A welcome quiet day. Took the 0810 Express from Milan to La Spezia via Genova, arriving there on time at 1140. Had already sped through Manarola, so took the Regionale back 2 stops and arrived here just after noon. That 150 metres up the hill to the church piazza turned out to be more like 500 metres! A young fellow insisted on dragging my suitcase the last part of the trek for me, for which I was very grateful. Then up 25 narrow and steep steps inside the apartment block to my room -- but all worth it when I took a look out the window, down over the village to the sea. My first resolution: I must do some washing here because outside my window is one of those pull-along lines that lets you hang your washing to dry over the street!
After a nap, I did a wander around Manarola, though I gave the wine terraces above the town a big miss. When this place was developed, life expectancy must have been pretty short, becuse no one aged 60 or so could possibly live here climbing all the way up into the houses that perch on the hillside in steep array. I see the local church dates from the 1300s, so settlement here is pretty old. The place was overrun today with loud mouthed American tourists of all ages: some obviously hiking the villages, others landing in on the train for an hour's look-see before moving on. It was a circus watching them try to order lunch at one of the local eateries where the locals did a French thing and refused to speak any English. At 7pm I went back down and had dinner at a very nice restaurant next to the square that has been built on top of the rail tracks. Early to bed tonight and tomorrow I'll check out the other 4 "terre".
Saturday:
I feel very Italian tonight -- have just taken my washing in through the window off the wind-along line!
Started the day with breakfast (omelette, tea and toast) down in the village; then to the Tourist Information Stop to buy a one day Cinque Terre card which provides access to all trains and walking paths. My plan was to walk the shortest of the 4 walks called the via dell'amore between Manarola and Riomaggiore. The national park posters list it as a 20-40 minute stroll: but the guy that sold me the ticket suggested I might find it too steep and demanding. So instead I took the train to the most southern of the 5 towns.
Riomaggiore -- The town is squeezed between two high cliffs, with houses perched in amazing engineering feats all the way up them. I discovered that all of the towns look much the same when you start wandering. Full of eating places, souvenir shops, and the various specialties like geletaria, post office, farmacia etc. They all use the same pallete of paints to give colour to their town. Generally, the only building of note is the local church (of which there is often 3 or 4 despite small local populations). A couple had a municipal building or library as well.
To get a view from the sea, I took the battello from Riomaggiore in the south to Monterosso al Mare at the north ... only about 10 kilometres. The whole strip is terraced with vineyards that must have taken hundreds of years to develop. Each of the villages hugs the cliffs rising from the sea, and one can notice old battlements high up on each. Reminder of times past when North African slave traders and pirates would raid this region, and the peasant farmers would need somewhere to take refuge.
Monterosso -- is the only town with anything like a decent beach. It is split in two by a steep hill one has to negotiate via a pedestrian tunnel. The new town is to the north near the harbour and long beachs, and with the rail station there; the old town south is home to 3 churches, one the oratory of a confraternity that buries the dead and helps widows and others in distress. The Church of the Capuchin Friars was all decked out because today was the feast of St Francis.
Vernazza -- Five minutes on by train, an old castle overlooks the tiny harbour. It was badly damaged by flood rains a few years ago, which also resulted in closure of some of the walking paths for quiet a time. Most of the action is concentrated on the road up from the harbour to the train station - pretty much a tourist track.
Corniglia -- A few more minutes by train, and this little town is perched way above the sea, and has no harbour, so the tourist boats pass it by. A sign outside the station (the tracks run through tunnels close to the sea) welcomes you to Corniglia -- walk up 350 steps to get there, or take the mini-bus. I took the bus! It's quite a crowded little place, but not much different from the others.
And so back to Manarola in time for a nap, and then off to 5pm Mass at St Lorenzo, just around the corner. The organist was an old guy, but he got the most marvellous sounds out of the pipe organ they have there. Dinner at a different restaurant tonight: mushroom soup and baked chicken drumsticks. I have really enjoyed the different atmosphere these seaside villages exhibit, and although I am having to surrender to my walking limitations, it has been a really worthwhile 2 days.
Some photos to look at. I hope I manage to caption them correctly, as town to town was so similar. See them here.
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