Distance: 39.4km (573.1km), time spent: 11:17.
Weather: Nice and hot.
Today, I think I tested the patience of Johanna. The decision to walk to Susegana comes with another bitter aftertaste, given that we did not get to see the inside of the castle, as we have to return to the main trail again. This could be done by doing a 4km slog along a busy road directly to Ponte della Priulä, but that would be in violation of my own strict and stubborn rules (there lives a kind of purist in me). From Susegana it is about 3.5km back to the junction where we left Der Traumpfad yesterday.
Vineyards and farms outside Susegana.
We will go to Bocca Callalta today, it will be a long walk, where most of the route will be following the river Piave on the way. And with the exception of the small hill at the beginning, almost all flat. The mountains will be even farther behind in the distance. The feeling will be that of walking a Camino, only that we will be the only ones walking on it. And is not Venezia just as good a place of pilgrimage as anywhere else.
Saying goodbye to Susegana and Castello San Salvatora.
Walking on the levée towards Ponte della Priulä.
Returning to the dream is quite pleasant, as we pass by the locked gate and silent walls of the Castello San Salvatora again, then passing by the nearby farms while we wonder where Florian made his abode for the night. Passing over the small hill before Colfosco, the narrow and steep paths of the Alps and Dolomites are exchanged by the wide paved roads, and the inclines are nothing to speak of. It is still good enough to give us a good view of how flat the rest of the hike will be.
Ponte Piave.
We arrive in Ponte della Priulä, with the walk after Colfosco entirely going on the top of a levée, which might very well be the only elevation to be found for a long time. Almost the first thing we see in the small town is a fellow hiker, Florian, strangely perfectly timed today too. He had been allowed to sleep out in the garden of a farm not very far from Susegana, and had been told where to find a quieter country road down to Ponte della Priulä instead of the busy road. We sit down for a morning coffee before heading for a nearby supermarket to buy food for lunch. There are not many places along the path to find food today, despite going through this normally populated area.
On the overgrown path after Ponte della Priulä.
Overgrown path then replaced by a pleasant dirt track.
Credit must be given to the maintainers of this trail, for finding the possible only place resembling anything like wilderness here. The path leaving Ponte della Priulä after crossing over the Piave on a bridge, bear witness to how few that probably walks all the way to Venezia. If there is a path, it is barely visible, crossing under the railway bridge on rocks, only to continue next to the river on a path almost totally hidden in the bushes and tall grasses. It is a fun walk.
Florian and Johanna on the levée.
Calling it a wilderness is of course a huge digression, but it sort of succeeds in wrapping me in a feeling of being out in nature and not walking through civilized areas. I think this path is looked upon as a necessary 'evil' in order to get quicker to the more comfortable dirt track afterwards, going through an open shrubland. It is not what I had expected.
The river Piave.
A strange World War I memorial site.
Piave is constantly heralding its march towards the sea. I find this a pleasant change of scenery, which adds value to a trail. Variation, not seeing the same over and over again. There is, however, a sensation that this cannot last. And it comes true when a gravel works breaks the tranquility. A gasp of relief escapes me when the scar is forgotten by the walk on the levée afterwards. Again trees and vegetation hides the outside world from us, and when it opens up, it is too a view of fields and farmland.
Another memorial on Der Traumpfad in this area, this one commemorating the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
I must admit that I respect the creators of this trail when they stood before the whole of the flat Venetian plains, with its human encroachments and wondered where they should put the trail. Or was it all the work of Ludwig Grassler? This will not last, I know, but it is far better than expected.
Pleasant riverwalk next to the Piave.
History though is buried in the sand around the Piave and we arrive at a memorial to events that unfolded during World War I. There is a bunker here that you can go down into, several displays of weaponry and bombs formed into sculptures, as well as the religious icons commemorating the fallen.
On quiet country roads.
I wonder how many other hikers on Der Traumpfad there are behind or before us on the way to Venezia, is anyone walking into Venezia now? Or has they all passed us by on the bus. Der Traumpfad continues from the memorial on a mix of paved roads and dirt tracks. The fields around us tells the tale of Prosecco and more religious icons. Keeping to ourselves we arrive at another memorial to the first world war. This one commemorating the final battle of that war, the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
Religious icons are found everywhere next to the trail.
With a cross and an idol looking over us, we have lunch in a shaded place with benches next to the river. From strenous climbs to pleasant flat walking, and the dream of Venezia almost around the corner, but the religious icons we now walk by makes the hike feels like a modern day pilgrimage. Or a hybrid of a sort. The trail enters a gentle (flat) farmland with the Piave on our left and acres on our right. I think my mood is tuning in to this new hiking reality.
Clouds and sunrays from the sun.
Kilometres flies faster by as the landscape is flat, and walking is good, but it is a long walk today. A short detour to Candelù for a coffe and ice, before the country road takes us to a spot for a long awaited swim. We go in search of the river, but finds first an old bunker that has been revitalized and made anew. The water is wonderfully chilling, but the current is strong, treatening to draw us underneath the bracken in the river.
A renewed bunker.
River Piave swimspot.
The sun is starting its descent as we reach the last kilometres. San Bartolomeo is the only other place with accommodation between Ponte della Priulä and Bocca Callalta, but sadly it is located almost at the end of the day. Here the two guidebooks differ again, with the German taking the straightest and fastest way to Bocca Callalta. That implies a 1.6km walk straight onto a very busy road. I decide to follow the route described in my book. It is a short of detour, so I am not sure if Johanna and Florian is satisfied at the moment. I feel that they are both tired now.
Afternoon light over a field of flagolets.
Museo Soldati della Battaglia in Bocca Callatla.
Dusk has arrived when we finally finds our destination for tonight in Bocca Callata, the Albergo Callalta. No time to look at the tiny town, but there are not probably much to miss. The hotel is a good place, and the pizza they serve is great, as rated by the locals.
Florian and Johanna interrupted while eating their pizza at Albergo Callalta.
For all its flat walking, this was a overly agreeable day, despite running tired at the end. Once having left Ponte della Priulä, the walk was on a mix of quiet country roads, dirt tracks and small paths, all in the proximity of the river Piave. A good (and long) day, only two days left now.
<< Susegana // day 27Jesolo // day 29 >>
No comments:
Post a Comment