next hike

29th July, La Spezia – After a sizzling and turbulent month of July, it seems like we’ll have a pleasant weekend ahead, with sunny and mild weather and a calm sea… the ideal conditions for Saturday’s hike? As you may have guessed, this weekend’s goal is La Spezia, as the “natural swimming pool” event unfolds in Portovenere.

For the uninitiated, the Portovenere strait will be off limits to boats. From 3pm till 6pm, boats won’t be allowed to cross it, thus making it feasible to swim from Portovenere to Palmaria (that’s about 300mt).

Plan then is to have a hike along our favourite trail in Liguria, the so called Infinite Trail, across olive trees, a windmill and majestic views over the coast. The “infinite” trail probably owes its name to the fact that the alignment of Mt Muzzerone, Portovenere and the islands of Palmaria and Tino make the trail appear much longer (almost infinite) than it actually is.

Since we haven’t been there for some time, let’s head to Campiglia and walk along the classic route to Portovenere, which takes around 2 hours. In order to put less strain on our knees, we’ll probably head down via the easier Muzzerone hut trail (no detour to Fort Muzzerone this time). As for getting to Campiglia, we can either walk from La Spezia or take a bus ride to Marola and then reach Campiglia via trail 528 (90 minutes).

Hike is rated as “E” (intermediate), with an elevation gain of 600 metres.

You may read more about the Infinite trail on:

Seguendo Minerva a Portovenere

and about the Natural Swimming Pool on:

https://lamialiguria.it/eventi/la-piscina-naturale/

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How to get to La Spezia, and how to come back alive:

On Saturday, July 29th, let’s meet at 10:10am outside La Spezia Centrale railway station, near the red human pyramid monument

Suggested trains are:

» if you are travelling eastwards:

IC 505 – 08:53 Genova Piazza Principe (9:01 Genova Brignole) 10:09 La Spezia (might get booked out, so don’t wait for Saturday to buy it!)

» if you are travelling southwards:

REG 3015 Milano Lambrate 6:32 (Rogoredo 6:38) Genova P.Principe 8:16
(*) +
IC 505 Genova P.Principe 8:51 – La Spezia 10:09

(if you have blind faith in Trenitalia and you want to make the most of your 3-day ticket, there’s a way, via Parma, which is covered entirely by regional trains)

Return will be from Portovenere/La Spezia, possibly around 6pm/7pm.

(*) if you’re coming from afar, you may consider getting the 3 day regional pass for 29 euro.

As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to message me ( vidlothianATgmailDOTcom ) or call me (+393297203364)

next hike

Saturday 22nd July, Sestri Levante – It seems like the weather forecast for Saturday is improving! Given that this weekend’s big event takes place on Saturday, I think we can safely place our bets on Saturday (and perhaps leave the sunnier Sunday for a swim?)

The big event is, of course, the Sagra del Bagnun, a festival that is primarily about a soup of tomato and anchovies, that is served to everyone (for free) starting from 7pm. As it often happens with Ligurian festivals, there will be live entertainment and fireworks. You may read more about the festival on https://www.sharry.land/en/events/la-sagra-del-bagnun-a-riva-trigoso or https://www.mentelocale.it/genova/eventi/256620-sagra-del-bagnun-2023-a-riva-trigoso-distribuzione-gratuita-fuochi-d-artificio-e-musica.htm

As for the walk, given the not-so-low temperature, let’s have the classic Punta Manara hike in Sestri Levante, as described on https://portofinotrek.com/it/da-sestri-levante/139-547-trail-ad-anello-sestri-levante-riva-trigoso.html

What can we add as bonus hike? Probably not the trail to the sea they’re trying to build at Punta Manara: I understand it is not ready yet and some people, who possibly use openstreetmap, had to be rescued this year.

What has been restored and is fully walkable is the path along the slopes of Monte Pagano, the scenic hill that overlooks Riva Trigoso and hosts its city park. We’ll then finish the hike by unveiling the secrets of Monte Pagano.

Main hike is rated as T (easy) and should take around 2 hours, with 180 metres of elevation gain. In order to avoid the initial annoying flight of stairs, we’ll probably take last year’s path that starts from the cemetery. The Monte Pagano bonus hike will add an extra 30 minutes.

By 4pm we’ll likely be in Riva Trigoso. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to swim, as the sea is said to be rough, but we can give it a try, while waiting for the Sagra to begin.

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How to get to Sestri Levante, and how to come back alive:

On Saturday, July 22nd, let’s meet at the entrance of Sestri Levante station at 11:34 am.

Recommended trains are:

— if you travel eastwards

REG 12355 10:11 Genova Principe (10:20 Genova Brignole) 11:30 Sestri Levante

or

RV 3265 – 10:45 Genova Brignole 11:34 Sestri Levante (might be quite full)

— if you travel westwards

REG 12222 – 10:15 La Spezia Centrale – 11:15 Sestri Levante

— if you travel southwards

REG 3015 – Milano Centrale 7:25 (Milano Lambrate 7:32) Sestri Levante 10:28 (*)
(there’s also a train at 8:30, with some pretty tight connections)

Return will be from Riva Trigoso, possibly between 6:00pm and 11:00pm (depending on how much bagnun you want to eat!)

(*) if you’re coming from afar, you may consider getting the 3 day regional pass for 29 euro.

As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to message me ( vidlothianATgmailDOTcom ) or call me (+393297203364)