rain ..hard greeted me in the morning...the hotel man looked at me with a bit of pity when he asked where I was off to...indicating with a look, 'your going to walk in this?' I stopped on the way for my double cappuccino, feeling really blessed since the lady seemed to know what I wanted with out my usual pantomimes..so my wet walk started along the main road, which was flat and ran along the ocean...there was one long tunnel but it had columned openings which overlooked the ocean in sections, and even better it had a side walk.. the walk to Chiavari took a little over two hours because of a break... rain seems to slow down my walking. Once there I decided to fortify with lunch: pesto gnocchi ( I think I am in pesto land now) and something like a side of chicory?...this town too... had lots of narrow alleyways and the trompe l'oeil house fascades. I was also charmed by it.. the church here was locked which happens more than I would expect with catholic churches. I had asked a travel agents office thinking they were the tourist office, (they were just as helpful and sweet, less english) they got me to the trail start with a little map they gave me...and I was on my way to start the five towers walk, which was suppose to take three hours...it was now 1.30pm...and if I got on the right trail it would get me to town up the hill where I could stay overnight... I found the trail..it went up..but not as steep as some...and even when road turned into trail, it was not too steep... it was still raining..but it goes from drizzle to a bit harder and then slows again... the first tower was the castle tower of this town...i'd already been told it was 'private'...then I kept going up... the trail sometimes crossed the road or went along it..but mostly it was foot paths ...sometimes stairs... it went along the hill curves slowly away from Chiavari..the markings for the trail were great and constant... and I did have a not to scale little tourist brochure which I was following... the towers most of the time where church towers... I also went through a patch of woods and along some tiered farm land including olive tree farms..
.around 3.30 or so I realized I was 'not on schedule' I was not even half way according to my map.. so I added another hour to my estimations... I was getting a bit tired ..two hours later I was still not finished with this part of the walk, I still had to make it to the town with lodging after... my brochure listed the order as Torre, di Ri, Curlo, S Barolomeo, Leivi, Il Bocco, S Lorenzo, and Villa Oneto before peak of Passo dell Anchetta. Well somewhere between Leivi and Lorenzo was the first trail marker failure, the trail seemed to go down this road. There was a local couple working on their house looking at me oddly.. I went down the road... it ended at some homes and no signs what-so-ever for trail, I looked at various spots were little trails went here and there but no markers... frustrated because I knew I was running the clock now.. I went back to the main road... the couple pointed me up ahead...sure enough trail markers appeared again and one more tower... apparently there were some old trail markers, that were the same as the new ones and send you off places you should not go... then as if like fresh paint the trail marker asked me to go down a dirt road..okay it was a brand new marker... I went down the dirt road.. it looked like a road still under construction.. I saw two trails along it leading away but no markers for those..in fact no markers at all.. then the road just dead ended...no trail or marker at all... exasperated I headed back..it was now 5.30....
As I headed back looking to see if I missed anything..no..back to the main road... it dawned on me that the new road building probably obliterated the trail markers and they had never been replaced so it could very well have been some of the trails I saw.. well I decided to stick to tarmac... I arrived a the last town Ville Orte...it had a bed and breakfast but no one around and I did not have a cell-phone...so I climbed up the winding road...and on my way out I ran into a woman who made it sound like I was on the right track and I had maybe 2-3kms to go to get to this town Montellegro.. it sounded optimistic but I followed the road.. I came to the pass and here new trail markers they matched the ones that are suppose to lead to Montallegro and were going in the general direction that I thought I should be moving...so I decided to take the trail instead of sticking to the road... mind you it was now 6.30, I guessed visibility ended in the woods by 7.30 and it was still raining some... my socks had gotten wet from the wet bushes I had been passing all day and had soaked into my shoes... the path started out smooth and the down hills gentle ...this of course did change...as did the paths direction... I had the sneaking suspicion after an hour that I had picked the wrong path... I was not headed to Montallegro but back towards Chiavari... no little towns...mostly woods... and slippery down hill rocks...that eventually turned into the stairs... half brick half cement. I slipped out on the brick part...but grabbed bushes and had a soft landing...but I was not a happy camper..in fact I got familiar with my inner complainer and the mature voice with-in me having little duels...first complaining and then pointing out that it was futile I was were I was and had to just deal..Over all i've learned to surpass the inner complainer, because it does seem to just make things worse...but today...not so much...... I arrived at the bottom at eight... I found a closing bar...since I had not stopped for a break other than trail choice indecisions in three hours... I had a 'strong' beer and water... then flung myself on to a hotel... a little pricey but I was done..very done... shower, water...some tv...then bed... this had been the longest walking day by far...and I got no where at all! I decided to stick to the road for a few days.... i've enjoyed the nature but one does not seem to get forward very fast... and what I now refer to as 'trail marker failure' happens too often...either through fire damage or road expansion or what have you... most people are not using these trails to get from point a to b but as day excursions so it would not matter so much to them. And even with a compass it's hard to predict where the trail will wind if your in the woods and dont know the way the hills run here exactly...well so far i've found shelter every night....but do I get a badge for this or what? And I dont even think I took a photo of all five tower... ha ha..
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