#tellaro

After spending a whole year away from the ocean, being cooped up in quarantine, and Alex studying all day everyday, We decided the thing we needed most right now was to swim in the sea and be in nature. After talking with our friend, Alyssa, we decided to head to Liguria!

Originally we had considered seeing Cinque Terre and going by train. However, since our top priority was to swim on a secluded beach with little-to-no sand and  getting to Cinque Terre by train took around 4hrs each way we adjusted slightly. Alyssa ended up borrowing a friend’s car and volunteering to drive us! ( since neither Alex or I have a international drivers permit)

By car Liguria is only 2.5hrs away and we decided to head south to the small seaside town of Tellaro. There we could take one of the beautiful hiking trails towards Montemarcello and get some good rocky beaches in.

Free parking is scarce in this area so we ended up parking in the even tinier village of Fiascherino and walking through Fiascherino and Tellaro about 1.5k to the trail head.

The ‘beginning’ of the trail is marked as you head through the piazza of Tellaro. You’ll first walk down some residential vias ...we were ready and excited to go on a hike and hit the beach!

And then you begin the uphill. At first you’re still walking up through the houses of Tellaro. Eventually it turns into steep stairs heading towards the trees.

When you finally level out it appears to be a nice coastal trail marked by red and white signage.

The first part of the trail is beautiful. Green trees, ancient walls, and stunning views of the small bays below.

We were stopping every few feet to take another photo.

Even though Alyssa and I both researched this trail, we somehow got the wrong impression. We thought it would take around 1.5-2hrs.  A little bit of uphill but manageable and along the coast.

While you do get some stunning coastal views this trail is anything but easy.

It has really steep inclinesthat are difficult to capture in photos. But trust me, it’s like some very steep stairs.

Alex and I are both much less fit than we like to pretend. After sitting inside during quarantine and Alex spending 8hrs a day at her desk studying, we are not cut out for this mountain we were suddenly climbing. Even if it was really well marked

After about an hour and a half of climbing ( with some downhill and a few flat parts) we reached the a little over the halfway mark. We thought about continuing but the dawning realization that 1) this was not going to take 2hrs and 2) we have to hike back to the car when this is all over gave us pause.

The best course of action was to surrender to the mountain. To head back down the trail and try to reach this beautiful rocky cove we passed on the way up.

That way we could still get some time in the sea and Alex and I could catch our breath.

Down was easier than up and we reached the trail down to the beach in about 30min.

If you have all day or of a higher fitness level and like a challenge, I think trail 444 could be amazing. But we were just not prepared and had a bit of a time limit.  Stopping to enjoy the water instead of trying to power through was a great  decision.

Tellaro, Lerici

La Spezia, Italy

☆Brezzamarina☆

Quando ti basta una parola sola