This week was quite hectic, so it took a bit to get this post out! 😅 After waking up in my tent near Buonconvento I hiked and hitchhiked all the way to Lago di Bolsena. As always for the whole trip, take a look at my Italy trip on my Haveyoubeenhere profile! 😄
Strada Provinciale del Brunello
A little after sunrise I continued my hike along the Via Francigena. At the start of the hike I was walking along fields filled with purple flowers as far as the eye could see, with the sun slowly reaching higher in the sky. As often is the case images can't quite capture it. At the start you hike along a bigger road, but after about a small hour the trail moved away from it and started going upwards to some incredibly scenic views.
Castello Tricerchi
Talking about scenic viewpoints, not far from the castle along the hiking trail there is a small table. While I didn't visit the castle itself, I took some time to take in the sights and decided to have lunch here. A bit of bread, cheese and some cookies I brought along did the trick! 😄 From this point on along the trail you get to really enjoy the typical Tuscan landscapes with rolling golden hills! I hiked until Torrenieri before I decided it was time to start hitchhiking again. In Torrenieri I met two other pilgrims, with whom I shared a lovely cup of cold of coffee and some short but great conversation!
Radicofani
At the start hitchhiking went quite easily, but eventually I found myself a little stuck in the middle of nowhere. The area was beautiful, but there was no shade at all and my water was running out. Luckily after about a good hour I got picked up and we drove up up up to Radicofani. A little village perched on top of a (high) hill. The views were quite incredible. After talking with some tourists there, who convinced me the best sandwiches in Italy could be found here, I decided to get one. It didn't disappoint, haha! 😄
My rating: 8/10
Strada Provinciale 24
From Radicofani I decided to follow the Strada Provinciale down. I thought it would be easier than following the Via Francigena trail as I wanted to keep hitchhiking onwards as well. Unfortunately, even though it's a big road, there was pretty much noone driving it. The views however descending along the curvy road were beautiful. About two hours into hiking a car passed me with an older musician who picked me up. We talked about a lot of subjects ranging from music to politics and more! 😄 To others I would suggest taking the Via Francigena trail down as I assume it's even more beautiful!
Yacht Club Bolsena
I decided to keep hitchhiking all the way to Lago di Bolsena. Which is simply said amazing. Not quite sure where I was going to camp out I started to hike along the lake. On Google maps I found a yacht club that was closed, I figured that could be a good opportunity. While the yacht club itself was officially closed, there were a few people around still and the bar was (somewhat) open. I decided to take a break and ordered a Desperados, they opened the beach entrance for me and it didn't take me long to jump in the water. Just the perfect temperature. I asked them if they knew I could camp out along the shore somewhere and they told me I could walk along the shallow water to a public beach where it shouldn't be a problem. So I set out with my feet in the water and backpack on my back, with the last bit of sun. I would run into a lovely woman and her dog on a small stretch of beach, who after a short conversation, offered me to stay at her place, but more on that later! 😄
My rating: 8/10
Join me on Haveyoubeenhere! 😄
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