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Thursday, September 10, 2015

Day 5: The adventures of Joannix on the AV5T

Santuario della Madonna di Soviore - Alta Via delle Cinque Terre - Carpena - Castè - Cozzano

17.4 km

Walked the AV5T or Alta Via delle Cinque Terre trail along the ridge above the Cinque Terre, nice and cool at an altitude of 500 to 700 metres. BUT not a good choice if you want to see the Cinque Terre: the trail goes through the woods all the time, so there are no views.


However it is nice and cool -  I even put my jacket on at one point! 

And the highlight is that the trail passes right by a menhir! 

After seeing my first wild boar on Day 2, I have now seen my first menhir! I definitely see a theme emerging here. As you will too if you have read the adventures of Asterix (I devoured them as a child. Well, OK, as a teenager!)


A menhir, and my backpack, to permit comparison. I sometimes feel like Obelix when carrying it; in fact, I often carry it the way he does menhirs, with my hands interlaced underneath it, to take the weight off my shoulders!

And how much does my backpack weigh, you may be wondering. Its weight varies considerably: light as a feather when I've got that hiking high; heavy as half a dozen menhirs when trudging uphill under the midday sun!

At La Croce I turned off the main trail onto a rather overgrown and neglected trail down the inland side of the ridge.

Peace


View of the city of La Spezia, and the hills I will be walking along around the outside of the city tomorrow. Marble quarries of Massa Carrara may be seen in the distance


Things you find when you take a wrong turn: Castello di Carpena


Things you find when you take a wrong turn: cannonballs. An old man sweeping the floor in the church told me where to find them


The village of Castè


Peace and quiet, only minutes from the hot and crowded Cinque Terre (by car - a day's walk, if you're walking!)


My home for tonight: La Locanda del Papa. Real sheets and towels: what a luxury after two nights in hostel-type accommodations! Dinner at the local Trattoria with some of the other guests 

Almost forgot this!

3 comments:

  1. Ciao Joanne, sei bravissima! Bellissimo progetto il tuo: parti da casa con lo zaino e vai da sola per i monti! Mi viene voglia di farlo anch'io! A presto! Virginie

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  2. Sabato scorso abbiamo fatto anche noi la camminata da monterosso al santuario di soviore e poi scesi a vernazza. Bellissima camminata!

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    1. Si l'avevo fatto così un oaio di anni fa con il gruppo delle camminate in inglese, ma era inverno e il santuario era chiuso, era molto triste. Questa volta invece è stato bello proprio il fatto di fermarmi lì e partecipare alla vita fi questa piccola comunità anche se solo per una sera!

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