Beside the Seaside

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In Which I Have A Day Of Three Halves

May 15, 2008 by Mike

Marina de Pisa

Route: Camogli - Cinque Terre - La Spezia - Viareggio - Pisa - Marina de Pisa

Morning:
Drizzle in Portofino, where there is literally no space to park the Bonneville. (I do find a space in the bike park, but it's Vespa-sized.. and I'm not.) Still, the road from Santa Margharita to Portofino is almost cartoon-like in its cuteness. Having established the bioke is slightly wider than a scooter, I have boundless admiration for the bus and coach drivers who navigate this road, steep grey cliffs on one side, deep blue briny on the other, narrow corners and twists.. and Italian drivers all around you. Eeek.

Then through early rain and emerging sunshine along the coast of 'Cinque Terre', five fishing towns clinging to the skirts of some mighty cliffs that have become UNESCO 'World Heritage' sites, so beautiful and unlikely are they. Unlikely? Access from the land-ward side would have been all but impossible for millenia: the fact that they are linked to the road network and, more extraordinary, the train network, is a recent achievement. Until they arrived, goatherds would have struggled across the many folds and cutbacks, sheer drops and canyons.

They were maritime communities - which makes the total touristification of them a disappointment today. In the harbour at Vernazza - one solitary, working fishing boat. But fifty shops selling Peruvian hats and Kenyan wood-carvings and bracelets with your name on and t-shirts and baseball caps and fridge magnets. Nowhere for the inhabitants to buy loo-roll, mind.

I did something like 120 miles of wriggle on the roads here to get, at most, 25 miles as the crow flies from Camogli.

The sun came out, too. I *promise*, rain is forecast for this afternoon. Or tomorrow, at least. Enough to keep me going.. and hoping it won't be another 10 years or more before I'm back here.

[PICTURES TO FOLLOW]

Afternoon:
Pisa. Yes it's five whole miles inland, but Pisa, like Genoa, was a major maritime power in the early Middle Ages. Galileo was born here -- though Florence rightly claims him as one of their own: that's where he did his great work. But it's famous for one thing above all..

The leaning tower of Pisa is just so.. funny. It made me giggle when I spotted it from several miles away as I approached the town. (Not a good thing, when dealing with Italian traffic.) Close up, the laughter turned to awe. I hadn't known the Tower in context, just as a bit of a joke. Placed alongside the cathedral and baptistry, though, in the 'Square of Miracles', the tower is a thing of great beauty. It's been cleaned and restored recently so I got as good a view as anyone has for centuries.

The angle of lean is so marked that it makes walking, or even standing, when looking at the tower, a wee bit complicated. You want to lean over with it. It's like being drunk for free.

[PICTURES TO FOLLOW]

Evening:
Talking of being drunk..

.. have you ever been out for a drink or three with the owner of the campsite you're staying in?

No?

Smart move.

*hic*

[NO PICTURES TO FOLLOW!!]

Comments

By erkut | May 20, 2008 7:27 AM

Hey mate,we came back to Istanbul yesterday.I hope you're allright.
We spent 5 more night after you. St.Margarita-Lucca-Siena-ferry (Ancona-Igoumenitsa) and Thessaloniki. Lucca,San Gimigliano and siena are amazing.
Enjoy your ride.

By Mike With | May 20, 2008 7:10 PM

Hello Erkut.. hope you missed the rain. (I met Erkut and his friends a couple of times. They've been to Hungary, Italy and lots of bits in between on their Varaderos. Very friendly. I asked them the question I've asked many hundreds of people, regarding where this trip around the coast of Europe should finish:
"Is Turkey in Europe?"
"Well of COURSE it is," they all replied.
And you know something? They should know -- they're Turkish. (The first Turks I've met on the trip, in fact.)
So it looks like besidetheseaside will finish on the Turkish-Syrian border.. unless anyonethings Syria is in Europe? (Err, are they in Eurovision?)

Thanks again to Erkut for logging on here.. see you in Istanbul.

By Matthew | May 21, 2008 6:17 PM

Hi Mike, glad to see you're back on the road again. Got a bit of catching up to do on the diary it seems. I think you're right about the change in driving/riding 'etiquette'.. we had a week driving from Brindisi to Rome a month or so back -any gap between you and the wheely thing in front just gets filled by the wheely thing from behind. In the long run they'll be toast and you will be still toddling along at 30 mph. Still, take care and learn some appropriate hand gestures ( naturally only ones you can safely execute while riding).

Talking about the finishing point..Turkey is in Europe but doesnt the Black Sea have a sort of seasidey bit that counts or doesnt it qualify ( maybe due to rule 352 sub section 3iii - you know the one, I'm sure, something about having to travel with the sea on the right at all times without deviation repetition or........hesitation)

By Mike With | May 24, 2008 10:41 AM

Matthew -- perhaps we'll meet on the road *next* summer instead? (I was going to write "bump into each other" but in this context I'd better not.)

As for the end point.. I'm aiming to get round the Black Sea from Istanbul (not crossing the Bosphorus at this stage) via Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Russia until I reach the Georgian border, which is closed to foreign travellers.

The question I asked Erkut (and many others) is: should I take a ferry to bypass Georgia, arriving at Trbzon in northeast Turkey, then continue round the coast of Anatolia/ Asia Minor/ 'Turkey in Asia' as far as the Syrian frontier.

(All answers gratefully received)

See what I mean:
http://tinyurl.com/64sql3

--Mike

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