Massa Carrara in May - Zanego Tellaro Lerici San Terenzo hike

The weather is holding up and we have now got our bearings in the Golfo dei Poeti area so we go directly by car to Zanego, well not quite directly because we stop at a convenient bakery to stock up on focaccia, torta salata and bread (you never know...), to make a change from the bread, cheese and ham of the day before. We manage to squeeze into a parking space in Zanego not far from the path which we had taken yesterday. This time the views of the coast, Tellaro and Golfo dei Poeti are as beautiful as promised 

and we are soon heading down a multitude of steps towards the main square of Lerici. 

Sometimes some moments are just perfect and today is one of those. We find a convenient bench with a splendid view of the tall colourful houses and castle of Lerici, the sun is warm, the sky is blue, there are just a few people strolling around, the temperature is perfect, the focaccia and torta salata delicious, a one-legged but unperturbed seagull is hopping around keeping the ground free of crumbs. We munch focaccia and give thanks for our good fortune.

Eventually we get up and carry on along the promenade, we've already walked a lot and we want to visit Tellaro on the way back but it's just too nice not to continue our stroll all along the shore as far as San Terenzo (more cooling paddling ensues). On the way I go past one of the perfect hotels I would stay in in another life in which I was richer and less active, from the bedrooms indeed from the bed there must be a breathtaking view of the beach (because the hotel is actually on the beach below the road), the sea and behind glorious colourful Lerici and it's castle.

We are a little less ecstatic puffing back up the steps out of Lerici but are soon surrounded by beauty again in Tellaro which is every bit as pretty as one of the Cinque Terre. 

We decide to stop for a coffee for me and cool beer for Andrea, it's a really warm day, right on the tiny harbour. Delightful! What goes down must go back up to the car, and, perhaps because of the cold beer it's decidedly an effort, a moment of uncertainty requires a stop in the shade, but then everything is ok and we are soon on the way home. A beautiful day.