Imperia - Sanremo
30 km along the seashore
30 km along the seashore
Breakfast at dawn with our hosts Luigi and Riccarda in the hills above Imperia, then we filled the pockets of our backpacks with little apples from their tree and set out down the hill to Oneglia, past the port of Imperia and along the waterfront to Porto Maurizio. We then followed the seashore for 30 km, from one colourful waterfront village to another, along the cycling and pedestrian path that follows the bed of the old railway line. At one point the path went through a tunnel 1.5 km long - and the lights weren't working! It was back dark but luckily I had a small flashlight so we could see where we were going and Aldo had a couple of flashing armbands which we put on so that cyclists could see us and stay on their own side. That was quite an adventure, but there were no cars there so it was nothing compared to walking 2 km along the Via Aurelia highway - with no sidewalk, just a steep drop and a railway line below! Fortunately it's the only stretch of road like that I've come across on the Via della Costa, and it's likely to be eliminated from the route when the railway line is moved further inland (this winter) and the old railway line is made into a cycle path here too (hopefully not too far in the future).
Happy pilgrims who have eaten and slept well and are ready for departure!
Villa Grock (home of the famous clown Grock)
Descending into Imperia, with a view of Porto Maurizio
Porto Maurizio
Borgo Cappuccini
Looking back at Porto Maurizio
It was like this pretty much all day
San Lorenzo al Mare
Guerilla knitting
Santo Stefano al Mare
Santo Stefano al Mare
Water dispensing machine: chilled, purified water either still or sparkling, only 5 cents a litre
At Santo Stefano al Mare we came across a dispensing machine providing chilled, purified water, still or sparkling, for only 5 cents a litre – with a beautiful view of colourful houses. We stopped here for a break before the last stretch into the city of Sanremo, on the bicycle path around Capo Verde. The hotel Aldo had booked was full up, so I rented a room at Gioberti House, right in the historic part of the town near the harbour. In the evening we met for pizza and stopped by the cathedral to hear a lovely concert of singers and musicians from an English girls' school currently touring Liguria.
Riva Ligure
Another tunnel (not the scary one)
Rounding Capo Verde towards Sanremo
Getting close to France!
Concert in the cathedral in Sanremo
Sanremo by night
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