Pavia
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:46 PM
We spent our first two nights at
Villa Arabella in the small village of Mornico Losana. Our hosts, Arabella and Paul, made us very welcome - Arabella's cooking was excellent, and Paul didn't need much of an excuse to break out the local grappa!
Day 1: Mornico Losana to Boccapane
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:47 PM
Day 1: 11.2 miles. From Mornico Losana we set off through vineyards (and a few spots of rain) for a 'gentle' introduction to the salt road.
Day 2: Boccapane to Varzi
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:47 PM
Day 2: 17.3 miles. First stop after leaving Boccapane was the church on top of the hill in Ruino - quite a climb to warm us up for the longest day's walk on the trip.
Day 3: Varzi to Capanne di Cosola
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:48 PM
Day 3: 15.2 miles. This was supposed to be *the* killer day. It turned out to just be *a* killer day! We spent most of the day climbing, up from the river valley, over 1100m to the high ridge we'd follow for the next three days.
Day 5: Torriglia to Calcinara
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:50 PM
Day 5: 16.3 miles. Another splendid day on the high ridge, giving us our first views of the Med, still many miles ahead. As we dropped down to Pannesi towards the end of the day, we almost got caught up in the local hunt.
Day 6: Calcinara to Camogli
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:51 PM
Day 6: 10.3 miles. The last day of the walk was a little shorter but still had its moments. Fabulous views of Recco and Rapallo as we got closer to the sea, before dropping the last 500m to Camogli on the world's longest flight of steps!
Camogli
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:57 PM
The fishing village of Camogli, sitting on the west side of the Portofino peninsula, was a fantastic place to spend our last couple of days in Italy.
Abbazia di San Fruttuoso
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:53 PM
A trip to the isolated Abbazia di San Fruttuoso is definitely to be recommended. Had we not already walked almost 90 miles in the previous 6 days, we might have been tempted to hike out there, but instead we opted for a more leisurely boat trip.
Portofino
Posted by Richard on Tuesday 31st May 2016 at 05:54 PM
We had considered taking the boat again for a trip to Portofino, but the weather was against us - no boats in or out of Camgoli today!
