I’m at that stage where I see the finish but don’t really want it to stop. I’ve found a type of emptiness before on these trips when I wake up and there’s nowhere to go – the tracks come to an end but I want to keep going – but what for? – that is my reflective moment for now.

While last nights dwelling was superb with a small exquisite dining room (closed tonight) just across from our room, the medieval nature of the village was spoiled somewhat by cars speeding through its narrow cobbled streets – it also meant the people couldn’t really gather peacefully and talk as happens in nearly all other villages we have passed through.

Away from this noisy street in the main part of town, was a quiet lane in the back part. Through a narrow door and into a quaint bar area we ordered drinks. The very friendly man added chips and a type of tapas for two to the order. We ordered another 2 drinks and this time prosciutto, cheese and toast were added. When paying the bill we expected an inflated one but this man had seen we were walkers or new to town – the food (a lot of it) was free. Trying to be very Italian I just paid and walked out trying to show my in depth knowledge of Italian bar eating – luckily Corrie ‘got it’ and thanked him profusely.

A flat path for most of the day which was really handy because Corrie twisted her ankle early this morning and twisted ankles don’t like hills and persistent people will not stop. So, at last, the final item in my medicine kit was used – the bandage, to strap the ankle that won’t rest. As usual she finishes the last 4km at a pace exceeding 5km per hour, so fortunately, it was mostly level.

I passed a couple in their thirties – he was Italian, she was Spanish. Corrie was not at top speed yet, and it was a hill (my best slope) so she didn’t get a chance to meet and have a Spanish catch-up, we’ll probably see them later. The male and female Swiss that passed us at different times yesterday, caught up with us in the Piazza. As most people seem to complain about politicians, not so this middle aged Swiss couple. There are 7 people in charge (very harmonious) and we vote on nearly everything, they said.

A small village drew us into its welcoming bar as we rested at the half way mark – a key indicator for us and a reward for having achieved an important daily milestone. Our book told us that there was an access dispute just out of town where we might have to use the unsafe ‘no path highway bridge’. It seemed the people on the safe ‘backlane path’ would not allow walkers through. Deciding to give it a go we took the safe lane. Immediately an angry older woman jumped on to the path with 4 angry dogs, and all we heard her say was “dogs” – we took the unsafe lane because it seemed safer.

A huge lake took our focus today as we left a small village. It was there as we left and still there as we walked out of town. It showed us its fullness as we later climbed a hill and it peeked through the trees at us as we poled along a ridge in and out of woods and olive groves that swept down to its edges. In full view again it was a welcome companion, a new one, in fact the first of its kind and it will also meet up with us again tonight.