Song of the day: Alanis Morissette – “Thank U”
After 450kms of training walks at home, and another short 10kms around hot and sticky Singapore (on my stopover), I found myself this morning at my starting point (Siena) for the Via Francigena pilgrimage trail. I had a few nice flights over, especially the long ones with Gulf Air (Singapore – Bahrain – Rome). I arrived in Rome quite fresh, and headed to the main bus terminal to catch my bus to Siena. My first task having arrived in Siena was to chase up a Via Francigena credenziali (ie. the pilgrim passport)…secured and first stamp from the seller 🙂
It was painfully hot yesterday on the bus, 32 degrees at 4pm! Thankfully it cooled down a little bit for my first walk today. I intentionally decided to leave a bit later today to see how my body would react to the heat and humidity (as the heat of the day doesn’t really kick in until 2pm-ish). Whilst I made the 17km walk in reasonable condition, I think I might get away very early each day to beat the heat. Whilst most of my walk today was just little old me, I did run into Kristopher who is nearing the end of his 1200km cycle from Geneva to Rome.
And a nice reaffirming moment during a short lunch break. It’s natural to be apprehensive when doing these types of adventures – walking extremely long distances, often times in very remote areas and alone. As I walked into the small Bar L’Isolotto, I could hear Alanis Morissette’s “Thank U” playing through the bar’s speakers. This song features in the movie, ”The Way”, which is where I first learned about the Camino. And the use of the song involves a very poignant moment for the film’s pilgrim characters – at first, all strangers to each other – as they start to form a really strong bond. This tends to happen out on the trail, forming bonds with other pilgrims. I know I’m in the right place 🙂
A small excerpt from ‘The Way”, featuring ‘Thank U” is viewable here.
Anyway, time for a shower, and a relaxing first evening.
More from the VF tomorrow!
The official starting point in the Piazza del Campo, Siena
