Sentiero Liguria 3: Camogli - Bogliasco

Camogli - Bogliasco 

18 km (via Recco, Mulinetti, Pieve Alta, Sori)

Setting out from Camogli in the soft light of morning

Another beautiful day, and another beautiful hike! Always following the footpaths and mule tracks that criss-cross the Ligurian coast, connecting the coastal towns with one another and with the villages and isolated farmhouses in the hills above them. Winding through olive groves and country gardens, past pastel-coloured houses.

A well-maintained footpath (between Sori and Pieve Alta)

A not-so-well maintained footpath (on the way down into Sori)

A little group of traditional pastel-coloured houses with green shutters, in the hamlet of San Bernardo

A staircase built into the dry stone wall of a terrace

Here the ancient olive trees seem to be knocking the wall over.... the wall has been built right around the tree in the foreground!

Leaving Camogli, I continued higher up into the hills than I needed to, but was rewarded with a splendid view up the coast towards the city of Genova, which I will reach tomorrow.

View of the ground I will be covering today and tomorrow, from the hills above Camogli

From these heights the route took me right down to sea level again, at Recco: a town that was almost entirely destroyed by World War II bombing, and reconstructed in drab 1950s and 60s style. It's redeeming features are cheese-filled focaccia and a champion water polo team, but it was a little early in the day for either lunch or a swim, so after a brief halt I continued on my way, following the waterfront.

Though almost entirely of modern post-war construction, the town of Recco doesn't look bad at all, seen from this angle!

And it has some fantastic swimming holes!

The next "town" I passed through was Mulinetti - famous among Ligurian commuters because of the fact that no trains stop there ("This train will call at all stations - except Mulinetti" is a frequently heard station announcement). How the people who live there get to work I do not know. But there don't seem to be many of them; the section of trail above Mulinetti was quite deserted, and I passed several abandoned houses, collapsing walls and overgrown pathways - inspiring me to take (and touch up) a series of eerie shots in a sort of rustic gothic style.

Coming down the hill to Sori, things brightened up a bit, and I was tempted to stop and go for a swim, until I realised I didn't actually have to go all the way down into the town at sea level and climb back up again on the other side, but could cross on the sidewalk of the road bridge on the Via Aurelia and pick up the trail back up into the hills on the other side.

Things are looking brighter in Sori, as seen from the bridge over the town 

Climbing up out of Sori and back into the hills, I soon came to the ideal lunch spot - a quiet corner with a water fountain, a bench in the sun... 

... and a shady spot under a fig tree where I could dine under the watchful eye of San Gaetano, behind bars in the nearby shrine. 

This footpath led to Pieve Alta, a spot I had been to on previous hikes with the English-speaking hiking group, timed to coincide with the Mimosa Festival in mid-February. 

But today things were much quieter in the town, especially in the after-lunch lull. I crossed paths with a few schoolchildren getting home late, and a couple of hunters making their way home empty-handed (hunting is open on Wednesdays in October, though luckily not in any of the areas I passed through). 

Pieve Alta (the top part of Pieve Ligure) on a sleepy October afternoon

Another view of Pieve Alta.
In the background, Mount Portofino and Camogli, where I was yesterday, looking very far away already!

The final leg of today's hike took me from Pieve Alta to Bogliasco, and by the time I got there, and down the steep descent to sea level, I was definitely ready for a swim! The water is cooling off in October, wonderfully refreshing after a day of hiking in the hot sun! 

In Liguria, all roads lead not to Rome but... to the sea!

On the way down to Bogliasco I came across this charming musical gate!

Bogliasco

Bogliasco

Bogliasco - 17th century reconstruction of a medieval bridge, which was a reconstruction of a Roman bridge on the Via Aurelia... a road that did lead to Rome! And still does

Today's hike once again ended with a refreshing dip

Before ending my hike in Bogliasco, I had an amazing view up the coast to the eastern end of the city of Genova, which I will be walking through in the next couple of days. 

It looks like an awfully long way from up here!!!

Looking further up the coast towards Genova. My next task is to get across to the other end of this long, narrow city!