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Two weeks ago I spent a day walking a 7 km coastal path of one of the most beautiful coastlines I have ever seen. The place was Cinque Terre, Liguria. north west Italy. I'm hoping to post a slide show this weekend to share my walk with forum members but first I have to post this shot.
5 days after I made the walk in absolutey gorgeous weather a front rolled in from Europe and heavy rains hit the area causing normally small trickling mountain and hillside streams to turn into raging torrents of water, rubbish, stones and mud.
The main autoroute I travelled from Parma to the coastal town of La Spezia was overun in many sections by landslides with sections of the motorway washed away. A number of villages were completely engulfed in mud, countless people lost their homes, cars and personal belongings. Many were injuried and several lost their lives. A truly devasting situation.
Watching news reports on the local TV was truly depressing but what brought home the disaster to me is that at the time the news broke I was sorting out some photographs I'd taken on my walk to put into my slide show and one of the photos really impacted me.
The photo below is of the village and harbour of the Vernazza, Cinque Terre.
I took the first shotfrom the coastal walk above the town. The second shot is the same place a few days later, totally engulfed in a river of mud.
Looking back on my walk it's difficult to image how a place could turn from an idyllic coastal beauty spot into a scene of utter chaos in a matter of days but it happened and reminds me once again that we are just parasites scratching the skin of our planet, unable to control our destiny in the face of the forces of nature.
5 days after I made the walk in absolutey gorgeous weather a front rolled in from Europe and heavy rains hit the area causing normally small trickling mountain and hillside streams to turn into raging torrents of water, rubbish, stones and mud.
The main autoroute I travelled from Parma to the coastal town of La Spezia was overun in many sections by landslides with sections of the motorway washed away. A number of villages were completely engulfed in mud, countless people lost their homes, cars and personal belongings. Many were injuried and several lost their lives. A truly devasting situation.
Watching news reports on the local TV was truly depressing but what brought home the disaster to me is that at the time the news broke I was sorting out some photographs I'd taken on my walk to put into my slide show and one of the photos really impacted me.
The photo below is of the village and harbour of the Vernazza, Cinque Terre.
I took the first shotfrom the coastal walk above the town. The second shot is the same place a few days later, totally engulfed in a river of mud.
Looking back on my walk it's difficult to image how a place could turn from an idyllic coastal beauty spot into a scene of utter chaos in a matter of days but it happened and reminds me once again that we are just parasites scratching the skin of our planet, unable to control our destiny in the face of the forces of nature.
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