Cammino verso Assisi (Via della Costa) Day 3: Moneglia - Levanto

Set out early on Day 3 to avoid the heat. At 7 am we dropped by a hotel in Moneglia owned by a friend from our book club to ask for a stamp on our credenziale and then headed out of town, up the hill through the hamlet of Lemeglio to San Pantaleo at 325 metres above sea level.  

Leaving Moneglia just after dawn

Still on the Sentiero Liguria / Via della Costa

The village of Lemeglio

Into the woods

Looking back down towards Moneglia

We crested the hill and continued through the woods, descending steeply towards Deiva Marina on a path that would be unwalkable on a wet day: it was quite obvious that the trail would become a stream bed in rainy weather, and the crumbly slate would become dangerously slippery underfoot. But luckily it was dry and sunny and we proceeded safely down into Deiva, arriving not at the modern tourist developments along the beach but into the old part of the town, further inland. 

Deiva Marina

  

Someone seems to think this garden needs protecting 
from the birds with reflective plastic bottles...
even though there's no fruit or vegetables growing in it...

Deiva Marina

At Deiva, Mariella had to leave me and go back home for a couple of days due to family commitments. I carried on, scrambling up another rocky hill rather like the ones we climbed yesterday, but not so high. At the top I took a detour to Punta Apicchi, where I rested my feet and enjoyed an early lunch in a shady picnic spot with a sea view.  

View from Punta Apicchi

View from Punta Apicchi

View from Punta Apicchi in the other direction

View of my feet

After this break I carried on along a dirt road that wound through the woods and around the hill to come out in the gardens and vineyards of Costa, one of the five villages making up the municipality of Framura. 

Coming into Costa

The main street in Costa

The clock tower in Costa

Pilgrim hostel in Costa, first opened on December 27, 1400.
Unfortunately closed this year due to plague. 
Not for the first time, I imagine!

I followed the path down to the water with the intention of heading towards Bonassola along the cycle path, but accidentally ended up at the wrong end of the town(s), and it was a lucky accident as I found myself in a lovely village I had not yet explored, Setta, and then on a beautiful beach with sparkling clear water and hardly anyone swimming in it! 

Path down to the sea

My beach!

The passeggiata a mare in Framura

After a quick swim, I stashed my sweaty hiking gear in my backpack, put on a sundress and sandals, and strolled along the seawalk constructed to join the various beaches of Framura and allow pedestrians to get around the rocky points in between them. It passed the train station and led to the start of a 6 kilometre cycle and pedestrian path running along the route of old railway line, including tunnels, to Bonassola and Levanto. Numerous cyclists and a few pedestrians use these tunnels to get to secluded beaches and rocky coves accessible only by boat or through the gaps between tunnels, where small groups and even single bathers had a whole beach to themselves, in perfect "social distancing" style! There were even a few joggers, training at a time of day when it is unbearably hot for running on the earth's surface.     

Happy to escape from the midday sun, I plunged gratefully into this cool, damp underground world, feeling a bit like a hobbit in the Lord of the Rings as I tunnelled further and further into the bowels of the mountain.

Into the mountain

Railway tunnel architecture at its finest

Over the next hour or so I had plenty of opportunities to observe details of early 20th-century railway tunnel construction. 

I discovered that these stripy railway signals are actually made of 
20 x 20 cm black and white ceramic tiles just like the ones in my kitchen!

The meaning of life

I emerged from this cool, damp world into the afternoon sun in the pretty beach town of Bonassola, where I stopped for (another) lunch. 

A warm day, but I think this thermometer is exaggerating a bit!

Another series of tunnels took me the rest of the way to Levanto. 

Despite the beauty of these beaches, I was too tired for another swim, so I headed directly to the Levanto tourist information office in a former convent to get a stamp for my credenziale, and from there to the train station to catch a ride home. 

Tomorrow, a rest day (already!) to catch up on some leftover bits of work and make a plan for the next few days!

Moneglia - Levanto 25 km
(approximately - no signal in the tunnels!)