Rome to Balsena - Day 87

Date: November 13th, 2009
Distance: 121km
Country: Italy
Song of the Day: Footsteps - Pearl Jam

Left the hostel late. I didn't really feel like rushing out the door. I should have, but I was feeling lazy. After three nights of knowing where I was going to sleep, I didn't want to get back on the road. Getting out of the city was amazingly easy though. I only had one hiccup when I went over the pedestrian bridge across the Tiber instead of the car bridge. Once I had that sorted out, it was a straight shot up the Via Cassie.

The morning and early afternoon was gorgeous as well. The sun was out and shining. I even took my shirt off to get a little sun. (If I am going to Africa I wouldn't mind a bit of a tan...) In fact, I don't know that it rained at all when I was in Rome. The forecast was for rain each day. Instead it was sunny every day. Again, I don't know to what I owe the wonderful weather, but I am glad it is there. In the early afternoon it did start to cloud up, and i put my shirt back on. Still, no rain, though.

The sun did go down as I left the town of Viterbo. So I had to go the next 30 klicks in the dark. I was hoping to get a camping site around Lake Balsena. They were all closed. No one was even around to bargan with. I did hit upon a good idea though. Some of the agritourism sites were also camping spots. Since this is like a B&B, I assumed someone lived there all year. Eventually, I was right. The second one I tried was open and would let me camp. There was no bathroom or shower, but that was fine with me. I just needed a place to pitch my tent. It feels good to be in the tent again.

-Dravis