Perugia to Terni - Day 82

Date: November 8th, 2009
Distance: 108km (+12km by car)
Country: Italy
Song of the Day: When the Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin

Woke up early and tried to get out of the city as soon as possible. This was a disaster. It took about an hour to find the right way out of the city. What a pain. I hate getting into and out of cities. Perugia isn't even a big city. The next town I was going to was just not listed on any of the signs.

Finally when I found it I got onto a path that was along a ridge line. So it was a lot of up and down. I had wanted to go along the valley below next to the train tracks. I figured that would be much more level. I just couln't figure out a way down. I didn't want to get stuck halfway down. So I kept going.

I ended up in Marsciano looking for the route to Todi. While asking people where to go, one nice guy named Giuseppe offered to give me a ride. He was heading that direction anyway. So I got 12 more kilometers in a car. Which was nice because it had started raining a bit. He dropped me off about 5 klicks out of town, and by that time the rain had stopped.

Sadly when I got to Todi the rain came back with a vengeance. First, a thunderstorm blew over. I sheltered under the awning for a gas station for a bit. When the rain let up a bit (but didn't stop) I started going again. Before long I was just soaked.

This is when I made a big mistake. I started going down a big hill that was supposed to lead to the next big town, Terni. Sadly this just led down to the Autostradt, a freeway where bikes can't go. Urg. So I had to push my bike back up this huge hill with 15% grades.

Back at the top, I kept going. The road eventually crossed the freeway again. My path became tiny, and I wasn't sure if I was going the right direction. At this point the second thunderstorm blew over. Then it started hailing. Hail! So I was soaked, cold, miserable and I didn't even know if I was going the right way.

I did finally get on the right highway to Terni. About 45 minutes before dark I passed an abandoned farmhouse and almost stopped to spend the night. But it was still light out and I wanted to keep going. I wasn't sure if I was going to regret that decision though.

I did get into Terni just after dark, so I felt pretty good. I hadn't checked if there was a hostel in town though. I asked around but no one seemed to know. Finally this group told me to go to "San Valentino". I figured there would be some kind of church run hostel.

When I got there, well no. I started talking with father Mario. Sadly I don't speak Italian very well. I think father Mario speaks Italian and French. Soon after Father Windel came up and helped sort me out. He invited me inside and made me some tea. He also started calling around to find somewhere I could stay. I thought it was local hostels, but it turns out it was other churches. He was trying to get me a bed in the preist's residence. When I told him I had a sleeping bag, he said that I was welcome to stay with them at Basilica di San Valanteno. How neat is that.

They didn't have a bed, but since I was contemplating sleeping in an abandoned farmhouse that didn't really matter. A roof to keep me out of the rain was all I needed. I did get a place to sleep and a hot shower. (It turns out there was a homeless shelter of the same name nearby. But that wasn't really a hostel.)

Father Windel even made me some dinner. We also sat around and talked for a while about my journey. He asked if I was a pilgrim. I couldn't exactly say yes to that, because I am not motivated to see any religious sites. Still, it is at least partially a spiritual journey. We also talked about his life and his own travels. I guess he was a priest for several years in Kiwait. We had a great time talking, even after I mentioned that I wasn't actually Catholic. We also ended up discussing various religions topics, like the amusing idea of the "one true bible". After that he even let me use their internet for a bit before going to bed.

-Dravis