August 30, 2016
Cuneo to Ventimiglia
We farewell Cuneo and take a train ride across the Alpes Maritime.
August 30 Tuesday
Cuneo to Ventimiglia
We farewell Cuneo and take a train ride across the Alpes Maritime
In the early morning at Bisalta camping, we make good use of the covered area to brew coffee and pack away our tent. It has been a few days since we traveled with a full load and so it feels a little strange taking the now familiar cycle path into town to the station.
We have already figured out that with no lift we will have to unload and take bikes and panniers up the stairs separately. This we do in plenty of time having checked that the Ventimiglia train leaves from binario 2.
The other piece of key info for Italian train travel with bikes is knowing where the cycle carriage is going to stop. Should you be too far from the cycle carriage when the train stops you’re done for. No self respecting Italian guard will wait for you. If you do get on board you risk having yourself and your bikes on but your luggage still on the platform. So on this occasion all is well and the carriage is directly behind the driver’s as we had learned it should be. A few days later we were to find that this is not always so.
The trip to the coast is in misty, cloudy weather, but gives us enough glimpses of the landscape to realise how sensational a trip on the ‘train de Mervielles must be. High bluffs, narrow gorges and rushing rivers under stony bridges- Next time perhaps.
The rain and wind (is that the vent part of Ventimiglia?) are strong when we arrived at the coast and though we have planned cycling, a little further up the coast, we decide to spend the night in the Guest House Cavour close to the station.
It is a great choice. Mario and his attractive Japanese wife (and son ) both have good English and the room is large and comfortable. In addition, there is a covered balcony for eating and drinking coffee from their wonderful coffee machine. Mario is engaging and friendly and well traveled – he regales us with how he proposed to his wife underwater while scuba diving in Thailand. She also adds that he had gone down on his knee and opened a box with the ring in it! Romance and Italians!
By 7:00 pm the sun is out again and we go out to buy dinner and catch our first glimpse of the Med. We reflect that we have cycled from the Atlantic to the Med- the long way! The Mediterranean looks as it always does- so blue and inviting, yet some of the rivers flowing into it have all manner of rubbish in them and councils don’t seem to use any collection barriers of the sort used on our local Oakley Creek.
That evening we dine well after a visit to the local maceleria and fruit shop. On cold paprika chicken and salad, and remember how in Ventimiglia back in 1976 a kind Italian mechanic had shown me how to change the front brake pads on our lime green Ford Escort and how in 2005 we had caught the overnight train from there to Roma to stay with Gerard and Adele. It might be a little windy but Ventimiglia has always been good to us.
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