On to Tropea, Calabria

With the hiking program behind us, today was spent as tourists heading towards Tropea where we will spend two nights at the Hotel Sentido Michelizzia. A big bus picked us with our luggage after breakfast. Our first stop was the Chiesetta di Piedigrotta, a little church/museum inside a cave right next to the sea. It was the most unique location that required walking down a long set of stairs from the parking lot to the sea to get to the cave.

The bus then took us to Reggio Calabria, where we visited the Palazzo Piacentini, which is an archeological museum with some really good exhibits dating back to 6,000 BC. The showcase were the Bronzi di Riace, a pair of bronze statutes of Greek origin discovered in 1972.

Getting out of the museum, we got some gelato served in a brioche from Cesare, a busy gelato stand with a long line which moved pretty fast.

Then, it was back on the bus to the beautiful town of Scilla (pronounced Shilla) that was built right next to the sea. The bus dropped us at one end of the town, we walked along the shore and up a paved path througn via Chianalea where the bus would pick us up on the other side of town. The waters here were amazingly clear and blue. This area was also known for its unique way of catching swordfish. Fishing boats patrolled the water, with a person sitting at the top of a very tall mast looking for swordfish, then calling out to the fishermen on the deck below. I saw so many great photographic opportunities; I would love to come back here for a longer stay.

We finally reached Tropea in the early evening.

KCC Day 3: Monteresso to Pizzo (18 km)

Five of us opted out of the final leg of the Kalabria Coast-to-Coast, 18 km hike from Monteresso to Pizzo. After breakfast, we hitched a ride with the minivan that was hired to take our luggage to our next hotel in Pizzo. The Hotel Asterias is modern with a nice swimming pool and jacuzzi, and best of all, I got my own room! We relaxed by the pool, happy that we were not hiking as the day was quite warm.

At about 4 pm, we walked over to the center of Pizzo to meet up with the returning hikers. We celebrated their accomplishment by having drinks in a cafe right in the middle of the town square, dancing to music from speakers, much to the bemusement of the locals and other tourists.

Following that we went to the castello nearby to get the last stamp on our KCC passport and the certificate that showed we completed the hike, even for those few of us who did not finish the 3rd leg.

We then went back to the town square to sample tartufo, the gelato that Pizzo was famous for. It was delicious!

I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the town of Pizzo, checking out the church at the top of the hill, as well as interesting shops, many of which have red peppers as a theme since Calabria is known for its red hot peppers.

In the evening, we had dinner at a seafood restaurant along the shore. The food and wine were excellent.

KCC Day 2: Petrizzi to Monterosso (23 km)

After breakfast this morning, we took our bags outside to be picked up by the minivan that will take them to the next bed and breakfast. Grabbed out lunch packs and followed our guide out of town. Today's hike would be a grueling 23 km, 2 km longer than a half marathon.

The morning started out pretty relaxed, with a gentle climb uphill. We passed by fruit trees and our guide harvested some juicy apricots for us to try.

The trail had more shade than yesterday's, we went through forested paths, with nice looking plants and pretty flowers, even saw a snake!

There were fresh springs on the route to fill our water bottles. We stopped halfway near a lake for lunch, then continued up and down the hilly trail. I got really tired, legs hurting and struggled to keep up.

After what seemed like many hours, we reached the town of Monterosso, our stop for the evening. We got lost a few times as the guide went ahead with the faster hikers, which added to the time it took us to find our hotel. We stayed in the Palazzetto Dell'Orologio, a tiny bed and breakfast right in the town square. There were just a few rooms so most of us had to share bedrooms. It was a somewhat long walk to a restuarant for dinner; we were treated to a lot of free appertizers which were good but not great. They made up for the pasta I ordered which was not very good.

I decided not to hike the third day, would rather not risk injury so I can enjoy the rest of my time in Italy.

KCC Day 1: Soverato to Petrizzi (13 km)

KCC = Kalabria Coast to Coast. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel, then met our guide Giuseppe who will lead us on the hike the next 3 days. We left our luggage at the front lobby; the bags/suitcases will be picked up and taken to our next hotel. We also picked up our lunch pack since we will be eating lunch on the trail. As we head to the trail head, town's name in block letters offered great photo opportunities. We began our hike at sea level.

Then the trail began to climb.

And climbed

And climbed

More then halfway to Petrizzi ...

Then downhill to civilization again !!!

Refilled water bottles at public drinking fountains ...

Stopped at the Cafe del Corso for beer, gelato, snacks, rest, and to get our KCC passport stamped

Visited the church in Petrizzi

Left town, heading towards our bed and breakfast still a few km away but at least it was mostly downhill.

Finally, the entrance to the bed and breakfast Podere Pansera

Oh no, still have to trek uphill to get to the buildings, hoping mylegs would hold up for a bit longer ...

But the grape trellises on the way up are pretty ...

We (the stragglers) finally checked in, got our luggage that was waiting for us. I had a lovely spacious room with a view of hillside from the front door. We got drinks, a few hikers tried out the infinity pool but it was tooo cold for me.

And then dinner time! Not many choices on the menu and the food (ala carte) was so so.