The Mediterranean and Savona

8/7-8/8 - San Giuseppe del Cairo to Savona - 18.53 miles walked, followed by a well-deserved day of rest

I am a creature of the water. Having been raised all my life near the Pacific Ocean, I continue to prefer the coast to any other landscape. Hell, I'm even an Aquarius. Now, finally, after four weeks of crossing the entire northern chunk of the country, I was going to reach the sea.

I had just a bit more of a hill to climb before I could start the descent toward the water, and it passed quickly. When I reached Altare, I was told to cross through a tunnel, where I would find the road that would lead me down to the water.

The way they made it sound, I had expected to find vast panoramas of water the entire way down. Finding only the barest suggestion of water at the other side of the tunnel, I still prepared myself at every turn to be confronted by the Mediterranean in all its majesty.

Instead, each turn down the mountain seemed to be obscured by a hill or by dense forests. By 2 PM, I couldn't handle the suspense any longer, and stopped in the middle of nowhere for a quick nap and some lunch.

Even after lunch, when I restarted my walk, I had only 4 kilometers to Savona, where I knew I would see the water. So, I must say that I was disappointed as I hit downtown Savona without seeing so much as a drop of water. I even started to doubt the existence of water in this city at all, and it was at this low point that I finally hit the port. Like all ports, this was a dirty and ugly affair, but I knew that just a few more steps would finally land me on a beach, and sure enough, a half mile of walking finally yielded my first views of the Mediterranean in all its blue glory.

Off came the shoes, open flew the shirt, and I was soon walking along the edge of the water, cutting a very strange figure with my trekking poles and backpack.

Of course, the soft sand and the extra weight of my backpack made it very difficult to walk, so I was soon back up on the boardwalk, but just those few minutes along the water had made a huge difference for my mental and spiritual health.

When I finally made it to my campsite, a simple little set of shacks, I pitched my tent 50 feet from the water and changed into my bathing suit immediately.

I swam out to a giant floating intertube, climbed the ladder, and lay out there for over half an hour, bobbing peacefully on that mythical "wine dark" sea.

The walk of over 18 miles, by far the longest of my trip, had not been in vain. I had finally arrived at Savona, and had commenced the "sea" chapter of my journey.

I would stay an extra day at this pleasant little campground, with its shack bungalows and soccer-volleyball court. My neighbors, Salvatore and Adriana, were long-time vacationers at this spot from Torino, and they took good care of me. They fed me water, beer, chips, coffee, and even gave me a beer for the road, after we posed for this picture.

Amazing what a day or two at the beach will do for you. My blisters are almost healed (or at least have turned into gnarly-looking calluses), my skin feels healthier, I don't smell bad anymore, and I have a permanent smile tattooed to my face. Next stop? I have no idea. After I publish this post, I guess I'll do some internet research and figure it out. Life is good.