…and thank goodness I did stay on because the route to Pigna, through the Val Nervia was beautiful and fragrant. Wild thyme, rosemary, lavender, mint and juniper were all along the trails. If I were to direct a movie about an inconceivably picturesque horseback ride through the Italian Alps, I couldn’t have ever imagined a more lovely set than the one we rode through that day. Of course, surrounded by all of that natural beauty, I couldn’t help but to garnish the assiette de fromage for lunch that day.

Along on the ride was guide Scott’s mother Christine who is a studied herbalist and very knowledgeable of all of the plants in these hills. We spent much of the ride comparing names of the different plants, fruits and flowers along the way and she told me how they were used as natural remedies in french country life.

She was present in the formative years of these “into the wild” adventures, along with former husband Denis {Click on Horsing around in The Alps to read about his interesting background} who runs Horse and Ventures today.  This family truly lived the French rural life, in fact, she told me that when they first married they chose to live in a farmhouse in the mountains without electricity or running water, much to her parents concern. That penchant for the more simple rural life, and a passion for animals and nature was intrinsic on this trip.

She also taught french in the Czech Republic and was {appreciably} relentless about correcting my vowel sounds, which she says is one of the main problems foreigners have with speaking understandable French. Click on French Vowel lesson to see the video I took of her pronouncing the 5 basic vowel sounds for me to practice, afterward you’ll see Scott and another rider who joined us, John Baptiste, from Nice, explaining the additional sounds for the vowels {there’s a total of 13 sounds}. This has actually really helped me in my communication, many times I have known the words but people haven’t been able to understand me, I find as I really focus on making the correct vowel sounds I’ve had greater success in communicating with the French.

The trails were surrounded with Strawberry Trees {arbutus unedo}, loaded with fruit and flocked with fluttering butterflies, they truly looked surreal against the clear blue skies as we trotted along the aisles they framed.

This area is known as the “Cinque Valli”, which runs from Cap Martin, France to Diano Marine, Italy, along the rivera and back into the valleys at the base of the alps in the Parco Naturale Regionale delle Alpi Liguri <~ click here to see how you can hike through this Italian section of the Alps facing the sea, and enjoy all of the rich culture, food and history it has to offer.

There were a few villages along the way, but on this day we were mostly in rural, unpopulated lands. The end of the ride, however, was a paved, winding road descending through thick olive groves with cars and harvest vehicles passing by… not the most peaceful section of the ride.

I was actually pleased we got a little lost as we got into town, because it resulted in a wonderful run on the beautiful, soft trails along the River Nervia, a popular walking spot for locals and tourists. Higher in the hills there are hot springs that pour out of the mountains and flow into the famous thermal baths of Pigna.

When we turned around and got back to our meeting spot we were greeted by a wonderful group of Italians. I was impressed again with Scott’s ability to figure out how we could get from point to point, accommodating our horses and our humans. We removed the tack and stored it in an open air warehouse of the local housewares store.

The owner of the store rides horses as well, so he let our horses stay in his riding ring. As soon as we released them, the horses took a well deserved roll in the sand, we broke up bales of hay for them to eat and then headed up to Comune di Pigna, named for it’s resemblance to the shape of a pine cone.

Renato, the owner of the fabulously cozy, ancient, modernized just enough B&B, Via Col Tempo picked us up and drove us to the foot of the village. We walked along the dark winding alleys or “chibi’s”, which were created by the practice of building newer homes on top of older homes, into the side of the hill, creating a tall fortress and somewhat of a labyrinth over the centuries.

As much as I was trying to focus on immersing myself in French, I have to admit I was elated to have the chance to speak english with he and his wife Nadia, since they were both fluent. There is a great love story behind this B &B. The couple is from Pigna, but didn’t know each other growing up because of their age difference. They both left Italy and had their worldly experiences but then met up when visiting family back in Pigna again. Today, Nadia’s mother lives next door to them and tends an expansive garden up in the hills. This sophisticated couples passion for their village, rural upbringing, family and Italian country culture brought them back to Pigna to settle. This passion is manifested in their chic, authentic B&B.