Walking Across Italy

I woke up this morning and felt some major pain in my lower back as I climbed out of bed. I tried rolling on the floor. I tried some yoga. I tried a hot shower. I even asked Stephen to give me a lower back massage (which he did), but to no avail. I quickly realized that there was no way I was going to be able to hike 10 miles, never-the-less carry a 20 lb. backpack. Stephen suggested that I just take a taxi to the next stop, but I know from previous backaches that this doesn’t get better overnight. As a result, I made the torturous decision to leave my companions and return home. In the early morning hours, I said goodbye to my fellow hikers and watched them cross the piazza to begin their daily journey. I kept a stiff upper lip, but inside I was very sad.

Before leaving Orvieto, I called Delta to see if I could even get a seat on a plane this week. Amazingly, they said “no problem” and quickly exchanged my ticket for tomorrow. Next, I checked the train schedule and found a direct train to Rome later this morning. Finally, I called the Hilton and the Rome airport looking for a room for the night. (Here’s where the problems started.) Nothing at the airport, but there was 1 last room at a nearby Hilton Garden Inn with a shuttle to the airport . Ok, not so bad.

I walked to the funicular in Orvieto with plenty of time to catch the train to Rome. I bought a ticket from the machine, since it is Sunday morning and there was no one manning the ticket office. That’s when I found out that almost all the trains in Italy were cancelled today. It seems that the train workers union had scheduled a strike! That’s right, “scheduled” a strike. It seems that workers schedule these things weeks in advance. No one told me!

As I have told my kids, when Plan A doesn’t work out, make another plan. So, I started working on Plan B. There was one train stopping in Orvieto that was heading south to Napoli. It had a scheduled stop in Rome, so I quickly bought another ticket on that train and crossed my fingers that it would actually arrive. My thought was to take the Fumicino Express from Rome to the airport. (By the way, in case my kids are reading this, I also made a backup plan to the backup plan.) Plan C was hitching a ride back to Rome tonight with a P&G guy who was visiting his mom in Orvieto. (That was very nice of him to offer.)

The train to Napoli arrived on time, so it looked like everything was back on track. But, when I arrived in Rome, I found a deserted train station and all the trains to the airport were cancelled as well. (I should have thought of that.) This was resolved with a quick walk to the taxi stand, where I got a taxi to my airport hotel.

I’m now waiting for the plane home and receiving funny texts from my buddies on the hike. I now know that the decision to end my hike in Orvieto was the right one. My back is still sore and carrying my backpack to the airport this morning reminded me that I would have never lasted.

In the end, while this trip didn’t turn out as I originally planned, it was an enriching experience with wonderful people and lots of adventures along the way. (Who could ask for more?) I am thankful for the kindness and support of my fellow Old Age Ninja Turtles – Stephen, JP, and Joe. And look forward to hearing about their adventures on the final portion of this coast to coast hike.

Cowabunga, dudes!