What do you do on a rest day

 We are now located in our albergo up at 1500 metres. It is our rest day. The weather is variable, ever threatening some rain but in the main it is clear and not too cool. The walk tracks themselves are still damp and sometimes muddy underfoot. I have previously mentioned that this is referred to as a 'walkers walk' and some have asked what is meant by that. So it means that each walking day is long at about 6-7 hours of actual walking and that one traverses a range of walking conditions with some ascent, some descent and on a variety of surfaces. No towns or even villages, just you and nature in the main.

So yesterday we ended up ascending over about 1000 metres with most of that occurring in the first two hours. The weather was hot and the tracks very tricky in several places with walking poles needed to retain balance.

This was the track system used by Hannibal and his elephants in Carthaginian times. And then it became the Salt Track in the middle aged heading from Genoa inland. In WWII the place we are now was a local Resistance Headquarters and the areas to come, being quite isolated, housed more than several partisan groups. The scenery is quite fantastic and tomorrow promises to be perhaps the best walking day and we stay at altitude for most of the day with apparently very long 360 degree views.

We arrived at the Capenne di Consola at about 4pm in three separate groups; one opting the long way round by road, one taking a path across meadows and forest and one taking the scenic route to the top of a nearby mountain.

For the rest day some have used the spa and sauna to relieve tired muscles, some are watching AFL via various computers, some are catching up on washing and some are literally taking the term 'rest day' to mean just that.

We are enjoying some great hospitality along the way so are not going without. And there are others on the route as well which is good to see. And one or two larger groups, almost all Italian.