Weekend in Liguria

Albenga

11-04-2015 - Albenga

Walked along the coast from Albenga to Finale Ligure (20km)

I walked through the old town of Albenga with its "caruggi" [narrow lanes] and its "stendua" [washing on the line], and quaint little restaurants selling fish and farinata [chickpea omelette]. The bakeries let out a perfume of fresh bread and "fügassa" [white pizza]...

Clothes hanging to dry in the small lanes

Outside the walls of the old town -now a pedestrian area- the traffic is pretty heavy and you just breathe car smog... better to head off to the beach. The seaside restaurants and seashore facilities -cabins and bars- are getting ready for the new summer season ahead, sieving sand and repainting walls.
There's a nice fresh breeze, and it's a little overcast so I feel quite comfy with my wind jacket and long trousers. I still have the idea of putting my feet in the water though...

sieving sands

Along the road from Albenga to Ceriale, the greenhouses are in full swing and the campsites are also getting ready for the summer. Midway along the road I took a break to wear my Xero shoes - the sockless season has begun ;-)

Xeros are GO!

From Ceriale to Borghetto Santo Spirito they built a nice wooden sidewalk overlooking the sea, running along the Via Aurelia - the first paved Roman road, that runs from Rome to France. The view here is really something!

great views

Now I have to find a place to eat... to start with, I'm stopping for an apple in Loano.

Borghetto

The way from Borgio Verezzi to Finale Ligure includes walking under a road tunnel - only 145m, but still I used my buff to protect my airways. Fortunately there was a guard-rail protected pavement, quite safe to walk on.

the tunnel!

Finally, I reached Final Borgo by 5:00pm -and only with that apple and a cereal bar. The whole tour measured 20 km in length plus detours in the old parts of the towns I passed.
My feet are pretty tired, but overall I feel well. I have a bit of a stiff neck as the rucksack was a bit too heavy - I could have avoided bringing the tablet along... I kept my Xeros for a couple of towns, but then went back to my well-padded trainers - to avoid my feet going up in flames. Like with barefeet, with Xeros it's a gradual thing - about 10 km for the first time this season, I guess it's a good enough start! :-)

I waited in Final Borgo for the climbers (and Rosie) to get back for a drink.

Finale

Dinner tonight was in a highly noisy environment - our group + another smaller but louder one - the background noise was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think!!! The meal took way too long, but I still managed to sneak away just after dessert... and retire to our camperised Qubo car ;-)
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12-04-2015 - Finale Ligure

Walked the Geology Trail on the Orera mountain

the trail

Tonight was colder and I felt a bit chilly, in spite of the extra blanket. I must keep in mind that April nights in Finale are not that warm, in spite of the hot days.

on the trail

the 3 dots

Today I walked with the climbers up to their climbing spot, then carried on along a trail in the woods.





I followed the 3-dots trail to St. Martin's Church, then followed the Geology Trail to see some local CAVES and an ancient DOLMEN.
Then I went on to the Tower of Bastia where I had my lunch of apple and cereal bar, before heading back to rejoin the others.

the Dolmen

the Tower of Bastia

I spent just some 15 minutes at the climbing walls then started on my way back to Final Borgo, where I got me a well deserved ice-cream. I'm sitting on a bench in a quiet little square, away from the hustle and bustle of the more popular lanes and will be doing some reading before catching up with the climbers again, when they're back in about an hour or so.

Back to Final Borgo

More pix here :-)

Day trip to Albisola

15.07.2014

Had a nice daytrip to Albisola, a nice Ligurian town in the Savona province. I took my parents there for the day and we spent some time with my Aunt who's spending her holidays there. We took a long walk along the seafront and I took some photos of the town... here!

Some views of the town :

the Roman bridge

azuleyos

Trompe l'oeil

artistic seafront

a great view over the fantastic Mediterranean sea

Finale Ligure

13/04/2014

This morning I followed a nice trail over Finale Ligure, well signposted and going to the top of the mountain, in the woods. Technical details on wikiloc (http://goo.gl/IPkTo9) and pix on Google+ (to be loaded).

my first encounter of the day...

I was on my own, so I could keep my own steady pace with some walking meditation here and there.

the trail

the inside of the old church

A short deviation along the main trail took me to the ruins of Castrum Perticae and to Saint Antonino’s church, closed, but you could glimps to the frescos still on the walls inside. It was indeed a nice spot for meditation, with stunning views over the valley below. You could just imagine hearing nothing but the birds when the road still wasn’t there!

Coming back to the crossroads, I kept following the Buddha’s eyes till I reached Pian Marino, where there is what looked like the remains of a collapsed quarry…

Buddha's eyes

collapsed quarry?

Meanwhile, the Climbing Bunch were somewhere on the facing cliffs going up and down. I could hear some climbers on this side from where I stopped for a short break, as it was starting to rain. I was quite protected by the trees, but after my apple I started to walk back…

The drizzle eventually ceased and I could explore a part of the track I missed before, to Brick del Frate – a plateau with some TV aerials and a satellite dish.
Once facing the open valley again, I saw some climbers on the opposite side, but they proved from another group and not “our” own.

In the end we even had a bit of sunshine. My walk lasted some 3.30 hrs and I could really immerse myself in nature. Immerse is quite an appropriate word here, since all the area was once part of the Ligurian-Piedmontese Ocean, so all these great cliffs were once underwater seabed :-)


 

finally some rest for my feet... vith a great view! :-)

San Fruttuoso - GE

July 20, 2013 

This morning we moved up along the coast to Santa Margherita Ligure. We pointed to Portofino to check if we could park there, only to find confirmation that the population there are just posh shits (and the only local car park have outrageously high prices, like €5.50/hr), so we turned back to SML, parked on top of hill for free, and took the boat to San Fruttuoso where we spent the day swimming.

San Fruttuoso

By mid afternoon we went back to the car and headed up north to visit the in-laws... and gained a proper bed in the process ...

Now we ordered a couple of softer mattresses for the Quber, so it'll probably be better to sleep in next time. At the moment the mattresses we use are pretty dense and they give us (especially me) some trouble with our chests, making it feel really heavy. Now with the new foams that should arrive next week, we should be ok, otherwise it becomes really difficult sleeping in the Quber for more than a couple of days...

Cinque Terre - SP

July 19, 2013
After breakfast in the camper van area of the service station, we left the motorway in Levanto and found us a suitable car park where we paid for a whole day stay. We then made a special ticket for the Cinque Terre Trail and Trains, so we could walk the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza and then to Corniglia, and we took the train to the other Terre, as the trail had been interrupted by landslide nearly two years ago.


From the same year's floods that caused the landslides (2011), we witnessed the remains of a house, built too close to the river that overflowed...





  




The walk was good, but with lots of ups and down, for the mountain there is very steep... the day was also really hot so we did a fair bit of sweating...

Monterosso

In Vernazza we lunched with a piece of local focaccia, always a must in Liguria, :) before walking on towards Corniglia, our next destination.

Vernazza

After Corniglia we caught the train to Riomaggiore, thinking of reaching Manarola on the next walk, but that was interrupted too, so we just caught the train back to Monterosso for a swim. Then, back on the train to Levanto and the car.

Corniglia

Leaving the Cinque Terre we decided not to take the motorway, but to use the normal road, so when a sign for a Hotel and Restaurant caught our attention we decided to follow it, as it was going towards the top of the mountain. When we reached the place we found ourselves very high up, with great views over the sea. We then asked the owners of the place if they knew where we could go to sleep with our Qubo, somewhere not too far and with toilet facilities... like we hoped, the lady told us we could stop there for the night, so we gladly accepted and remained for dinner, as a way of thanking them for their hospitality. The food was very good and the portions well generous. The place was very quiet and we really enjoyed our time there!

Our stop for the night

 










 

Finale weekend -3

Sunday 21.04
I definitely slept better last night. I wasn't overly full as I managed to stop eating after the first of a multi-course meal and also my pillow wasn't as inflated as the night before, allowing my head to rest better.
After a hearty breakfast, as the climbers set out for their climbs, I went to Borgio Verezzi to see the caves there. It's a wonderful ensemble of stalactites and stalagmites, really magnificent. Well worth seeing.

Caves in Borgio Verezzi

As the day was sunny at intervals, I drove back to Finalborgo where I settled on a bench with a book and my diary... and a few tangerines for lunch. After another stroll around the burgh, very nice looking, I'm settling in, waiting for the climbers to come back.

Finalborgo

It's been a very nice weekend, just like a mini-holiday. Quber performing up to its standards, and proving once again really useful. This morning we say a similar adaptation of a VW Caddy, which is slightly higher, so you can make the bed without removing the back seats. Also it's a little longer so you don't have to put down all the front seats either.

Finale weekend -2

Saturday 20.04
The weather hasn't been as rotten as forecasted - actually, it was rather good :)
I walked some 3.5 km to Finalborgo, then another 1 or so to Finale Marina where I had a nice stroll along the beach, that's another km or thereabout. The sea was raging - there was a red flag - and it was really beautiful. I like raging seas. I barefooted back to Finalborgo and visited the Archaeological Museum, then walked my way back to Ca' d'Alice. I did put together quite a few paces today, I'm pleased.
The evening was spent laughing an cheering with the climbing lot - and for once I managed NOT to overeat...

Finale Marina