When it comes down to it, we are not “town tourists”. We don’t mind the odd intersperse of a museum, religious relic or shop pop here or there. What gives us a buzz is nature.
Human humdrum day and evening activities blot out familiar sounds from our senses. Concentrated on our immediate doings dulls our ears. Spotify “Freshly Ground” playlist drones and drowns. It’s not until the camp quietens that we hear them. 11pm. Eleven “dongs”. Ha! The nearby nocturnal church, has a job to do. Keep everyone awake for as long as possible. Night stillness ably actively amplifying. 11.15pm. Eleven dongs, plus one for good measure. 11.30pm. Eleven dongs plus two for good measure. No prizes for 11.45pm. Has Quasimodo forgotten to take his sleeping pills? Then 12 at twelve etc., etc., etc. . . . at least by 1.15am it’s just 1 plus one!! He must be getting tired. That is until 7am. Camp site is silently sleeping. So is the sun. It’s still and dark. Seven dongs, just to gently rouse us. Then, it seems Quasi has woken the wrong side of the bed with a splitting headache. He has a violent urge to share it with all and sundry. He’s only gone and found his long lost hammer. Needs to make up for lost time. He decides to compete with Thor. He’s in a frenetic frenzy. He suddenly hates bells, with a vengeance. Smashes and smashes. Forty-five smashes, against what sounds like the biggest bell in the world, until it’s out of his system. He’s drained, so are we. Can’t wait for tonight. Or tomorrow morning.
Our afternoon gives us a fix of the beautiful kind. Injections of scenery infuse around every hairpin. Senses swirling and delighting. We’re out for an adventure with the “Famous Five”. From Levanto all five coastal towns (Corniglia; Manarola; Monterosso; Riomaggiore; Vernazza) are accessible by train, foot, or in our case, via the long scenic way round on Scoot. To reach each town we must go up into the mountain mist, then down into the seaside sun.
The steep terraced hillsides incapable of preventing the locals from earning their keep with either olives or vines.
The forecast is for rain later, so we’ve been keeping the other eye on the skies. Our trip back to base is treated to a spectacular light show as the fading sun does it’s best to ward off the thickening clouds.
