Today was a significant tested for me.

First there was the endurance. I set off around eight and arrived after six, with lunch the only significant break — and that was less than an hour. The terrain was steep, with both climbs of over a thousand meters and descent of the same, meaning that it wasn’t just the distance that was battering my feet.

Secondly, it was today that my boots decided to bite, digging into my ankles, making almost any progress painful. Worse, there was little opportunity to chicken out. The one point where you could call a taxi was less than two hours from the end. After battling on for nearly eight hours by this point, not completing the walk myself just wasn’t a viable option.

Ultimately it was a day that will be judged as an achievement rather than one that I enjoyed every last minute of. That’s not to say that there was nothing good, quite the contrary. The morning (with my boots being an exception) was great. The incline was gentle, the views down the valley were stunning and I was keeping to very good time.

The afternoon was when the fatigue set in, making some of it more of a slog. It barely registered when I passed a farm that made cheese, and on the steep decent to Calacuccia all I could think was “Ouch.”

Crossing the dam into town became an anti-climax when I realised that I had to head uphill and then walk all the way through and out the other side to the hotel. I was lucky not to have to head back for something to eat. (Actually I was lucky to have something to eat! Apparently all the restaurants closed for the winter at the end of September.)

It will be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow morning.