Day 23 to 29 – High up in the hills and the clouds.

Another 20k through the hills and beech forests and our destination is Varzi, the old part has some of the medieval defence towers still standing. These were not so much to protect against invaders as to hide in when rival factions in the towns had fights in the streets, then you would go up your tower and pull up the ladder after you, to safely watch the commotion from above. Come down in a day or two when peace is regained…
It is picturesque.
Nice hotel here, but the restaurant is closed so that they can make salami!
We eat at a pizzeria, vegetarian food and fruit salad, a relief after 2 days of pasta and meat.
Show barbara a steep hill and she is up it like a dog after a rabbit. I can’t keep up. Today day has a long stretch up a steep hillside. Up we go through the beech woods. Walking through dense beech trees is an eerie experience, the dense leaf-cover gives a green twilight, the deep leaf-litter damps sounds, lack of undergrowth means you can see way off into the distance through the slender tree-trunks.
Eventually we come out at the top.
It threatened rain, but luckily held off – I had not brought my rain jacket with me today.
Up among the ski-lifts.
To the highest point on the walk.
Which makes me dizzy, so I have to lie down for a bit.
Now, dung beetles, of which we pass many. The Ancient Egyptians revered the beetles and made scarab brooches in imitation of their shiny multi-coloured shells. According to the Egyptian museum in Turin they admired the beetles because they rolled dung into spherical balls, imitating the sun. Since the Egyptians worshipped sun god(s), the beetles must be sacred! I’m not convinced that I accept this logic, though religions are strange.
Now, mushrooms. it is the season for them, especially the Porcini, king of delicacies (in France “Ceps”). But these are other ones, also edible and, when broken, smelling strongly of raw beef, appetising.
Today was the longest, hardest day, and the best – great walking along a high ridge, dramatic cloudy skies, not too hot, lovely. We have a fancy bed tonight.
Then another day in the hills.
Ancient tracks
Autumn Crocus
A church …
Where the Virgin cured a shepherd (collecting mushrooms) of his withered arm.
Ending at a room with a view.
The last day of the walk is a hot one, the sea comes into view.
and a long winding route through the high ridges then gradually to the coast.
Down steep alleyways …
to the small, cheerful holiday town of Camogli, a lovely relaxed place. We arrive quite late and have dinner at a pizzeria on the harbour-front.
Our hotel is next to the pebble beach, easy access for early-morning swims for the next two mornings.