Giuseppe’s recommendation for supper last night turned out to be a very good Osteria serving home-cooked food at very reasonable prices. A kind Italian gentleman, who used to work in the oil industry based in Aberdeen, came to our rescue to act as translator as there was no written menu. He said he was more used to the Scottish accent, but managed admirably with our southern inflections! We enjoyed one of the best stews we’ve had so far – translated as veal, but we’re pretty sure it was beef – and the ‘frites’ (which weren’t at all like chips) were very good too.
We woke refreshed from a good night’s sleep, and made a leisurely start as we had only 8kms to walk today after splitting a long stage into two. It was just as well because liberal rubbing of Voltarol and two Ibuprofen tablets last night had alleviated but not resolved the problem with Julie’s left knee. As we left the sun was shining, though the wind was brisk and cold, and there were dark clouds gathering ominously off to the north. Retracing our route to the restaurant we stopped off at a cafe in the main street to buy lunchtime sandwiches, and then carried on out of town heading generally south on the road.
Most of today’s walk followed the tarmac road from Torrenieri to San Quirico, like yesterday’s route winding its way snake-like up, around and down several hills. The double and triple bends didn’t seem to deter some very fast drivers so we were careful to walk on the outside of the bends so as to be seen. On the hillsides near Torrenieri a few people were out repairing trellises in the vineyards, but much of the higher ground was uncultivated and looked to be poor grazing too – not that we’ve seen any grazing animals so far.
For a while it looked as though the squally showers scudding through from the southwest might bypass us, but by mid-morning our luck ran out. When the rain came it was short and sharp, but wet enough to make us don caghoules and pull the rain covers over our packs. The showers continued to ride through but there was little rainfall overall – certainly not enough to keep the farmers happy after an exceptionally dry winter.
A couple of kilometres out of San Quirico our route left the tarmac road to cross under a flyover carrying another road. We then followed alongside the new road on a good track uphill towards a large farmhouse undergoing restoration. It looked as though the new owners were also putting a lot of resource into replanting the large gardens and restoring the surrounding tracks. After a short stop at one of the many seating areas we’ve passed set up by the Senese Walking Group, the path took us through an area of woodland before emerging back into fields to reveal views of San Quirico.
Today we saw several more spring flowers in bloom, including some very ornate daffodils or narcissi, mimosa, bugloss, and a yellow flower we’ve not yet identified. Any botanists out there able to help?
For the last half kilometre we had good views of San Quirico, a walled village sitting on top of its hill, as well as back across the valley in the direction of Torrenieri. Our track joined a tarmac road to climb up towards the village centre. We were chased (but only just!) by a small three-wheel truck struggling up the steep hill on its tiny engine. A short final steep climb up some steps brought us to the Porta Camaldoli, one of four gates into the old medieval village. Just inside the gate a busy and colourful fruit and vegetable market was in full swing.
We easily identified our billet just inside the Porta Camaldoli, but had to walk on further to the 4-star hotel in the village centre to check in. The hotel owners have bought up and renovated a number of rental properties, as well as running a restaurant and a couple shops. A very enthusiastic young man with good English checked us in after ascertaining that we could go into our room early, and then escorted us back down the street to show us to our room.
Leaning out of our bedroom window we can see the 13-14th century Pieve dei Santi Quirico e Giulitta, with its romanesque arched west door and knotted pillars seated on lionesses. Inside there is a memorial to Mother Teresa, though we were unable to find out whether she had any connection with San Quirico. We were also interested to find a small plaque tucked away in a corner commemorating a nun who had contributed to the musical life of the church community for many years – something that took us several years of negotiating Church of England bureaucracy to achieve in our own village church.
As we were unable to dry clothes at our last billet, the first task was to get the laundry drying on radiators here. The second task was to find somewhere for lunch. And finally, we needed a rest as we are about to break our rule of taking a rest after five days of walking by walking six days in a row to get to a town of reasonable size for our next rest day.
So, a short day – just two and a half hours to get from Torrenieri to San Quirico. It took longer than that to write the blog!