The Camino de Assisi.
The Way of St Francis.
Italy: From Florence to Assisi, then on to Rome. Trek For A Dream.
Post 23: July 19, 2018, Thursday. The Trek from Monterotondo to Monte Sacro. Stage 27 of the Sandy Brown guidebook.
Made it to Monte Sacro, Italy. Gone 39 days. Day 37 on The Way.
The Relentless Goal!
Another great thing about the Camino is the clarity of a goal. The goal: To Do the Camino de Assisi and finish it. Start Place and date: June 11, 2018, Florence, Italy. Finish Place and Time allotment: Rome, six weeks. I have been relentless to finish this goal. And, tomorrow, on the 40th day, I shall finish my goal. I shall make it to Rome . . . tomorrow. It has been hard hard hard, exciting at times, and shear drudgery at times. So many days of just grinding out the treks, step by step, and only myself (and God) to inspire me. And, it is really great to connect the goal to a passion to help people. Trek for a Dream. I’m already hoping for ways to continue in that regard. I’ve been inspired by how the Prayer Cards inspired other people to write down their goals and pray about them everyday. Just take out a card, whatever you got, maybe a 3″x5″ card and write a dream, a goal, a prayer request on it, inspired by God, and pray about it everyday, multiple times a day, and . . . be specific. Grind it out. Step by step, day by day until you reach your dream, your goal. Until God answers your prayer.
The trek today from Monterotondo to Monte Sacro was not fun. I’m getting to the outskirts, the suburbs of Rome, and to me, it’s not pretty. The beautiful Italian countryside and the mountains are behind me now, the beautiful paths through the woods, the lakes, the streams, the little towns are behind. The mess of the city is in front of me, I guess until I reach the beauty of . . . Rome. I was thinking that the post today, if I were to describe the trek from Monterotondo . . . would be pathetic. The first half was okay, but the outskirts of Monte Sacro, are like trekking through a messy part of L.A. on your way to Beverly Hills. So what? Where’s the spirituality in that. The Spirituality is in . . . how it makes me stronger to understand how to stay relentless about a . . . goal, a dream, a prayer request. It is. Not. Always. Easy. But, the goal is well worth it. It always is, if it is God inspired.
And so I’m posting some pictures below of some of the basic markers that were in my Sandy Brown guidebook. I took lots of pictures, but basically it was a very long, very very hot trek, with no other trekkers in sight, but lots of time to talk and listen to God, about life, where to go, what to do, and how to be patient in His Timing. And mercy, quite a few times, I came across something that made me think: yep, You were right again! Yep, I get it. You told me this would be how it would go. Yes, I will continue to listen. Yes.
I send thanks to all that have followed my humble posts. Tomorrow I will walk to Rome. I will make it on the 40th day. My Christian friends know the significance of the number 40. To my secular friends, just google the Biblical significance of the number 40. I really have had a true test of how to do a 40 day goal plan and watch it come to fruition. Amen.
I miss all my family and friends and so many new friends.
Tom
I stayed at the Albergo dei Leoni in the Piazza dei Leoni, which is the second listing in my Sandy Brown guidebook. The first listing was closed. No pilgrims I presume.
Eliana, at the Albergo dei Leoni was a great help and host at the Albergo. She pointed me in the right direction to get back on the path to Rome.
Turn right at the Fausto Cecconi Arch. Leaving the city of Monterotondo. Kind of okay, kind of boring. Step by step.
The prosaic signs along the way, but at least I can read them.
This really nice lady was really excited to see a . . . pilgrim, and was fast to help me know where to turn and where to go, so I would stay on the path. I just had to take this picture to remember all the Italians along The Way, that so wanted to help me stay on The Way of St. Francis, and not get lost. Wow! How these nice people helped me over and over again along the path. They never steered me wrong.
Finally, I’m at least out of the city and onto the path to Monte Sacro.
The guidebook told me to stop at this place to spot St Peter’s Basilica way off in Rome. But I was really hot, sweating, tired and sore . . . so all I saw was smog and heat. But, I kept my goal in mind. And stayed relentless.
Plenty of dogs along the way to bark at me. But they were always nice, even when not behind fences or on leashes. They always barked, but were always friendly. They basically always just wanted to say hello, what the hay are you doing way out here?!
And the normal stops for refreshments were always–closed! And looking horribly abandoned.
The guidebook said: “Continue straight for the next 3.7km until you come to a right fork and finally a stop sign, staying on Via di Tor San Giovanni, and leave the Italian countryside behind you as you enter the first suburbs of Rome.” (page 251, Sandy Brown guidebook) So sad, to leave the beauty of the mountains and countryside.
And the final destination: Chiesa dei Santi Angeli Custodi. Closed. Doors locked. Relentless. I shall finish.