Cervo

Saturday 26th July.

We are parked up tonight on a Sosta or Camperstop site in Cervo on the Italian Riviera. We arrived yesterday after a short drive from Finale Ligure passing through lots of small resorts, all packed with holiday makers at this time of year. The site we are on now holds over a hundred motorhomes and is almost full. It's almost exclusively Italian folk here, again no Brits at all.

Yesterday we walked down to the beach which is coarse sand and it was full with folk cheek by jowl under their umbrellas. The beach is quite narrow but there are rocky outcrops all the way along for a mile or so and plenty of people were basking on the smooth rock with no shade at all. It was a first for Phil yesterday, she had an Italian haircut! She's wanted her hair cutting for a few weeks now and we passed a salon, called in and they said they could fit her in an hour and a half. So we wandered around for a bit, called back, the hairdresser went to work and everybody in the salon agreed that she did a great job. Or so Phil tells me anyway, I sat in the bar opposite drinking Peroni which was no great hardship. Anyway her hair looks lovely and she is pleased with it.

For some strange reason, probably to do with a lack of foresight, we always seem to be walking around sightseeing during the middle of the day and early afternoon during the hottest part of the day. Today we used a bit of common sense and waited till late afternoon before we set off to visit the old town of Cervo. This was just as well as the visit entailed climbing steep cobbled pathways and steps to get to the top of the town but it was well worth it. This wasn't a restored village just for tourists. People still live in the maze of alleyways with balconys overhead almost touching each other and tiny courtyards. A couple of houses have been turned into art galleries displaying work by local artists, there was one boutique, a jewellery shop,a restaurant and a couple of bars. The C16th ramparts and towers are pretty much intact but the main attraction is the Baroque church of St John the Baptist which overlooks the sea and the next door Oratorio of St Catherine. We sat in the piazza outside sipping a drink as a jazz band sound checked for an evening concert in the shadow of the church, occasionally halting proceedings as the church bells tolled at a volume far exceeding their PA.

The Church of St John the Baptist.

Cervo.

Cervo seen from below.

Tomorrow we set off for another Campervan site fifteen miles or so further along the coast heading ever closer to France. Our plans, which seem to change every couple of days, will see us heading into France on Monday and then following the Côte d'Azur to Marseilles before turning sharp right and heading inland to Provence. I don't suppose there will be too many holiday makers in the south of France in August eh?

Pat.

 

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