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| At the start in Upello |
Here are a few of the views that amazed me on the way:
But it wasn't all about the views. I also met a couple of groups of pilgrims. Firstly a group of three Germans who approached me whilst I was having a drink near the end of my walk. They didn't have such good views from Sassopiano as the clouds didn't allow them to see much beyond a couple of metres. This made me sad for them but very grateful I was able to see what I had when I came over only the day before them. One of them was also having problems with his knee so we reckon it was the descent that caused issues for both of us. I also discovered that one of them had been in Oxford last week!
The other pilgrims were a family heading north - not something I'd have done with two small children and a babe in arms! Makes my walk look way easier.
So lovely to connect with folk on the way - and to wish them Buon Cammino!
God and I had a Buon Cammino today too - and I was inspired to write this:
Psalm of the mountain
I know You are with me Lord
You walk with me every step of this journey that I am on
You give me hope in the citrus yellow of a tiny plant defiantly growing amid the gravel in the face of adversity
You bring me joy in the flutter of a white bright orange winged tipped butterfly dancing around in the bright sunshine
And You provide me with peace in the sound of birdsong that is my constant soundtrack as I walk these mountain paths.
I know You are with me Lord
Revealed in the beauty of creation
You are with me in each moment
And I am thankful and I give you my praise.
Amen
Thank you for your prayers too - the knees lasted out the journey and aren't feeling too bad right now. Hopefully they'll continue to feel ok in the days that come.
I still was glad to get to the place I'm staying overnight though.
I will admit to meeting my first dog on the pilgrimage yesterday - he was very vocal, but behind a fence and actually sounded like a squeaky toy gone wrong, so not that scary!
Today I met another couple. The first one was loose outside his house and barked an awful lot clearly wanting to defend his house from me which I did find a bit intimidating.
He was called Max - I know this because his owner shouted his name a lot but he completely ignored her and carried on barking at me and even followed me for a bit just to make sure I wasn't sticking around!
The second dog was behind a fence and simply wagged his tail at me - a much more pleasant encounter!.
His name tag said "Ettore" and he had a very sweet face and wasn't scary at all!