Day 8. Monterosso-Levanto

Flipping heck. I thought the train yesterday morning was full but today really took the biscuit.

When we arrived at the station it was swarming with people trying to buy tickets. As we already had ours, in order to get past the hoards I naughtily ducked under a barrier, only to get my walking poles and myself stuck. A nice Korean(I think) lad took pity on me and rescued me but it was rather embarrassing.

Steve meanwhile had been swathing a path and was quite surprised to look back and see me tangled up quite some way behind. I have now taken to hanging on to his rucksack for dear life so we can’t be separated.

On the train, we struck up conversation with an American gentleman from Colorado, who made the mistake of insulting British food, saying it was bland with no “sauce”. What the hell do you think gravy is? Clearly he’d never been to a chip shop and had curry sauce. Damn cheek of the man.

We were disgorged yet again at Monterosso but this time we were walking in the opposite direction towards Levanto. How different this was to yesterday. A fraction of the number of people we saw yesterday. There was a breeze, some shady areas and lovely sea views. Admittedly you can’t see the villages, but it was a much more pleasurable hike than yesterday’s.

We arrived in Levanto feeling very sweaty. Our guide book had made no mention of a beach at Levanto and so we hadn’t brought our swimming stuff with us. Well, there is a beach and it was very irritating not being able to plunge into the sea and cool down. I did manage a paddle though.

We stopped for a drink and were presented with nibbles as well. This is all part of aperitivo time in Italy and very nice it is too. You could stop for a drink in several bars and not need any dinner.

A quick wander around the centre made us decide that although not as pretty as the villages, Levanto was very pleasant with lots of restaurants and bars that you could actually get a seat in and not have to share your table with random people. Not that I mind having company, but I prefer to choose it. And it wouldn’t be Mr Colorado.