At 10am, we meet the rest of our group at the Terni train station. There are 4 others on the tour (Keith, Nahita, Lois, and Elena), Judy (owner of Spanish Steps) and Virginio (local guide whose home town is in Viterbo).
Keith and Nahita met in Toronto but now live in the UK. Nahita is friends with Lois who also lives in Toronto. Elena is from Seattle but has been living in Madrid for almost 2 years now, having a son that is living in Spain for some time it just makes sense for her to also live there. Lois has grandchildren that play ice hockey in Canada. I didn’t get as much conversation with Nahita and Keith but I get the impression they have done many tours with Spanish Steps.
We start walking nearby to the waterfall at Marmore. Our first views included a double rainbow and as we walked further down to the overlook we got completely drenched! Thankful for the rain poncho!! From there we continue to descend and at the bottom, we stop for lunch.
Walking through the Nera Valley was quite beautiful. It was a hot day and the moments in direct sun were brief. We walked alongside the river and see fig trees, grape vines, apple trees and hearty yellow flowers that resemble tulips. The trail was fast and flat, when we turned a corner we saw the hillside town of Casteldilago, our destination for the day.
It’s a climb to get into the town and to our apartments. But the views are amazing and distracted the mind from complaining muscles.
All things included, today was about 10 miles of walking.
After a shower and lie down, we visited the restaurant to have some cold drinks, and ended up spending a lot of time talking with Sara who was working there today. Then we walked around town, sat on a bench to enjoy the town in quiet, and had a botched conversation using google translate with some locals.
At 6:30pm, I relax in my room and listen to the sounds of the town – birds singing, some cars in the distance, and the marching band performing in the neighboring town of Arrone. Each time the band starts a lively march a dog howls in what sounds like agony.
Dinner was at 7:30-10pm. It was a multi course meal:
- Eggs with truffle on a hash-brown style potato
- Bread trio: bruschetta, ricotta, pate
- Lentils, Spelt salad, White Beans with Prosciutto, Puréed Fava Bean
- Meat plate: prosciutto and salami
- Two meat courses: young goat and fresh sausage
- Zuppa Inglese (a trifle)
- Espresso
The band is still playing lively tunes at 10:30pm …including thriller and YMCA. We try to settle ourselves for a day of walking tomorrow. Breakfast starts at 8am and then we walk at 9am.
