Last day on the coast!
From Riomaggiore, I took a mini-bus up to an elevation of 200 metres, then climbed the steps to the Sanctuary of Montenero at 325 metres above sea level and resumed trail 530 at the point where I left off yesterday.
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| Riomaggiore from above |
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| Santuario di Montenero |
Trail 530 to Telegrafo was actually a gravel road; I should probably have stuck to the SVA (Sentiero Verde Azzurro) footpath, which would have been more scenic. In any case I ended up at the same place: Telegrafo is a crossroads of paths and streets at 500 metres above sea level. My map showed a dotted line from here straight down to Biassa, towards La Spezia on the other side of the hill; but apparently dotted line means trail not subjected to regular maintenance, because the arrow on the signpost marked "Biassa" pointed straight into a tangle of brambles! Leaving that route to the wild boar, I walked along the Alta Via delle Cinque Terre a little way to the Sanctuary of Sant'Antonio. Path number 504, an ancient stone pathway/staircase, connects the Sanctuary with Biassa and then continues in a straight line all the way down to La Spezia, cutting across all the curves in the road running roughly parallel to it.
From this path I caught my first glimpse of the city of La Spezia and, behind it, the Alpi Apuane, the mountains where marble is quarried!
In the next few days, I have to get in behind those mountains, somehow!!
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| Biassa |
Path 504 became the "Strada Vecchia di Biassa" and emerged into a quiet little square with a fountain and a bench in the shade on the very edge of the city of La Spezia, where I stopped to eat my picnic lunch and change into sandals for the walk across the city. La Spezia is a fairly large city, with some beautiful spots and lots of ugly ones, and quite complicated to walk across because of its numerous unwalkable obstacles: railway lines, motorways, a football stadium, a navy base, a river... plus it is undergoing a mini-lockdown at the moment due to a minor spike in the number of cases. The start of school has been postponed, all public events cancelled and sporting facilities closed, bars and restaurants have to close early, and, if I understand correctly, certain parts of the city where people tend to congregate at night have been declared off-limits.
I walked right across the city practically without stopping, and the streets were largely deserted at lunc time on a Sunday. I passed by the football stadium and the navy base, then followed the route recommended on the Movimento Lento website across the city centre, which took me past some interesting architecture and through a park, then along a wide, straight avenue.
However, the recommended route led out of town and up to the top of a hill and down the other side, involving another 500 metre elevation gain, and by this time of day I was no longer up to it. I realised I couldn't make it all the way to Sarzana, 20 km from La Spezia on the other side of the river, so I went as far as Vezzano Ligure train station and from there I headed home - for the last time!
From tomorrow on, I will be leaving behind the coast, the region of Liguria, and the main train line, and so I will be overnighting at places along the trail.
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| Riomaggiore - Telegrafo - La Spezia - Vezzano Ligure stazione 20.7 km |
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