It’s cold. Just short of see your breath cold in this room. Glad we brought the sleeping bags even though they add weight and take up room in the pack. We both slept well last night, but with the power off all night, no heat and fresh snow on the hills just above town, it’s cold. There was still hot water in the tank so washing hands and brushing teeth was fine, but without power no boiled eggs or cups of tea before our walk today. We ate some bread, a banana and an orange while packing up.
With the pack loaded I dropped down to the main floor and thought I would try the power box once more to see if anything had changed overnight. While outside flipping the main breaker Ricardo came out and invited me into his shop, saying I could use their home kitchen to cook our breakfast. I declined, but took him up on his offer of a cup of tea. Sally was doing last minute preparations so I sat down at the table in his store and was sipping tea when Sally arrived. We shared the cup of tea then thanked Ricardo and headed out the door.
Our route took us down the main street of town, then a sharp right at the Bar/Pizzaria and as always, down a steep incline out of town, although not nearly as long as the one out of Poggio Moiano.
Today our route meandered up and down along country roads even though we are getting close to Rome. We came upon another ancient Roman “bridge” although this one acts more as a retaining wall than a bridge but again constructed with huge blocks of limestone. We paused to read the signs, translated with our phone, take a photo and move on.
At one point we were climbing a long and very steep hill on a paved road when a farm pickup truck came down. Because the roadway was wet I had serious misgivings that he could totally control his vehicle on the wetted pavement. To my surprise, he braked to a stop, his tires sliding a little as he did, rolled down his window and with a broad smile and friendly voice started talking to us in Italian. He was slightly heavy, maybe in his sixties, grey hair and all smiles, as if we were his best friends. He was so animated and friendly we tried to guess at what he was saying, but with little luck. His gestures told us he was talking about the Camino we were walking. Even though we told him we spoke English he continued on. We were disappointed we couldn’t understand him, his affect was so endearing and friendly. We asked for a photo and he was thrilled with the idea. Sally moved next to the window but he opened his door as if to get out. I was hoping his parking park would hold, but he stayed in the drivers seat his foot firmly on the brake as I snapped a picture. A few more kind words and smiles and off he went. We continued up the hill.
Did I mention it was a gorgeous, sunny day? Absolutely beautiful. But freezing. About a mile further on we found a curb on a side road in the sun and sat down to eat and enjoy the morning, a castle on the hill above us.
On our way to Montelibretti for the night, we pass through the town of Acquaviva. The guidebook said little about it so we figured it was a housing suburb with no services. I had hints there might be more here than the book let on as I had seen a grocery store on the map. As we walked into town we found dozens of businesses, all open as it was 10:45am.
We passed a bakery that looked closed, but we went back to check. It was open and we each bought a pastry. As we were paying the store filled up with customers. We took our prizes outside to eat on the bench in front, amazed to see half a dozen cars now in front and people crowding the doors. Where were they five minutes ago when we looked down at the store tucked under the trees and thought it might be an abandoned building? While inside Sally had complimented the girl behind the counter on her good English. She told us she worked in Rome during the weekdays and came back on weekends to help her parents with the store.
We walked to a Carrfour grocery and bought a few needed items for lunch and then headed across the street to our route, which passed by a fruit and vegetable store. We stopped in to get an orange for me and some plums for Sally. Sometimes it is hard for me to maneuver in these stores with narrow isles between the bins of produce. A kind lady let us move in front of her when she saw what little we had to purchase. When we gave our items to the clerk, he waved us away and refused to take our money. The bulging pack on my back is a strong signal that we are pilgrims on the Way of St. Francis. People are especially kind to us.
At Acquaviva we were 3/4 of the way to Montelibretti. As always, the last push into town is up a steep incline to gain the ridge top town. I saw our planned route extended our walk about 3/4 of a mile unnecessarily so I diverted us up a steep road to gain the the ridge and soon arrived at our B&B for the night. We called the land lady and she arrived 5 minutes later. I waited at the door while Sally stopped at a fruit/vegetable stand and got fresh veggies for dinner.
She let me in and led me up to the third floor, three bedroom apartment, the home of her deceased parents and grandparents, now repurposed as a B&B. Sally arrived shortly, carrying a bag of tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash and string beans for dinner.
The apartment had a huge kitchen, living room and three bedrooms each with its own bathroom. She rented the bedrooms separately and the kitchen and living room were common space. They were still furnished with what looked like her parents furniture, complete with doilies and family photos on the walls.
She soon left. We cooked dinner, a stir fry of our vegetables and some bow tie pasta. Delicious. Sally did dishes while I went out to find a few supplies on this cold Saturday night. I found only a meat market, a pizzeria and a bar open, although I think if I had dropped down a street I might have found an open grocery. I got a couple Cokes for the walk tomorrow, some extra calories in the form of ice cream cones and a snickers bar. That was the best I could do at the bar.
Back in the apartment we read and wrote for a while before calling it a night.
A cold morning in our dorm room. No power. No heat. Packing by headlamps.
William again. The castle is called Castello di Nerola and is a spa now but was owned by the Orsini family. I think the actual name is the Orsini Castle. I go quite often to Montelibretti on my bike rides from Rome. It is beautiful from below in the olive groves, less so on the main street. The area from Rieti to here and around is called the Sabina and is rich in summer fruits (especially cherries but as well apricots and peaches) and famous for olive oil which is where we get ours (15 litres a year).
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