Day 8: San Quirico to Bolsena
We left Quirky Town with only an adequate breakfast, but it was nice to get out into the countryside. We were moving towards the border between Tuscany and Lazio, and the dark tufa country opened up into fields with the occasional sheep. We were puzzled by the amount of tree planting going on, and I have my suspicions that truffles might have been the object, but I never got to test my theory.
This was a longer walk, with 18 km by the instruction book to cover, but MapMyWalk always seemed to think we have traveled further. We walked on unsealed roads as the countryside rolled up and, but mostly up! We apparels walked on the rim of one of the volcanoes that defined the region, and as we walked along the main road and west, we could see we were walking downhill into a caldera.
At the bottom of the hill, we were in the amazing farmland of central Italy, following the Brigands’ Way (Senterio dei Briganti). This was clearly Kelly country, but no Ned was seen. Instead, we snacked near a cleared plantation and headed up the hill. We didn’t bother with Latera, although we admired the plantations, olive groves and market gardens – this soil could grow anything. There was a promise of a decent lunch on the shores of Lago di Bolsena.
We crossed the main road and walked among the orchards until we saw, far below us, the intense blue water of the Lake. I’m guessing it was another crater, but forget the geography: we had an hour of walking downhill before we got there. As is so often the case, down was a bit more painful than up, because toes jam into the front of boots and the knees cop a battering, but when we reached the shore, it was so refreshing after the dark tunnels of La Tuscia.
We met our transport at trattoria Da Giggetto, which was pretty swish but obviously used to weary walkers in outdoor gear. I’ve learned to order “ Birra alla spina” – draught beer – and Paula doesn’t mind her vino blanco by bicchiero or carafo. What transpired was one of the most delicious meals we have had so far, fresh seafood and house pasta to die for. Every step along the way was worth it.
It was a great lunch in fabulous surroundings, autumn leaves just coming in but the weather still in the low twenties; but the Italians were pretty clear that tourism season was over and were staying away. This was even more obvious when we arrived at Hotel Holiday (!), where we seemed to the the only guests (until much later when an end-of-season package deal bus tour arrived and camped in the dining room for the all-you-can -eat buffet, like a Probus group after a famine).
The afternoon was very relaxed as we sat by the pool, although Allan was the only one game enough to dive in. I finished my daily task of collating photos and creating an iMovie slideshow, which we’ve decided is the best way to show a bunch of photos without boring the pants of all the FaceBook friends. We have a stunning view the bedroom and it’s hard to believe we are in the middle of a walk.
