Counting Down the Days

The countdown is on until we leave for Italy and the Via Francigena.  There seems to be countless things to do in the last week and a half before we leave, but we are still making time to walk and hike in these last days.  But that is just a part of our regular routine.  Fortunately where we live we have a variety of terrain for hiking and walking.

A 16 km hike with friends.  Around the mountain for  lunch. 

We did our last long walk (29km) across the valley last week.  This was our longest walk in the weeks leading up to the Via Francigena, and the weather was warm, although it could be warmer in Italy.

And then at the end of the week our Credentials arrived in the mail.  We could have picked them up in the the cathedral Lucca before the walk, but maybe I am a bit of an anxious pilgrim, and I just wanted them in my hands before we left.

Our Pilgrim Passports

We will get our pilgrim passports stamped in the churches and accommodations as we walk.  Then, when presented at the Vatican in Rome as proof of our journey we will be presented with a testimonium.  

While we may not achieve sainthood, according to some sources this will allow us to bypass purgatory and go straight to heaven when the time comes!  I'm not really buying that, but it is an interesting theory and what the heck, we're doing the walk anyway!