Hiking Adventures Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Cruisin with the Colemans

VF Day 16-18: Finding Joy in the Long, Flat Road & Teaching

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

This long flat road from Santhia to Pavia reminds me first of the Meseta on the Camino Frances only longer. My photos are all same, I am tired of the views, and my inspiration isn’t coming like it was just a few days ago. It also reminds me of how a 15 week semester can feel.

Finding the beauty when the terrain doesn’t change

At the beginning of the semester everyone is filled with excitement, the students are diligently reading the assigned chapters, and they have set lofty goals for the term. Even after 24 years, I am inspired by their enthusiasm every single time… and then we settle into a routine.

Before long the honeymoon phase is over. The students are working two jobs, have a family, and are taking a full load of classes. They aren’t reading consistently before they come to class. I’m trying to raise their energy level but they are realizing how lofty their goals really were from the start.

I’m swamped with grading, committee work is intense and usually a waste of time, but dang it I have a job to do. I want them to love Public Speaking. See, see I have lofty goals too. Haha!

Teaching is much like being on a pilgrimage. In the beginning we are excited to embark on the new adventure, we are instantly inspired by everything around us, have completed the research, and oh yes, we have set our own lofty goals.

Then the routine settles in. We are more experienced than the typical student so we think we are ahead of the game. This is our third pilgrimage, so we are well-versed about what the routine will be – eat, walk, eat, walk, wash clothes, eat, sleep, repeat. But it only takes one tough semester for a student to figure out their routine. Experience can happen quickly out of desperation to stay afloat.

Something happens in the semester that requires a lot more of my energy to build them up, engage them, and remind them how important Public Speaking really is to their future. Good thing I am the queen of passion when it comes to Communication courses. I need that same mustering up of spark when the days on pilgrimage are long and boring.

Just like in a semester, on pilgrimage, I know what happens after the honeymoon phase is over. It’s the same thing that happens to me, my students, and yes, even to my professional clients. Life happens. All of a sudden you realize the five other projects you have put off doing and now they are due, someone gets sick, a bad nights sleep, maybe something stole your creativity, or maybe your schedule feels too monotonous to bear.

We are currently in the part of our pilgrimage where my creativity was stolen and, at the same time, my schedule is feeling quote monotonous. Some days Brian is the creative one. Have you seen his animated video game YouTube video from our walk? If not, click here. Other days, I try to be the creative one. Here’s my attempt at a TV show on the Via Francigena, click here.

We make a great team and together we get through the tough days. In comparison, I wish I could team teach. Creativity multiplies amongst creative people. A team gives one person the space to have a bad day, work through their emotions, while the other person cheers the team along.

Until the day comes when I can team teach, I will learn the lesson before me – a team comes from anyone around you and I when I don’t have my husband with me, I usually have an outstanding group of students eager to be on my team.

I look forward to the days ahead, the next phases of our pilgrimage, and I pray for that easy feeling of daily inspiration. I will continue to make notes which will come in handy when inspiration in low in my “regular life.” For now, I will rely on my teammate while on this pilgrimage.

Check out these two days on YouTube!

Then check out our ridiculous attempt at singing our way through the Via Francigena on this YouTube video!

Walking stats from Robbio to Mortara – 15.78 km

Lodging – B&B Antica Corte Lombarda – € 77

Walking from Mortora to Tromello – 13.6 km

Lodging – Hotel Duca di Tromello – € 75

Train from Tromello to Garlasco – 5.4 km. Walk from Garlasco to Pavia – 18 km

Lodging for 2 nights in Pavia – B&B Castellani – €171

*Listing our accommodation is not an endorsement. This is just a point of information for fellow pilgrims. See our reviews on Booking.com, the guidebooks, and fellow pilgrims for more details to make the decision best for you.

The VF Day 14 & 15: Toilet Paper, Food, & A Soft Bed

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Ramblings from the Via Francigena…

I don’t ask for much when we’re on pilgrimage. Having our most basic needs met is really all we desire which means availability of decent toilet paper, food, and a soft bed. 😆 Unfortunately, that is asking too much at times. 😏 The biggest difference between the pilgrimage we are on and the traditional understanding of backpacking is the aforementioned luxuries.

Remember the toilet paper crisis of 2020? How could we forget! Toilet paper is still an important topic though, right? Let me tell you during the first week of this pilgrimage, we had outstanding toilet paper. Oh Switzerland, I don’t know what you do to make your toilet paper so grand but I would love to invest stock in it and bring it to the United States. I mean, it’s that good, friends. Since we have arrived in Italy the quality has diminished. I think you understand the challenge and I’m sure I have said enough on the topic.

You read about my challenges with finding food in an earlier blog, if you didn’t, click here. Lately, finding food has not been too much of a problem. We do need to review where we are walking each day to ensure there will be a stop for food. If there isn’t, we have to prepare for the long stretch without food by finding a market the night before. We start walking early in the morning to beat the heat. Unfortunately dinner isn’t typically served until at least 7 p.m. but I am grateful at this point for finding food at all. I’m sure there will be more on good in future blogs.

My last rambling today is about the importance of a good nights sleep. Let me say, as a backpacker, my lightweight backpacking inflatable mattress is often more comfortable than the beds we have slept in since entering Italy.

I wish I would have brought my inflatable mattress but I didn’t know it would be this much of a problem. I thought the snoring of other pilgrims would be my biggest issue. But, nope! Don’t get me wrong, I am not looking for the most luxurious feather bed. I would just prefer the bed be more comfortable than the ground. It is hard enough to walk this many miles day-after-day but when you add a bad nights sleep to the mix, it makes the walking even more challenging.

Last night was the first time in a week I had an outstanding night’s sleep. I wish I could take that bed with me. Today’s walk was easier because my low back and hips weren’t screaming at me.

Maybe I’m asking too much. Maybe I want to think about more than just my most basic human needs. I am a researcher of Maslow and I know I can’t self actualize if I am always worried about my basic needs. Maybe I should stop worrying and be thankful for a roof over my head and any toilet paper at all. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about self actualizing. Maybe I already have or maybe I should just stop rambling about all of it.

That’s all I have for you today. Be thankful for your bounty, your bed, of course, your toilet paper!

Stats walking from Santhià to Vercelli – 10 km plus a train for 16 km so we could enjoy an afternoon in Vercelli. We definitely should have planned a rest day here, what a great town! Check out our YouTube video too!

Lodging at La Terrazza Vercelli Bed & Charme – €118 – outstanding bed and air conditioning on a very hot day. Paid too much but worth it for an outstanding nights sleep!

Stats walking from Vercelli to Robbio – 17.64 km. Check out our YouTube video here!

Lodging for at Agriturismo Pescarolo/Casa del Pellegrino – €60 for a private room with a shared bathroom and back to the typical bed with no air conditioning.

The Via Francigena Day 13: A Contemplation Bench

Posted on June 13, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Sometimes we all need a spot to rest, to think, to regroup, to pause, and of course, to contemplate.

Considering how I felt about the long downhill walk into Aosta, Italy

When we did our practice Camino on the Little Miami Scenic trail in March, see blogs here, I needed more benches then I ever saw along the trail. The trail is more designed for cyclists so there were plenty of benches, just further apart. I’m not complaining, it was way too cold to sit and consider anything other than, “Dang, I’m cold!”

It was while I was reminiscing about my feelings from March on our first day of walking the Via Francigena when I saw a bench and said to Brian, “I need a minute to contemplate.” What I wanted to say was, “I’m tired, I can’t believe we’re doing this, what were we thinking, I’m too fat, I’m not ready, this is hard, Rome is far away…” You get the idea. It was one big holy cow moment.

Taking a moment to contemplate on our 2nd day of walking

Ever since that day, when we pass by a bench I say to Brian, “Do you need a minute to contemplate?” Unless of course I have already told him I need a minute. There’s a lot of value in acknowledging your emotional state, sitting down to think about what you need, how to say something, or what you can do about what you’re feeling, before just pushing onward. It’s definitely a metaphor we can apply to how we communicate with our partner.

When we push through our emotions, trying to ignore any pain we are feeling, we are doing a disservice to others who have to be around us in that state. Emotions are a tricky beast. One minute we can be dancing in the streets, having that I’m on top of the world feeling. The next we trip over a rock on an old Roman road and are mad at the world for putting us in that position.

We know the Roman’s didn’t come back from the past to move the rock so we trip over it, but sometimes, if we aren’t managing our emotions, it can feel that way. Sometimes that top of the world feeling is genuine, other times there is something we are trying to suppress, so in turn, we need a contemplation bench.

We don’t need to stop at every bench we see but we do intentionally contemplate our feelings before they get out of control. Brian and I are together 24/7 as we tax our bodies to their maximum during the hottest days of summer.

We’re together this much most summers so it’s not like it’s something new but it’s not every year that we decide to backpack over 900 kilometers in 50 days. Wow, I need a contemplation bench.

A beautiful place to rest or contemplate provided by someone who lives on the Via Francigena

I will leave you with this, contemplating your emotions before they explode will help you and the ones you love. Just pull up a contemplation bench and rest in what you feel until you understand it yourself. Your relationship will thank you.

Stats walking from Roppollo to Santhià – 16 km. Check out our YouTube video too!

Lodging for 2 nights at Hotel Ristorante Vittoria– €144 – what we liked about this accommodation was that patrons of the hotel had full access to the bar and restaurant even though it was closed to the public on Monday.

The VF Day 11 & 12: Slow Down, Happiness is Trying to Catch You

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

2017 Camino de Santiago going into Pamplona

This photo came up on my Facebook memories today. It’s ironic and funny because without seeing that picture I asked Brian to take the picture below.

I’m always exhausted after a day of hiking in the heat and sun. Despite the exhaustion, I am called back to the trail all the time. I don’t know what calls me, I don’t know why we are called to walk on pilgrimage at all. Maybe it’s because we love slow tourism, maybe it’s a reason we don’t need to know yet. It feels weird to say it but it’s true – I’m exhausted even though we have been moving slowly all day. Happiness found us while on pilgrimage.

I do know with two pilgrimages under our belt, working on a third, our lives have drastically changed since that first walk in 2017. We made a big decision that first summer while on pilgrimage. We decided we couldn’t let life to pass us by, we could not live our lives from the couch. We needed to participate in our lives, live what little time we are given on this Earth to the fullest. As cliché as that sounds, it profoundly changed every decision we have made since that summer.

In 2017 we got off the plane in Columbus, Ohio, and after 2 full days of travel wearing the same stinky clothes we had worn for two months, we stopped at an RV dealership. We purchased an RV within a week of coming home.

We learned from that pilgrimage, we want to see as much of the US and the world as possible. We don’t want to be tourists, we want to engage, to fully immerse ourselves, as we travel.

Despite a pandemic, our travels really have not stopped. Because of that RV purchase, we were able to see more of our country than the average person as we were self-contained and not willing to stay inside. We were safe, we were smart, but we needed to live.

In 2017, I was an overwhelmed, exhausted, pushing the limits of my mental and physical capabilities, woman. Now, I am just a little less overwhelmed, still exhausted but happier, and driven harder to see more before time slips away. Exhaustion is not a bad thing, rather it means you are living.

Pilgrimage is hard, even for the young, super-fit pilgrims. The long walk in the quiet grabs your soul and challenges you to think about what’s most important in life. It makes you a bit thankful, a bit happy, a bit sad, and gives you the urge to push through those feelings. What else can do that to a person all in one day?

In 2018 we started Cruisin’ with the Colemans because we realized we needed to start documenting all of our travels. Then in 2019, just before we went on our second pilgrimage, the Caminho Portuguese, we started our YouTube channel.

We blog/create videos because we are called to tell the stories of our travels. We want to inspire others, give our students something to consider as they figure out how they want to live their lives, and most importantly, to give our kids/grandkids the drive to get out and live. Ultimately, we want the memories. When our days of travel are behind us, we can “pull out the projector” and reminisce of a life lived to the fullest. We can only dream.

For those of you who are following our stats on the Via Francigena, I have not forgotten about you. My blogs are about what inspires me each day. However, I know there are some that want to know where we are staying and how much a day on this pilgrimage costs. Here is a catch up of our stats/lodging/expenses below. By the way, I will talk about our budget and how we fair at the end of our pilgrimage. Preview: For us, we are on track to staying under our budget!

Stats walking from Pont Saint Martin to Irvea 13.5 km with 5 km additionally by bus. Check out the YouTube video too!

Lodging at La Palma 2.0 – €48 – best accommodation thus far!!
Bus tickets for 2 – €4

Stats walking from Irvea to Roppollo – 20.2 km. We highly recommend going past Viverone, on to Roppollo and staying at this albergue. The guide book stage ends in Viverone. There are private rooms, great hosts, and there is an outstanding trattoria with a pilgrim meal for €12 for dinner! Check out our YouTube video too!

Lodging at La Casa del Movimento Lento – €50 for two people in a private room

Gluten is Not My Friend

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Oh how I wish we were the best of friends. The pastries, the pizza, the pasta, the bread, Lord have mercy, the bread. I want to have a relationship with these foods like no other relationship I have had before. Sorry, Brian but you get me.

I don’t want to linger on this discussion because I made a decision many years ago that my life will not be defined by whether or not I eat gluten. But I do think it’s an important topic for those who care to understand how I manage my food allergy.

Let me take you back to our first pilgrimage in 2017 on the Camino Frances in Spain. I ate zero gluten the entire trip and, with regards to food, I was miserable. I hated missing out, I hated have to explain my food allergy to every sweet person trying to give food to a hungry pilgrim, but most of all I hated being defined by my food allergy.

In 2019 when we walked part of the Camino France and all of the Camino Portuguese, I decided food allergy be dammed, I am eating whatever I want. LOL My body said, “Oh you want to play that game, let me show you who’s really in charge.” Guess what? It’s not the mind, it’s the stomach. I paid a hefty price on that pilgrimage. I had breathing issues, anxiety, and the horrific, constant wheat belly. When I eat gluten, my belly protrudes and makes me look very round in the middle until is processes through my body at a snails pace as it impacts my breathing. I didn’t want to believe the gluten was to blame, denial was much easier to manage.

Fast forward to when we decided to go on another pilgrimage. I spent the year working with my doctor to ensure my heart and lungs were functioning well (since I developed breathing issues). I got a colonoscopy where my doctor did two different tests for celiac disease. He confirmed that I do not have celiac disease. Well, there’s a win!

I went to my allergy doctor, we decided to go ahead with a food allergy test. Guess what? Dang it, it was confirmed that I am allergic to wheat. Not the, “you will go into anaphylactic shock,” type of allergy but one step down, a moderate allergy. I already knew that but my mind needed the confirmation. Now what? I am going to Italy! I am eating the pasta! Ughh!! But I will not let my food allergy define me.

I did some research and found a gluten relief pill to help ease the pain my body goes through to process wheat. Click here to see what I use.* It’s not a perfect system, but as long as I take it before I eat wheat, my body processes it a bit faster. I still have a bit of breathing issue and my belly still protrudes some but it helps the wheat process faster.

On pilgrimage, the greatest problem is that we are at the mercy of those who are providing food for us. Some places we stay only have bread and coffee for breakfast as that is typical for Italians. I am not going to hike on coffee alone. See my blog, “I’m Hungry and I Don’t Want to Talk About It.” Therefore, I avoid gluten when I can, I take the preventative pill and eat it when I have to do so.

Life is a delicate balance of choices whether you have a food allergy or not. Sometimes we eat too much, drink too much, and that’s just life. My allergy will not define me, it’s just part of the consideration when I make choices. I can feel a life lesson in there, can you?

On this day, I found gluten free snacks! And a cappuccino with chocolate. 🥳

*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

VF 9 & 10: Road Walking vs. Trail Walking

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Sometimes the two are one in the same when you are walking the Via Francigena. Other times we assess what route looks the best and go for that one!

Yesterday we walked from Saint Vincent to Arnad. We decided to just take the road. It meant a flat walk and just under 10 miles of walking. The official route was the same distance just had a lot more elevation changes.

It was a safe passage, with either a sidewalk or a shoulder most of the way. The only challenge was when there was construction on the road. They weren’t too happy to have us pass by the construction zone but alas it all worked out. Since we are still getting in our walking/pilgrimage groove so we will take the less challenging walk if it’s possible and practical.

Today was a bit different. We could have walked the road but there was a lot to see along the path. We would have missed some beautiful scenery and the road wasn’t as safe as yesterday. There will be a YouTube video on what we saw today and it was gorgeous! The other great thing about today is that since we were only walking about 10 km or 6 miles today, we had plenty of time to stop and look around.

In the end, we are on pilgrimage while also on holiday so sometimes we will take an easier route, a more scenic route, and sometimes we just take a train. Our goal is to have fun, learn about Italy, be a tourist from time to time, and just take a nice, long walk together.

Pilgrimage is what you make of it.

Stats walking from Saint Vincent to Arnad – 14.7 km. Check out our YouTube video too!

Lodging at Hotel&Restaurant Armanac de Toubïe included breakfast — €64

Stats walking from Arnad to Pont St Martin – 11.73 km. Check out our YouTube video too!

Lodging at Agriturismo La Grange with no breakfast — €78.44

*Listing our accommodation is not an endorsement. This is just a point of information for fellow pilgrims. See our reviews on Booking.com for more details, if possible.

VF Day 7 & 8: Our First City in Italy – Aosta

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

After four challenging days of hiking going up and over the Swiss Alps, meandering through lots of Swiss and Italian villages, we have arrived in our first big city in Italy, the quant town of Aosta with a population of over 125,000 people. The big attractions are a Roman bridge, Roman theater, Roman wall, Roman crypt, and an 11 century cathedral. Check out our YouTube video to see Aosta. It’s our first glimpse of what is to come as we walk to Rome. Can you feel the excitement? It’s there I promise, I’m just tired.

We wandered the old town some, wanted to enjoy much more of the city but our calves are screaming at us. Getting out of bed this morning was frightening. Honestly I didn’t know how well I would make it to the bathroom because it hurt to stand up. Don’t worry, I made it successfully! Haha! By 10 a.m. our legs are feeling more normal.

I am sure the nice stretch our calves got on the way up the mountain helped us but right now we are tired. Therefore, keeping our “we’re on pilgrimage while on holiday” philosophy, we are taking an unplanned but welcome rest day.

Let me take you back to how this worked out. We stopped in Aosta for lunch but the original plan was to continue to the village of Nus. I have no idea why we weren’t stopping for the night in Aosta. I was probably more focused on being frugal. However, just like in my first blog, click here, you know we pivot well if we need to because of weather, circumstances, or our bodies tell us to slow down.

At lunch we had the realization we better check for food options in Nus because it’s a Monday. I haven’t mentioned this yet but a lot of places are closed on either a Sunday or Monday. We look ahead and sure enough, all of the restaurants in Nus were closed when we were planning to walk into town. Ugh, click here to read about the food issues this pilgrimage is already bringing up.

Here we go, time to pivot. We cancel our accommodation, unfortunately with a loss of €45, and booked a fabulous little B&B right on the plaza. By the way, the B&B has two rooms, pay the €5 extra and get the bigger room. We didn’t and the trash/street cleaning trucks made it feel like an earthquake erupted four times in the 6 a.m. hour. The other room had windows off the plaza and I’m going to assume it was quieter.

Hallelujah a rest day! We bus ahead to the village of Saint Vincent which is known for it’s thermal baths. We stay in a hotel with a pool and we have scheduled massages. I can’t tell you how happy this makes both of us. We are just at the beginning of this pilgrimage and we need to be kind to our bodies because we are asking a lot of them.

Check out our YouTube video from Aosta to Saint Vincent.

Stats walking from Echevennoz to Aosta – 14.46 km

Lodging at Maison Boch — €86

Stats from Aosta to Saint Vincent – we went by bus skipping 32 km on the Via Francigana for a rest day

Bus – €5.80
Pool time and massages and worth every euro! – €180
Lodging at Hotel alla Posta – €68

VF Day 6: I’m Hungry and I Don’t Want to Talk About It

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Right now my biggest struggle is food. There never seems to be enough of it. The Hospice we stayed at last night included breakfast. Unfortunately that breakfast was a few day old piece of bread with butter/jelly and tea. Neither one of us could finish our bread because it wasn’t sitting right. We planned to have “second breakfast” at our first town 5 kilometers into our walk. Unfortunately, maybe because it’s Sunday, nothing was open. We hiked on to the next town where we found a bar. At the bar we could have cappuccino, liquor, or packaged muffins. We skipped the liquor. For a moment, I was ok.

We planned to stop for lunch in Etroubles but it was down pouring rain, thundering, and at times we had hail, so we pushed on another 3 km to our destination for the day. We stopped at our accommodation to shower and put our bags down but nobody was home. We tuck our bags into a corner, walked down the big hill to the one restaurant in town. It’s sure to be open because there are a ton of cars.

We approach only to see a handwritten sign on the door, chiuso, closed. Noooo!!! I am starving! A gentleman comes to the door to tell us they are having a family reunion today, “maybe we can come back about 8 p.m. for dinner.” It’s 2 p.m. now. Since it’s a tiny village we ask about our accommodation. He tells us that our host is his brother, he will get him. Thankfully his brother drives us back up the hill, settles us in, and tells us about a restaurant at the last town back if we want food. It’s a 25 minute walk, one way. He made some joke about wine but I wasn’t willing to listen. I smile politely. I’m hungry and I don’t want to talk about it.

Let’s talk about our hiking day! You know the saying, “What goes up, must come down!” And boy did we climb down. We descended just over 1,200 meters (4,100 feet) in 15.4 kilometers.

The scenery was just as stunning with wildflowers in abundance. We even saw a mountain goat frolicking up the mountain. Check out our TikTok videos for about the same glimpse of him that we had!

The rain was intense but didn’t last long. All in all it was another spectacular day on pilgrimage. I just wish there was more food. Ok, I guess I want to talk about it again. We have completed a pilgrimage in Spain, the Camino de Santiago, and in Portugal, the Camino Portuguese. There was always plenty of food. By looking at me, I will survive without food for a day, probably more, but I am not as much fun to be around, just ask Brian. Haha.

It’s 6:30 p.m., Brian and I are distracting ourselves with writing/video editing, social media, anything but food conversations. The owner of our accommodation comes home. We settle up the bill, arrange a time for breakfast, and ask if his parents are open for dinner. He says yes! We arrive and there are 5 pilgrims already eating and laughing! What? We are late for dinner! I guess they know what time, “maybe 8 p.m.” is code for in Italian.

Alas, we have an outstanding meal of homemade pasta, pork and potatoes, salad, wine, tiramisu, and homemade grappa. A meal literally sent down from the heavens. I am no longer withering away, my belly is full. We will both sleep well tonight! It’s our biggest day of hiking yet tomorrow and are guaranteed a farm fresh breakfast. Tomorrow is going to be a good eating day, I just know it.

I know some of you want me to talk about the gluten issue and I will. I am just not ready to talk about it yet. In short, I am avoiding gluten when I can, taking preventative measures when I can’t. The bottom line is “wheat belly” or not, I have to eat. And yes, you can see in some of our videos when I have the unfortunate “wheat belly.”

Check out our YouTube video of this day!!

Stats for today:

Walked from Grand Saint Bernard Pass to Echevennoz at 15.4 km
Lodging at Affittacamere L’Abri— €84

Hiking the Via Francigena Day 4 & 5: Our Highest Pass

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

If I complain about any other climb, let me please remember this day. Oh, the climbing, all day long.

I kept repeating all day, “if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” I’m searching for change on this pilgrimage. I don’t know completely what change, but I’m sure it will reveal itself when it’s time.

The one thing I know about pilgrimage is whatever you think you’re searching for, most likely, isn’t the thing that will be revealed. I could list the changes I want to make, but I think it’s better to wait for enlightenment.

Honestly, the climbing wasn’t that bad except in a few places. The last 2 miles were the hardest of the day. Climbing is typically more mentally tough than physically. Your calves get a nice stretch all day and gravity isn’t pulling you down like on the downhills.

Fortunately the Alps are covered in wildflowers and that kept us quite distracted. When we led hiking groups and the hike us particularly challenging, many often hear me say, “Suck it up, buttercup!” Today I heard them all saying it back to me with every buttercup I passed by.

The biggest challenge we faced today was hunger. Last night we didn’t have much of a dinner because there was only one place open in Bourg Saint-Pierre. We didn’t grab any breakfast or lunch to go. Therefore, to climb this mountain we had the equivalent of gas station muffins and the protein bars we brought from home. We were absolutely famished when we got to the top.

When you’re on pilgrimage you’re always a bit stinky, hungry, and tired. I’m thankful it wasn’t hot while we were climbing. Tomorrow we live to hike again! May there be food options a plenty.

Walked from Orsiéres to Bourg Saint Pierre – 14.71 km. YouTube video from our walk!

Lodging at St. Peter’s House – 50 franks (cash only)

Walked from Bourg Saint-Pierre to Grand Saint Bernard Pass – 12.5 km. YouTube video from our walk!

Room & Board at the Hospice – 150 franks

VF Day 3 & 4: Hiking the Swiss Alps

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Cruisin Michelle

Somebody suggested I should let that thought sink in. I guess I hadn’t thought about until we were surrounded by mountains and the only way out is up and over. Wow, it’s sinking in.

I didn’t have a blog yesterday, I was having a rough day. It was raining, my shins were hurting, the terrain was challenging with rain, and we made the tough call to take the train to our evening destination. I struggle with feeling like I failed. I am going to leave my drive for perfection here in the Alps where perfect scenery is all around.

It ended up being a nice day despite us not walking. We had a fabulous room at the Hotel Terminus in Orsières. I spent much of the day with my feet up, ice on my shins, resting and reading. Taking a rest yesterday paid off substantially! Today my shins don’t hurt and I feel a lot better. I know it always pays off to take care of yourself but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to admit it and do it.

We did wander the small village of Orsières a bit, found a pharmacy, an outdoor/hiking gear store, and that was about it. If you need anything for the trek up to St. Bernard Pass, that is the last opportunity. We got a bit more Compeed, which is amazing stuff if you have a hot spot that has not turned to a blister yet. I swear by Compeed!

We enjoyed a nice dinner and when back to our rooms. A note about dinner though, we ordered a “half board” with our room reservation which is dinner and breakfast. However, unlike in Spain, wine is not included and – wow – was their wine expensive! Dinner included tap water, a small appetizer, main dish, and small dessert. Breakfast included breads, jellies, yogurt, ham, cheese, and coffee. Total cost for that half board without the wine was 156 franks! Yep, I was shocked too! It’s my fault, I should have asked how much the half board was and I would have known. Fortunately, our hotel room was only 40 franks for both of us at the pilgrim rate.

Today’s stats:

Martigny to Orsières – 1 km to the train station.
Hotel Terminus – 40 franks

Check out the YouTube video from these two days!

Let’s talk about today! I wish I capture this day to memory and never forget it’s beauty. We were rewarded abundantly for resting yesterday. Today was hard hiking but the beauty of the Alps is all around us. If you have seen pictures of the wildflower fields of the Alps, we spent the entire day walking through them. We wandered through a couple of villages, walked by the river all day, saw lots of cows with their traditional Swiss cowbells around their necks, a few piglets, endless wildflower fields, and mountains all around. I never want to forget this day.

The hiking was challenging, we walked uphill most of the day. It was 14 km and 800 meters (2,264 feet) of elevation gain. It took us about 6 hours plus a nice lunch break in Liddes for pizza that was bigger than my plate. I wasn’t going to eat it all but… well, I did. Tomorrow’s climb is 12.4 km but we will gain 1062 meters (3,484 feet) of elevation. But that’s tomorrow’s problem.

Today’s hike on the left, tomorrow’s on the right

Tonight we have an interesting accommodation. We are staying in Maison St. Pierre in the town of Bourg-Saint-Pierre. It is/was a religious building of some sort, there is history everywhere. The fireplace is dated 1822. It’s a traditional “pilgrimage” accommodation with 4 rooms. They all have twin beds, one room has 8 beds. We picked a room with only 3 beds and since we’re the only people in the entire place, I bet we’ll have not only the room to ourselves but the entire Maison. What’s unfortunate is that the room is more expensive than last night with our private room/private bath accommodation. It’s all part of the experience, hopefully dinner will be cheaper. Update: it wasn’t. 😏

We’ve quickly jumped back into our “pilgrimage” routine. We shower and hand wash our clothes immediately. We take time to check our feet, use the massage ball on them. This routine was challenging to work out during our first pilgrimage, but as this is our third, we just accept that is part of the adventure.

Next, we enjoy a bit of quiet time to blog/put a video together before we head out to find dinner. This blog and the video are important to us for capturing the experience. We hope it brings you joy, but most importantly, we want to be able to look back on what we’ve done. I mean, we’re hiking the Alps! Wowza, that’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see what Tuscany brings us.

The goal is to walk to Rome on the Via Francigena. We pray our bodies stay healthy, our motivation stays strong, and our relationship flourishes even more along the way.

Today’s stats:

Walked Orsières to Bourg-Saint-Pierre – 14 km
Hotel – 50 franks (cash only)