For a first day, I decided that 1,140m of climbing was perhaps a bit much. Also, the road to Monreale, the first town along the way, is mainly suburban, so I decided to take a bus for the first 7km. This still left me with over 800m of climbing which is plenty for me!

On the way to the bus stop, I passed by the market again.

The bus
What I missed

The great treasure of Monreale is the cathedral . King Roger II started its construction in 1174. He’d become king at just 13 years old after his father, Roger II, was assassinated. It’s said that the construction was part of a power struggle between him and the Archbishop of Palermo, Gualtiero Offamilio.

I got myself a panino for lunch and headed off .

This is the direction symbol of the Sicilian Francigena routes, but there are also standard route markings.

The Sicilian Francigena sign

The morning’s walk was on busy little bitumen roads .

There were figs to pick along the way.

After a bit of climbing, I reached the town of Altofonte.

Everyone in Sicily tells you not to drink the tap water, even though legally it’s supposed to be drinkable. This town has drinking fountains everywhere that has pure spring water so I could refill my water bottles .

After Altofonte, there’s a steep climb up a set of stairs with stations of the cross.

Looking up
Looking down
The view.

There’s a lot of climbing on this stage, and it’s mostly on bitumen roads which are quite busy. There are some great views along the way .

I was slogging my way up a steep incline when a little car pulled up and the driver insisted that I take a loaf of freshly baked bread form a sack he had.

In the early afternoon, the route finally followed dirt roads and I didn’t see another car for the next 2 hours.

This area is known as ‘La Piana degli Albanesi’ or “The Plain of the Albanians’. Many Christian Albanians fled to Italy after the Turks began conquering the Balkans from the 14th century in. Pockets of speakers of Arbëresh still exist.

It’s rocky dry country with cultivated sections here snd there of olives, fruit and chestnuts .

Just when I thought all the climbing was over, there was one of those tracks that seems to go up and up forever .

Finally my destination came into sight .

A dual language street sign .

After a hearty meal, I’m ready for a sleep to be ready for another day of climbing .

Here’s my Relive video of the walk .

https://www.relive.com/view/vYvEGV9rwG6