Sentiero Liguria 1 - Chiavari-Rapallo

Chiavari - Rapallo (Via Santuario di Montallegro) 

16.5 km - 750 m elevation gain

First leg of the Sentiero Liguria - a trail extending right across the region of Liguria, all the way from the French border to the border with Tuscany. In September 2015 I walked the part between Chiavari and Tuscany on my way to Rome; this October I'm heading for Ventimiglia, on the French border, as the first part of a LOOOONG walk to Santiago de Compostela!

My original plan was to set off tomorrow morning. Today I was going to put my affairs in order, as pilgrims traditionally did prior to departure. I wasn't planning to go so far as to write my last will and testament, like a medieval pilgrim; after all, pilgrimages are not as dangerous as they were back then - in fact, it's probably more dangerous to drive to work in the morning than to walk to Santiago these days. My preparations had more to do with paying bills and typing up a few loose ends with work... and of course I wanted to go and get the first stamp on my new "charta peregrini", from my home parish, San Giovanni, representing my point of departure! 

But following my noon appointment with the eye doctor I decided the day was just too beautiful to waste. The sun was shining and it just seemed like the perfect day to set off on a new walk. The fact that the road just across from my apartment was being repaved, involving use of a machine that for some reason needs to beep every 30 seconds, may have had something to do with my decision too... In any case, I wolfed down my lunch, pulled on my boots and set off - pupils still dilated.

Leaving Chiavari at lunch time. This photo was rather painful to take (with dilated pupils)

I have walked from Chiavari to Rapallo a couple of times before, so this path was not new to me, but it was as magical as ever, like an enchanted forest, and perfectly quiet and peaceful on a weekday afternoon. I did, however, cross paths with 9 other walkers, a mountain biker, and 5 mushroom collectors - easily recognisable by the fact that they carry large sticks, act very mysterious and talk loudly among themselves about not having found anything, despite the bulging plastic bags in the baskets they carry.

Typical Ligurian dry stone walls along the trail

Unfortunately these walls require a lot of maintenance - and occasionally come tumbling down!

Slabs of slate are used not only to make the stone walls for terracing the land, but as "guard rails" along the path

Passo dell'Anchetta. From here you can turn left and drop down to Zoagli, or continue onwards and upwards to the Santuario di Montallegro and from there to Rapallo. In the foreground, a teleferica - used by farmers to move things up and down steep hills - and in the background, Mount Portofino. I'll be crossing that tomorrow, on the next leg of my walk!

At about 6 pm I came to the Sanctuary of Montallegro, high above Rapallo, already closed, the last cable car down to the town having departed at 5. I hadn't been intending to take it anyway, but to follow the 18th century cobbled road from the sanctuary down to the city.

Santuario di Montallegro

A shrine in the woods, by the road up to the sanctuary.

18th century cobblestones can be very painful on the feet! I was surprised to find rather unofficial trail markers indicating the Via Francigena and the way to Rome spray painted on the pavement of the path up to the sanctuary, and in several places on the way down to the centre of Rapallo. They were useful for finding the footpath down into the town after the path to the Sanctuary ended.

Been there, done that!

This page just needed a cat picture to make it complete!
Now I can retire and rest up for tomorrow's walk!