13. Foot Fleece is your King

Radicofani to Aquapendente

Before I tell you about foot fleece I need to tell you more about our stay at the Agriturismo place last night. We had half-board which meant had dinner and breakfast included. In the past this has meant a rather disappointing dinner selection, but not last night. We were treated to a five course meal based on local produce and traditional Tuscan recipes and it was quite the nicest meal I have had here. The appetisers included the usual excellent cheeses and a wild boar salami, but there were also intesing tiny tarts and toasts and deep fried onion rings which is apparently a thing here. Soup was barley and lentil, pasta was tiny gnocchi with a parmigiano sauce, slow cooked wild boar and roast potatoes for meat course and dessert was a dark chocolate torte. They then produced the best breakfast we have had yet, this morning including fresh ricotta, honey still in the comb and scrambled eggs collected fresh this morning. Please add them to your must visit places. It is a family run farm and they are going to so much trouble to do things beautifully.

The rain came today, but as we opted to do the shorter route it was fine. It only came down heavily for a couple of hours and the rest of the time it was a mizzle. I discovered after writing to you yesterday about the ‘short cut’ that it is actually the offical route, and the much longer way just allows you to be away from the roads more. The route we took was relatively easy and we have no regrets. The climb up to Aquapendente, another quaint medieval town, was a mere 4km and we are staying in a fun looking hotel in the middle of town with a good looking casual restaurant downstairs. The rain is easing so we will have a wander around town soon.

Before I leave you I want to pass on what we have learned about blisters and injures over the years. We have done over 200km and I have no blisters and other than a slight knee twinge, no noticeable injuries. The lack of blisters is mostly down to foot fleece. We learned about this when we were hiking in New Zealand. It is basically raw sheeps wool. When you get a hot spot on your foot you tear off some wool, make it into a little pad and insert it inside your sock next to the bit that is rubbing. It binds with the wool of your sock and if it is really raw wool, the lanolin also helps your skin. I haven’t had a blister in 20 years since using this stuff. The other thing that is important is having shoes a half size bigger than normal as that gives you more space in front of your toes, so they don’t get hammered on the downhill. Adjusting your shoes whenever they feel a bit loose is important too as they change a lot as your feet warm up.

As far as injuries are concerned I am totally sold on poles, and two poles. One pole can make you walk with a sideways gait and affect your hips. Two poles help you align your body, you stand straighter and can look at the view rather than the road. You need to learn to use them properly though and have them at the right length if they are going to be properly useful. Google is your friend. Used properly they make a big diffence to climbing hills and also protecting your knees on downhill. We have a set of the very light Helinox poles that collapse down small enough to fit into hand luggage and they do the job.

Tomorrow we head into new country as we are out of Tuscany and into the Lazio region. Our destination is Bolsena, which is beside a huge lake. 23 km with rain forecast, but should be fine.

Here is Grant looking like Gandalf on the road this morning

Love Marie