14- Grand bicycle tour in Italy from 2011 (Appennino Tosco Emiliano)

The weather remains unstable but the views are quite attractive.

I am going down to Busana and the rain will annoy me a bit. I Busana I wait a few hours for the rain to stop.

Then a cycle for a while on SS63 and then I turn right on SP15, a secondary road that will keep me climbing a lot, again. I will spend the night at Vairo, a little village.

Day 12) Vairo - La Spezia - Pontevenere Today the weather is still nasty and I will climb another BIG on SP68, I am in Appennino Tosco Emiliano range.

The rain sets in and I am cycling in the rain climbing passo di Lagastrello and then passo del Cirone, 2 BIGs, I will take no photos for a few hours because of the nasty weather. After Cirone I descend on SP42 and the rain will stop soon.

It's time to descend on SS62 going to La Spezia towards the Mediteraneean Sea. Near Aulla I encounter a lavish castle.

Finally I reach La Spezia, an important town.

Here I can notice a statue of Garibaldi.

In the harbour I discover plenty of palm trees.

Now I am heading for Portovenere, taking in marvelous vistas.

All my life I have been dreaming to reach Cinque Terre.

Porto Venere; until 1991 is a town and comune (municipality) located on the Ligurian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia. It comprises the three villages of Fezzano, Le Grazie and Porto Venere, and the three islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. In 1997 Porto Venere and the villages of Cinque Terre were designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The ancient Portus Veneris is believed to date back to at least the middle of the 1st century BC. It has been said that the name refers to a temple to the goddess Venus which was sited on the promontory where the church of Peter the Apostle now stands. The name has also been linked to that of the hermit Saint Venerius. In Roman times the city was essentially a fishing community.