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On our way out of Monselice, we climbed La Rocca, the hill behind the town. The ruins of an old fort grace the top of the hill, but on the other side of the hill is the sanctuary of the seven churches. This is a small section of road along which are six small chapels dedicated to a variety of saints, including St Lawrence, Mary, Peter and Paul. At the top of the hill is a larger church, which, unfortunately was locked up.
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| The Sanctuary of the Seven Churches |
We continued out of town. It was only a little after 8:00 AM, but the sun was hammering us like a blacksmith going after a molten horseshoe. We hiked a narrow asphalt road, no wider than a car and a half, but this did not encourage the drivers to slow down as they blasted past us.
As we drew deeper into the farmland of the Veneto, the roads straightened and the land flattened. I felt like a cookie on a gigantic cookie sheet. The road stretched ahead in a long straight line. From where I walked, I could see where I would be in 30 minutes. It was a long way off on a very flat surface. The road lacked shade trees or curves to disrupt the tedium. Power poles flanked both sides of the road, aiming at a vanishing point, recreating one of those ancient exercises in perspective that one does in elementary art classes. The lines of perspective converged on a single point, far too distant to be perceived.
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| Perspective |
On these brutally straight roads, the cars accelerated. They flashed by at 60 miles an hour, adding an adrenaline surge, a little frizzante of death to liven up our day.
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| Canal Pumping Station |
Ultimately we reached the Canale Grozone, a Hershey brown waterway tinged with green.The guidebook said to cross the bridge and then make a left turn to follow the canal east on the right hand bank. This however seemed impossible, as the path that ran along the bank was wildly overgrown. It obviously had not been mowed or maintained in quite some time.
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| Overgrown Bike Path |
After consulting the map and the GPS, we reversed course, back across the bridge, and found a nice bike path running along the top of the left (northern) bank of the canal. This brought us to Anguillara Veneta. Two more kilometers and we arrived in San Martino di Venezze, our stop for the night.
We reached our evening lodging, an Agriturismo about a kilometer out of town after 2:00. We were completely thrashed, and as we entered the compound, we strolled right into a wedding reception, more than 100 people in formal dress packed the courtyard. We were not appropriately dressed.
Fortunately, we were able to find our hosts without drawing too much attention. After showering and changing, we slipped back downstairs and found seats behind the building. A lovely waitress brought us food --- vegetarian lasagne, roast pork, gorgeous potatoes --- and a bottle of wine made from grapes grown in the vineyards around us. It was marvellous. After we allowed our late lunch/early dinner to settle, we put on our swimming suits for the first time this trip, and plunged into the saltwater pool. Out front, the wedding reception was entering its fourth hour. An Italian band played American classic songs --- Rawhide, Blue Suede Shoes, Johnny Be Good --- from sixty years ago. We floated around the pool, relaxing tired muscles and uncramping trail-bashed feet. The heat had gone out of the sun, clouds floated across an evening sky, and a cool wind brought relief after a long day.
Luxury---even modest luxury---after a day of hard walking is ever so sweet.
Today’s Distance: 25.5 KM
Total Distance: 413.2
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