5-2-10 Framura to Moneglia - day 28

5-2-10 Framura to Moneglia - day 2

So it did rain over night but my tent did not get too wet on the outside since it had been dry for a few hours. Packing up takes longer with tent and sleeping bags involved. A cloud came over and drizzled on my tent so I did pack it wetter than i'd hoped..everything else was dry though. I rain proofed my pack just in case, for the walk.... I had slept fairly long although I had woke many times. Sadly this was not a fully functioning italian camp ground yet..so no caffeine available. I paid and hit the road. As expected it was a slow climb uphill...first on tarmac for maybe an hour, this is good because it means no loose rocky climb or steep steps for a while...i thought I found the trail head but it did not feel right so decided to walk the road some more and sure enough higher up, signs let me know I just found the trail head...there were signs posted that in winter season, every wednesday, sunday and some other day this area was designated wild boar hunting area... I was glad it was not in season..but I did wonder what I would do if I ran across a surly wild boar...this never happened.... once the trail did turn into hiking path it was not as bad as some....again more woods mostly conifers..it was grey for most of the walk the mid point would be Deiva Marina, coming down into town, was a horrible trail...very steep, narrow and full of loose rocks including shale... I am really surprised that with my pack and bag that I did not somehow slip or get scratched up...this definitely was not a trail for someone with a pack on...who knows how I managed, but luckily like all things, it came to an end, in a quiet little town.. I was joking in my head, that it was so quiet that even the church would be closed on sunday...and sure enough it was...i had to laugh...i stopped at the beginning of town for a cappuccino, the woman misunderstood and made it mostly milk..so I felt I did not get adequate caffeine, I did have a small slice of pizza there for lunch...the town had the walking signs well laid out so I could figure out where on the other end the trail continued...i had to stop for one more coffee stop though before I hit the trail.. I have to say not knowing what kind of trail conditions to except is interesting. I think had I known about some of them I would have balked...perhaps in this case it's better not knowing..the second leg to Moneglia, though still hard, with yet another steep climb, did not feel as scary going down, again there was a road I followed up for a while... then I saw private property signs and thought the road ended and I had to take this unmarked trail...i should never take an unmarked trail...i walked it for a few minutes...but it was just not going the direction I thought it should..so I went back to the road... luckily a man was passing and yeah I needed to stay on the road a bit longer... the private property sign was not for the road, like it often had been but was instead for the pile of junk left on the side of it, or so I guessed... then again the road did turn into a slender hiking trail...but like I said, now getting i felt i was getting hardened, for even though, it was still hard and steep but quite manageable...though when I did see signs for Moneglia I was more than glad...

then, I had snaking roads and stairs for a long time...the sky opened up finally as it had threatened to all day and it started pouring... I barely got the important stuff covered up..it was hard rain I had chosen to drape my rain coat over my camera and front bag and allowed myself to get wet, since it was fairly warm refreshing rain..... again I felt like I was entering the town from the back side...first past ugly little camping trailer settlement and then under the rail roads.. I found the tourist office but it was closed.. a lot was closed... I stopped in the church which was empty and sat for a while...i then tried to get my barings to find a room...which I eventually did...i balked at the first price and was about to ask if she knew a cheaper place...but then the price dropped rather nicely and I never had to ask my question.. after the usual shower and hanging things out to dry.. I went back out... I found picnic ingredients because I could tell I was not in the mood to wait around till restaurants opened again at 7,30 – 8,00 so instead back to my room...german tv again and picnic in the room...