Chuck's News: Day Nine - Thursday, October 29, 2026

Midpoint of Day 3 stage to Gambassi - Weather-sunny & warm, High 69, Low 49, Clear blue skies all day. On Route 7.38 miles, Total Distance 9.78 miles, 22,927 steps

Our taxi was 40 minutes earlier today than yesterday. He arrived promptly at 7:50. This time it was the boss, Ernesto. He drove us to the same point as yesterday, but went around the east side to get there rather than the west side. New territory to see. He was very good with his English and we conversed the whole way.

This section is supposed to be the quintessential Tuscany landscape. Vineyards, olive trees, wineries, sweeping view. It did not disappoint. After a long descent from our drop off point we started to contour around rolling green hills on the ridge tops with orchards and vineyards stretching into the distance under clear blue skies. It was magnificent. This went on for a few hours as the miles clicked by, yet we never tired of the view.

I couldn’t help myself. Periodically I would hoot and holler, leap into the air and sprint up the nearest hill, pack bouncing on my back. It may be just stents they put in, but I feel like I am in a new body. At Camp Sheppard we always had fun “stress testing” everything. If a Saxon cross belay can stop a sliding person easily, how will it do with 8 people and 20 feet of slack in the rope (I got a sprained ankle from that one). If the tents can hold up in a sixty mile per hour wind, what if we move them to where the funneled wind is blowing 80. How do they do now? I feel that way with this “new” body I have. How much can it take? How fast can I hike up hill? Run uphill with pack on? How hard can I push until I feel familiar pains? (The answer so far is, I haven’t found that limit yet. Needs more stress testing.). If you were a Star Trek the Next Generation fan you might remember an episode where the Doctor falls in love with a being that is really two beings, a body and a symbiant that lives inside the body. I feel like I just got a new body. Looks the same, but man, does it feel different.

Eventually we started dropping to our low point for the day. Along the way we found a grassy spot in the sun with a nice view to sit and eat our lunch of focaccia bread, meat and cheese, banana, almonds and a Coke to share. Sally pointed to a town up on the hill and guessed it was our destination, Gambassi Terme. I disabused her of the idea as it was at a right angle to our last direction of travel. She insisted. Out came the map (on my phone). Oops. She was right. We make a hard right just a half a mile ahead and then climb for the next 2.8 miles to reach the town.

The day has become warm. Not hot like our friends Susan, Tom, Jonathan and Franny had experienced, for us a mere 69°. But with the sun beating down on us and a long climb underway, it began to wear on Sally. We kept to the shade where possible. With the sun low in the sky as winter approaches long shadows off the trees provided shade that would not have been available a month ago. Still, she grew uncomfortably warm. Combine four elements, lack of sleep the night before, uphill climb, hot sun and end of the day mileage and the result is fatigue. About a third of the way up, after a short but steep section we came upon a young woman sitting at a picnic table. Any place to sit is a welcome sight so we joined her. As the conversation progressed we learned she was originally from Russia, moved to London, married, divorced, moved to Florence, married the Italian National race car driver and now lives out here on a high end tourist facility with villas and rooms to rent. She was a beautiful woman, but the vibe we got was she new it and used it to get what she wanted in life. How judgmental of us. She offered to let us use the pool while we washed our clothes. Surprisingly, we turned her down. It just didn’t feel right. We started up the hill again and soon she passed us in her car, heading to town to pick up her four year old. If she had stopped to offer Sally a ride that is one offer we would not have turned down.

Our route hit the main road to town. Soon we were passing bus stops. The conversation turned to riding the bus to the town, a little less than two miles further up the hill. We passed two more stops, then hit a particularly steep section that sealed the deal. We had passed a bus stop at the bottom of it and she toyed with the idea of walking back down to it to catch the bus. I was sure there was a bus stop just ahead. The scheduled bus would be here in less than 20 minutes so time was of the essence. Rather than backtrack, I dropped my pack and ran ahead. Sure enough, 200 yards ahead, on gently ascending ground was another bus stop. We made it to it with a few minutes to spare. I scanned the QR code on the bus stop sign to download their app, but didn’t finish reading how to ride the bus before the bus arrived.

We were only about 0.2 miles from the hostel we were supposed to be staying at (we had made reservations last night and could see it from the bus stop) but it was 3/4 of a mile below the town. We thought we would ride the bus to town, enjoy our afternoon there and then walk down. Good plan, don’t you think?

Unlike our experiences last year, this bus driver actually wanted us to pay the bus fare. I had €4.80 in change in my hand. I was sure that would be enough. Not quite. It was €2.50 each. He let us on with the €4.80, somewhat exasperated with our ineptitude at riding his bus. A mile later and 300 vertical feet we were in town. It was about 2:00, meaning everything was closed. We walked around the corner to a gorgeous green park with its bordering piazza, found an open cafe, got Cokes and rested at a table.

. . . hmmmm

This town is lively and cute. Why do we want to walk 3/4 of a mile down to a hostel and miss the evening in town. A quick search of the guidebook and booking.com revealed the Gambassi Hotel offered a room for €60, the same price as the hostel, actually cheaper because we would have had to eat the dinner they served at the hostel for €15 each. I called the hotel. She said she would meet us in 10 minutes. It was 100ft from the table we were sitting at, just around the corner. I called and cancelled at the hostel. Good decisions!!

We moved into our room about 2:15, relaxed for a few, then went in search of the thermal bath here in town, just two blocks away. We found it, but at only 93°F it was too cold for my liking, plus the €35 price was too steep. We returned to our room, plotted tomorrow’s adventures and then headed to the grocery about 3/4 mile away for makings of a cold dinner. We settled on scissor salad with added tuna and corn. We ate it in the same park outside, now dark and filled with town folk. Must have been 60 people there. Maybe 15 kids. We struck up a conversation with a woman. Turns out the town is here every night until 7:00, then everyone goes home to cook dinner, to be served about 8:00. Little kids in bed by 8:30, adults in bed about 10:00. She was very sweet and generous with her time.

With salad complete, we headed up to our room for the night. We left the town square knowing we were “in” Italy, not viewing it from outside. As far as we could tell, we were the only “non-locals” in the piazza that night. We are so blessed to have the health to be able to do this.