Plenty of tiny frogs in Lago Puro, Liguria
I recently visited Cinque Terre again, but this time I slept in an “agriturismo” some 40 minutes away from the towns, up in the mountain in the middle of nowhere. The owners recommended this gem of a lake, known only by locals. Not only was it beautiful, but it also held an unexpected treasure: large numbers of tadpoles and tiny frogs smaller than my fingertips!
No chit-chat, let’s go straight to the point. In this visit to Cinque Terre (one of the several musts of Italy), I slept in one of my favorite ever agriturismi (plural for Italian agriturismo, meaning rural accommodations away from cities -the kind of places I always seek for my holidays). The (fantastic) owners pointed us to a small lake, some 5 km away, with short hiking paths and water springs that formed a small lagoon -that’s the “Lago Puro” which literally means “pure lake”, I guess referring to the fresh and crystalline underground water sources that feed it.
The “lake” blended with the forest and the remains of very old buildings composing the beautiful scene shown in the opening photo. But in this scene, two additional surprises awaited. In the shallow part of the lake, lots of tadpoles:
Here zooming on one of them:
But even cooler, the coast was full of tiny frogs, so small and camouflaged with the color of soil, that in fact I didn’t see them when I arrived. I hope I didn’t step on any!
Can you spot the frog here?
To make better photos of these tiny frogs, I had to grab them and shoot from very close. See how small they are compared to my fingers or my ring!
As you see these frogs were minuscule. I don’t know if they keep growing up or the species they belong to is just small. Those tadpoles were too big, so they cannot precede them, I think. On the other hand, I saw this much bigger frog around, a single specimen… was it one of their parents?
Last, slightly off-topic, here’s one more photo of the stone bridge you see above the lake in the opening photo. Just because I want!
About the hotel -in case you want to go stay in it too
In this trip to the Cinque Terre I slept in one of my favorite ever agriturismi (plural for Italian agriturismo, meaning accommodations away from cities -the kind of accommodation I always seek for my holidays). It was quite simple, but I liked it so much that my review on booking.com reads “10 points. (+) The meals, the nature around (especially the lago puro), the calm especially at night, the fresh air at night despite the weather was hot down by the sea. Excellent bed and hot water shower, touristic advice, and wifi in the rooms. And I loved the visit to the orto where they get the veggies for dinner. (-) Nothing”
If you wish to stay in this place let me know and I will give you the name. (I don’t write it here because I don’t intend to do any advertisement, I just gave you my honest opinion.)
I am a nature, science, technology, programming, and DIY enthusiast. Biotechnologist and chemist, in the wet lab and in computers. I write about everything that lies within my broad sphere of interests. Check out my lists for more stories. Become a Medium member to access all stories by me and other writers, and subscribe to get my new stories by email (original affiliate links of the platform).