10. Tag Sansepolcro and Città di Castello

Today, it is an 8-hour walk to Città so Castello and there is a 60 percent chance of rain. I am told that the steep and rocky sections of the route can be strenuous and slippery in heavy rain. For my personal pilgrimage experience, the 30 percent chance of rain from yesterday is enough at this point, resulting in a heavy shower that lasted for over two hours. And so I decide to take the bus on my next leg. What I don't know at this point is that the rain will be with me for several more days. At some point, however, I will accept the vagaries of the weather with composure and stoically continue on my route. Only: I am not ready for that today.

A day in the city

The day off feels like I've been put in a corner from where I'm no longer allowed to take part. Unfortunately, I also missed out on visiting Montecasale and the Capuchin monastery. I read in the hiking guide that the stone bed on which Francis slept when he was here could have been seen here. What I don't know at this point is that there are several stone beds along the way where Francis slept, all of which I will see.

But now I have time for the town of Sansepolcro. It has a special flair, shines with many interesting museums, the history of the arts and crafts and the special furnishings of the churches, such as the replica of the Holy Sepulchre in the Chiesa di San Rocco (1556). It is unfairly treated somewhat stepmotherly in the guide and also on Wikipedia. I think Sansepolcro is worth a stop. There is enough to see.

The magic word

By the way, what is the magic word when you want to reserve a room over the phone? No, not "please", but "sono un pellegrino". This sentence opens doors on all other occasions too. You can find accommodation where there really aren't any left, and occasionally you get a discount on food. Most of the time, all you need is a backpack and dirty hiking boots and people will speak to you in a friendly manner. And you will always hear the greeting: "Buon cammino".

A boy of about 4 years old is standing on the path with his mother and grandmother. He asked me in Italian: "Are you going to Assisi?" I said yes and he called after me: "camminare con Dio". Behind me I could still hear the delight of my mother and grandmother. Later I read the translation of his greeting: "Go with God."

And now finally two kilograms lighter

Fate led me to a post office today. There I checked my backpack (which I had packed at home in a somewhat euphoric mood and was ultimately too heavy) for unimportant things. I am not alone among the pilgrims in realizing that I am carrying too much weight around. Everyone I have met in the last few days has at some point freed themselves of the least important things among the important ones.

I decide that I don't want to be prepared for the possibility of having to sleep outside, and the amount of hygiene products I have seems excessive after 10 days of pilgrimage. So I sort the contents of my backpack in front of everyone at the post office. Then I send a package. In order to implement this project, I unfortunately have to cause an uproar at the entire post office, because with my limited knowledge of Italian I can't explain my request in all the details. But with "sono un pellegrino", a friendly smile and after being weighed several times by an employee, I finally managed to determine 1966 grams of my excess luggage and find a corresponding box. Now the Italian post office is carrying part of the contents of my backpack to my home.