day 38 - Mendesano to Fornovo di Taro - day 5 for 3026

• Day 38 - day 5 for 2026
• Friday, 1 May 2026 (May Dsy and a public holiday)
• Medesano to Fornovo di Taro - 12 km today
• 908 km on my Via Francigena
•   12 km for today
• 920 km on my Via Francigena (82 km for 2026)

I rise at 06h and note that Richard and Eileen have already left.

Nadine messages to say she has set off from her stopping point at 06h30.

I pack and leave the hostel by about 07h and go to a nearby bar and coffee lounge, catch up with the news then walk to the EuroSpin (a largish Woolworths) at the far end if the village. My task is to find an adhesive to more or less permanently hold two pieces of my trekking pole together. They have nothing but suggest the “Chinese” shop closer to the village centre. The owner knows exactly what I need and shows me a variety of “feet” for someone’s poles. Continuing back towards the café I see another shop has just opened. I show the salesman my problem and hd shows me a tube of Uhu Glue. I retire to the steps outside thd hostel and make my repairs.

Now Nadine messages to say she is about 2 km away from Medesano. I walk slowly and we meet up. Coming back through Medesano we stop for a coffee.

We restart and find ourselves on a flat path that is well maintained for 6 km to the town of Felegara, where we stop for a bottle of water frizzante each.

The path towards Felegara in wide, flat and well used. After Felegara it passes through “bush” which gives shade from the sun.

Rested we take a path alongside a very wide river which we cannot see until we pass under a railway bridge. The banks are very far apart and the river bed is mainly gravel of mixed sizes and a few water courses making their way through. I am immediately reminded of the many braided rivers that come out of the southern alps across the Canterbury plain. And I recall reading that there are few braided rivers outside of Aotearoa-New Zealand. The source of this river (the Taro) is the nearby Appennine mountain range.

We are soon at the shared path bridge that leads across into Fornovo and the hostel for the night.

At the hostel we meet a couple that have walked from Fidenza (about 34 km) and on Saturday intend to walk to Berceto (about 34 km). I note they have very light-weight packs – wet-weather outers and not much else. They say their other gear is transported to them.

Nadine and I look for a meal and find an upper market pizza house with sit down clientele.

And so to bed.