hamlet and cold drinks awaited us and cool rooms to relax at Agri Pietrantica. Our lovely host, Marisa, bubbles with enthusiasm for the love of local foods, the heritage of the area, and the opportunity to chat with guests. We had a delicious meal of local traditional foods, but we were so intent on refueling, after our hike, that I forgot to take pictures!

Tappa 4

Decontra – S. Giovanni All’Orfento – Fonte Tettone (Mammarosa)

Today’s tappa was a day for wide open spaces and spectacular views. Today we would have our greatest elevation gain, approximately 3400 ft. We did our best to get an early start to have the toughest part of the climb done during the cooler morning hours. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite make it and the morning stretched on hot under the clear skies until we reached the most beautiful beech forest. The air cooled, we gave a sigh of relief and caught our breath.

The climb moderated and we came to the side trail that would take us down to the hermitage San Giovanni all’Orfento. If you follow any Facebook Abruzzo nature sites, this is the famous hermitage where a belly crawl along a narrow ledge is required to enter the hermitage. John opted to watch our packs, as he and I both started this cammino with compromised knees due to recent injuries. At this point in the trail, a series of narrow steps were carved out of the rock heading down. Alex and I scrambled down and approached the hermitage.

… an exposed passage on an overhanging ledge and a staircase carved onto the rock which, even being the both really short, must be considered as EE difficulty passages (Expert Hikers). The entrance into the hermitage of San Giovanni is via a staircase and then through a narrow horizontal ledge that in the final part must be done belly on the ground. The stretch, sited several meters above the ground and about 40 cm wide ( 16 inches), is not protected, therefore, the entrance is only recommended to people who are adequately equipped and trained.

Parco Nazionale della Majella

Alex did an amazing job skimming along the narrow trail on her belly and entering the small hermitage. Then a shimmy back out to the staircase and great accomplishment goes to her! We all headed back up to the main trail and onward to Rifugio Di Marco and the meadows of the Majelletta. Views to Blockhaus, the Adriatic Sea, the Gran Sasso filled this day. Just too amazing for words….We arrived at Hotel Mammarosa for a relaxing evening and more great food. Good thing I’m hiking a lot as our daily calorie intake is astonishing! The hotel is family run and set up as a ski lodge, but I am sure as COVID restrictions are disappearing, many guests will return also for the local hiking trails.

Tappa 5

Fonte Tettone (Mammarosa) – Eremo San Spirito A Maiella – Eremo San Bartolomeo in Legio – Roccamorice

A day for another well-known and stunningly beautiful hermitage – Eremo San Spirito A Maiella. We began with the trail winding through rocky slopes to eventually enter a peaceful beech forest. The pathway was quiet and soft under foot and eventually we started to lose altitude to arrive at the hermitage. This particular hermitage can also be reached by a hard surface road so, along with it being beautiful to see, it is very accessible. The setting is impressive, set against a rock cliff, this extensive hermitage is a work of art in itself. There is a park kiosk here where we were able to get our cammino passport stamped as well as obtain tickets for a self guided tour.

We entered the church, then worked our way through the complex of rooms & staircases, climbing higher against the cliffside. After exploring and John taking a well deserved ice cream break, we got back on the trail. Along the way, not very far from San Spirito, a man was working with his 6 horses and mules to bring firewood out of the forest. These majestic animals were bred for this work and they truly looked in their element, well fed and handled all by voice commands. We passed on by and continued our trek with the forest opening up to spacious meadows and views of the Gran Sasso.

The access point to our next hermitage, San Bartolomeo in Legio, was via a narrow steep descent into a canyon. There we headed back up to this amazing structure in the cliffside. A chance to cool off, marvel in the construction, share in its beauty with other hikers and families before we started our climb out of the canyon. Our destination this afternoon was a bit further than expected as we had booked a B&B in the town of Roccamorice. Our host there is a very talented sculptor, along with being an excellent restaurateur. The B&B Belvedere was cool and tranquil and our meal excellent. We would be ready for our last stage tomorrow.

Tappa 6

Roccamorice – Eremo San Michele Di Lettomanoppello – Eremo San Onofrio Di Serramonacesca – Abbazi Di San Liberatore

Day 6 has come upon us. Though we are worn out physically and possibly a bit mentally and emotionally as well, we approach the finale with lifted spirits. And it is such a day to experience. An enormous Italian breakfast awaits us, but we are ready to get started. As I had added an additional 3 miles on to yesterday to get to the B&B Roccamorice, we get a lift to the start of the trail. There are two hermitages to see today along our route: San Michele Di Lettomanoppello & San Onofrio Di Serramonacesca. To be able to experience all these many hermitages within a 6 day span has truly been mind boggling. I hope that some of you reading this posting will consider either doing the cammino in its entirety or parts. Never to be forgotten.

One of the biggest surprises of today, which absolutely “wowed’ the three of us, was walking through the expansive area of shepherd huts ( le capanne in pietra a secco) and pasture enclosures of dry stone, hundreds and hundreds of acres. To think of the number of sheep that passed through this area years ago, is extraordinary.

Interesting note about the hermitage San Onofrio De Serramonacesca: the rendition of the saint is clothed only in his long hair. I wish I had room in this post to go into all the spiritual nuances of the hermitages, but I leave that to the professionals on the many sites that can be found on the internet! Just know that there is much not said in this post… but experienced. After a long, precarious, rocky descent, we reached our final destination of the cammino: Abbazia Di San Liberatore in Serramonacesca. Admittedly, we were exhausted at this point.. the 6 days rushing up to us as we toured the cathedral. We had run out of steam and wanted our cammino passports stamped and to receive our certificate ‘Testimonium’. We did get all our stamps required, but our certificate would be mailed to us. We had done it – 6 days chock full of sights and wonders!

Post Cammino

In Serramonacesca, we piled into Alex’s car and headed the hour back to Sulmona. All three of us were way too tired to even think about driving home, so we spent the night at our starting bed and breakfast, B&B La Dimora. Once again, Oscar, our host, gave us a wonderful recommendation for dinner. This time it was for Cantina di Biffi Vineria con Cucina just a short walk from our rooms. Nice change of pace and menu; traditional dishes with a twist. Not to be missed. We will return there most definitely. Monday morning we picked up our pets at the kennel and headed home for a long week of rest and naps 🙂

Thoughts…

Would I do this again… not at my age all within 6 days. There are definitely parts that I would love to revisit and slow down the pace. We didn’t have much time to visit the hamlets and towns as we were averaging 11 tough miles a day with stops. I got us off course a few times, nothing too drastic and we were able to jump back on after a short detour. The weather was definitely hotter than the posted averages, and with John and I not being happy hot weather hikers, it was tough at times. Also the brochure must have been written for a younger age group in regards to difficulties. I lost two toenails as I didn’t continue to check my boot lacings throughout the days with steep descents. A few trails listed as easy would have been treacherous if it had rained. But again, 20 years ago I may have viewed these as less of a challenge. Thankfully, with our few stumbles along the routes and a water slip, we all were able to smile and keep hiking.

What I truly want to share with you is how proud I am of us three and what utterly amazing experiences we had every single day. As you know, if you follow my blog, living here in Abruzzo is a treasured time in our lives. I wanted you, my reader, to have glimpse into this unforgettable week, so you could also feel a part of this, and maybe someday step out on these trails. The depth and width of the beauty of the Majella is not done justice here. It lives in my heart and I encourage you to visit this breathtaking area of Abruzzo.