Saturday, 2nd September, Moneglia – It seems like the heat waves are giving us a break this week, at least till Saturday (on Sunday the blazing summer may knock on our door again).
Given the not so hot temperature and the calm sea, let’s have a Saturday hike&swim to one of most picturesque shores in Liguria: Valletta (Moneglia), famous for its crags and emerald sea. Last year we skipped it, so it makes sense to go back now.
In order to get there, we’ll try to have an unusual loop from Moneglia: we’ll start with an urban walk, across the hamlets of Crova and Ca’ Bianca, then we’ll move on to Mt Comunaglia before heading down to Valletta. Path features several lookout points and, even though we’ve never walked along it, it should be in good condition, since one month from now it will be used for the Andersen Marathon (a crazy running event that’s more than 40km long)
Hike is roughly described on http://www.verdeazzurroligure.com/index_htm_files/Anello%20Monte%20Moneglia.pdf + https://www.appenninista.it/puntamoneglia/ ,
should take 3,5-4 hours (2,5-3 hours to Valletta + 1 to Moneglia), has 500 metres of elevation gain and is rated as T/E (easy/medium)… and E/EE (medium/hard) for the swimming part: if you wish to dive into the water, be warned that a little care is required to enter the sea. Also, be warned that there may be no water taps along the way: make sure you bring plenty of water!
How to get to Moneglia, and how to come back alive:
On Saturday 2nd, let’s meet at the entrance of Moneglia station at 11:05 am.
Recommended trains are:
— if you travel eastwards
REG 3015 + REG 12223 – Genova Piazza Principe 9:11 (Genova Brignole 9:23) Moneglia 10:51
— if you travel westwards
REG 12222 – 10:15 La Spezia Centrale – 11:05 Moneglia
— if you travel southwards
REG 3015 + REG 12223 – Milano Centrale 07:25 (Milano Lambrate 07:32 – Milano Rogoredo 07:38) Moneglia 10:51 (*)
Return will be from Moneglia, possibly around 5:30pm. There’s actually a potentially interesting event (about travelling and Schubert, at Oratorio dei Disciplinanti: https://www.genova24.it/evento/il-viaggio-conversazione-fra-letteratura-storia-geografia-e-musica-a-moneglia/ ): still have to figure out whether it’s worth staying in Moneglia for the evening, the singing part would definitely be interesting.
PS: As usual, if you have doubts, questions, Hamlet-like dilemmas… feel free to write to me (at vidlothianATgmailDOTcom) or call me (at +39 329 7203364)
(*) PPS: Unfortunately, it seems like travelers from Milano can no longer benefit from the 3-day “Italia in Tour” ticket, since they added the restriction that it can’t be used in Lombardia. Rules are pretty fuzzy, though, I tried asking the customer center and they also were doubtful about the correct interpretation, although in the end they believe that it cannot be used in Lombardia (while it’s allowed to travel past the Cinque Terre as long as you don’t get off, an extra ticket must be bought to travel from Milano to Tortona). If you come from Torino, you’re lucky as you have no problems of this kind!
Last but not least, if you buy your regional ticket online, watch out as Trenitalia added a nasty “check-in” feature. The easiest way to get rid of all problems is to check in as soon as you can (I believe you can check in from midnight of the same day)
Liguriah 