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Published: April 24th 2012
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Road Among the Trees
just the road through the trees along the mountain by the sea September 12, 2010
This is a day trip I took to meet some friends in Cinque Terre who were visiting from America, Caleb and Angie.
I began early because I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get there. It started out easily enough, cruising through the villages connected to the end of Genova (Genoa). But after about two hours, I found myself surrounded by only trees as I was riding along a small coastal mountain. I was not expecting a lack of villages when I noticed I was getting low on fuel. Instead of taking the high road that might have been quicker, I took the next turn that took me down the mountain to Levanto, a sea-side village where I hoped there would be a fuel station.
I passed a sign that said 9km and I was sure I'd make it. I made it only about another 3km when the scooter sputtered and died. 6km to go... I pulled off to the side of the road and pondered what to do. There were no other cars and no houses around so getting help would require a lot of waiting or a lot of
Grape Vines
washed out shot of a vineyard, will probably be used to make a special white wine walking. I wasn't too excited about doing either one of those since I was supposed to meet my friends sooner rather than later or else we wouldn't get any time to spend together. After a few minutes, I realized that gravity could work in my favor. I could at least coast until the road flattened too much to coast. That could cut down on my walking distance greatly!
I put the scooter into neutral and started my coasting. After a couple tight turns that I actually had to use the brakes on, I started to believe I could make it! One kilometer down, another one down, and another one! But then I came upon something very curious: a car driving very slowly, so slowly that I was catching up to it! By only coasting! I also noticed it had Swiss plates so I realized it was a tourist but I would think Swiss would be used to mountains and winding roads. No matter, I was still running late. I found a part of the road straight enough and long enough to pass him so I released the brakes and eased by him, silently. I wanted to keep my cool
Esso
the fuel station that saved me so I just kept facing forward and I didn't get to see his expression at seeing a silent scooter pass him.
I finally made it into the edge of Levanto but gravity kept me moving so I thought I would see how it played out and keep going as far as possible or at least until I found a fuel station. As I came around a particularly tight turn, what should grace my vision but an Esso fuel station! I eased into it and leaped for joy off my scooter and danced around a little bit. I received my share of funny looks from the old men sipping their cappuccini nearby. I filled it up and with a giant grin at my successful gamble with gravity, I was on my way again!
Upon reaching the first of the five villages, Monterosso al Mare, I made the decision to stay on the high road since I was not concerned about running out of fuel again so soon. What I did run into was a bicycle race! There were no signs or road closures or warnings or anything! There were also some camper vans struggling to get somewhere without inadverdantly
Vernazza
village #2 from the sea hitting a cyclist so I assumed it was ok for me to continue. Now I had more challenges and obstacles to look out for. I definitely had to pay super close attention!
I found the turn off for the last of the five villages, Riomaggiore, and took it. Unfortunately, the race was going the same direction. From this point on, the roads decided to be more twisty than usual so it was nearly impossible to pass the cyclists because I couldn't get enough speed on them! Eventually our paths split and I coasted into Riomaggiore and parked the scooter.
Headed into town on foot, I finally found Caleb and Angie. They showed me their little guesthouse where they were staying and then we made plans for the rest of the day. First on the agenda was lunch, but we decided to train back to the first village and eat there before hiking to the second village, Vernazza. We grabbed a quick lunch and some bottles of water and set off on the trail. After a quite uneventful hike, at least compared to the drive, we arrived in Vernazza where Caleb just had to jump in the water and
Corniglia
village #3 from the sea swim around a bit. We patiently waited for him to finish and then boarded the boat to go back to Riomaggiore.
I said my goodbyes at the scooter and started my long trek back to Genova. I watched my fuel gage like a hawk but there was no concern for the trip back. I leaned back and cruised through the villages even after the sun had set. The only exciting part of going back was at one traffic light near the outskirts of the city, there was a bus with a bunch of people unloading bags and crossing the street to a hotel. On the side of the bus was a Sampdoria logo (local professional soccer team). Some of them were dressed darkly and I came close to hitting a few of them as I went through the intersection. I thought it odd that the team would stay at a hotel just outside their city so I was (and still am) unsure of who they were.
I finally made it home, and safely I should add. It was a long day full of many typical unexpected adventures. But who wants a trip where absolutely nothing goes wrong? That's
Manarola
village #4 from the sea a trip for NASA and they can keep it.
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