Finally on the sunny side of the Riviera di Levante

To leave Santa Maria del Taro, I really had to push myself. But it was time to get out of the cozy apartment and embark on the next ultra-long stage in the early morning autumn chill. After all, the next window of good weather had just opened, and I had to take advantage of it to make it to the coast and a little further.

The stage went pretty well. I made good progress and quickly covered the kilometers at the beginning. Of course, at some point, I encountered the obligatory middle part with paths that were either half overgrown or washed out with deep furrows, or even both at the same time. But in the end, a real treat awaited me - the trail down to Deiva Marina, my destination for the day. After all the nonsense of the past few days in terms of downhill, I almost forgot that going downhill can actually be fun. And here, I descended along the steep coast for nearly 600 meters, right to the beach of Deiva Marina. Simply fantastic.

Conveniently, there was a campsite waiting for me there. And it was also free for me. The owner must have been so surprised that someone showed up with just a bicycle that he told me to just find a spot and that's it.

It was really a delight to be back at the sea. The sun was shining at me, and the damp and cold late autumn of the past few days suddenly felt far away. Only after the sun had turned glowing red and disappeared behind the horizon, did I leave the beach again and was now ready to satisfy my need for a proper dinner. But the promenade was dark, none of the countless restaurants were open. The season at this seaside resort was apparently over. Just in time, I managed to get to the supermarket to quickly grab a pack of ravioli before it closed too. And so it happened that on that evening, while I was back in civilization, civilization seemed to take no notice of me. In the end, I cooked a meager supper on my little stove in front of my free accommodation. Most of the necessary criteria for wild camping were therefore fulfilled.

The next day, a shorter stage to Levanto would follow. First, I had to cross a small hill, and then go through a decommissioned railway tunnel right by the sea. It had been converted into a bike path, and it ran for 12 kilometers along the steep coast, with several lookout balconies directly in the rock, overlooking the wild waves. Levanto itself was also situated in a dreamy bay with a small promenade and a perfect sandy beach. I still had time to complete another top-notch trail before I could relax at a beach bar and watch the surfers in action, bringing an end to another wonderfully sunny day with pleasant late summer temperatures. It would be the last one for the time being, as the next low pressure system was already approaching.