What a luxury to have a dorm room all for yourself. I woke up and the first thing I heard was thunder. There went my plan to leave early. Buckets of rain forced me to wait. By 9h30 the first storm cleared, but the second already arrived in the far distance. I decided to give it a go anyway. The friendly lady at the reception told me that her radar gave no more rain. I was like: it starts dripping and the incoming clouds are black. But the lady was right. Like a miracle, the dark clouds went into other valleys. Even when the situation looks bad, always remain positive. The temperature was perfect around 20 degrees. I was a happy hiker, but one with a tough day ahead. According to my guidebook, this is probably the toughest stage of the whole Via Francigena: 900m up and 500m down over 19km. I first walked through the charming neighbourhood of Martigny Bourg and then past the railway station. I could actually take a train here to the end of my walk, but no no no. After the last buildings, the trail quickly started climbing and turned round and behind the mountain following the river Dranse. In some place, the trail is narrow with sheer drops, so not recommended if you have fear of hights. I loved it! A big suspension bridge brought me to the hamlets of Les Valettes and Bovernier. In that last village, I had lunch next to the church. There was nobody around, so I could only hear the sound of the fountain. In general, the valley is not so quiet because of the railway and the busy road. All these cars will do in an hour what will take me three days, but they will never experience the col du grand st bernard like I will. With renewed forces, I was ready for the next challenge: the tricky path to Sembrancher. Moss covered boulders fallen over millenia from the mountainside above are spread out on the trail. So this part involves scrambling sometimes with a deep drop to the river next to you. It added some extra adventure to the day, but it asks a lot of energy as well. I was especially carefull not to injure myself. Twist my ankle here and my Via Francigena would be over. I reached Sembrancher without damage. First above a commercial district and along the railway station, then into the charming center of the village. I took a break next to the colourful houses surrounding the church. Around 15h30, it was time to move on. Another turn and again one level higher, bit by bit closer to the summit. The path to La Garde was the steepest of the day. On the central square, I found a little chapel open. It had a wooden floor and was constructed in 1695. The last stretch to Orsières was easier. I met a lady walking two horses and a donkey. Later I helped a men who was stuck with his van on a 4x4 track where he shouldn't have been. The path approaches Orsières from above. The mighty col appeared shortly out of the clouds. At 18h, I dropped my backpack in front of the church. I did it! But where was the gite? The office de tourisme gave me the door code, but not the correct address. I wandered around an apartment block to then finally find it. Fieuw. And who was inside? There was a Dutch woman walking to Rome all the way from Almere. She started on June 1st. And Eugenio, an Italian man who just retired. He was walking from Rome to Canterbury and then from there maybe to Compostella. He didn't know yet, but he wanted to keep walking for years. When I entered, I was immediately offered a drink. They also invited me to eat with them. What a hospitality and friendship. That makes these journeys so special. To realise that there are so many nice and good people. The gite was comfortable with hot showers, a kichen and comfy mattresses for only 15 CHF. Because there had been abuse, police often comes in to check the pilgrims passports but not tonight. I had an amazing evening, but around 22h the light went out. Tonight I'm at 887m, tomorrow I will be at 1637m. Another tough day ahead in the beautiful Alps.
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AuthorMy name is Dimitri and I'm turning 40 in 2023. Through the years, I have tried to live my dreams. Everything is possible, the sky is the limit as long as you believe in your dreams and work hard to make them happen. Do what you never did before. Go where you have never been before. It will be scary, but it will also be worth it! Archives
July 2024
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