Intro Part I (Elderhostel Tour) Part III (Villages & Friends) Part II Tuesday, 28 September. We had an excellent buffet breakfast at 8 a.m., marred only by the cover coming off the decanter as Jane poured her orange juice. Unfortunately, the day was mostly cloudy and much cooler. We intended to catch the "fast" 9:22 train that stopped only at the main towns, but they announced that it was "40 minuti in retardo." Knowing that it might never come, we decided to take the slower 9:40 train instead, one that made absolutely every possible stop. Even that was 12 minutes late. We were shocked at the deplorable condition of the cars. Every seat had been slashed; there was graffiti everywhere, and the windows were too dirty to see through. Even more than the autostrada, the tracks were almost entirely in tunnels, even in the stations.
We arrived in Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five towns, about 10:50 a.m., a full hour later than we had planned. Our intent was to work our way north one town at a time to minimize time spent on or waiting for trains. From the train station, we took the walk slanting up the side of the mountain. Near the top, it hung on the edge of the mountain and crossed a ridge before bringing us to a spectacular view of the main town. Here the medieval houses are crowded into a steep valley carved over centuries by a mountain torrent. To our left the buildings were hemmed in by the mountains; to our right they tumbled down the valley to the sea.
Walking toward the sea, we strolled down through the charming market area and then through the long tunnel back to the train station. By this time it was raining off and on. Nevertheless, we planned to walk the Via dell'Amore, the easiest section of cliff-side footpaths along the sea, to get to Manarola. After going only a short distance, however, we found that it was closed because of an avalanche. So it was back to the station. The train to Manarola pulled out just as we arrived, and it would be two hours until the next one. So we decided to catch the 12:02 to Monterosso al Mare, northernmost and largest of the five towns. We arrived there during a downpour and started our exploring under the umbrella. Within half an hour, though, the sun was out. We walked along Monterosso's nice beach, then had lunch (tuna on panini) on the patio of a small cafe suspended over the water. (Apparently that's where we left our umbrella, too.) Passing through a long tunnel, we entered to main part of town. We thought that section was prettier than the waterfront, though probably not as attractive as most of the other towns of the Cinqueterre.
We caught the 1:50 train to Manarola. This picturesque village with bright colored houses is perched on a rocky promontory stretching into the sea. This has been called the most characteristic of the five villages, probably because it looks most like you would expect a Cinqueterre village to look. We enjoyed its steep, narrow streets and little squares. The atmosphere was enchanting.
Having been unable to walk the Via dell'Amore, we decided to take what is supposed to be the next easiest footpath along the cliffs overlooking the sea. At 2:30 we started to walk from Manarola to Corniglia. Described in the guidebooks as an easy, flat walk, the path began with a series of hundreds of steps up the mountainside opposite Manarola. Once up these, it finally did level out. But the rain had left it very muddy, often with large puddles and little room to avoid them. The views were spectacular, but it was not exactly a pleasant walk. It was 3:30 when we reached the train station at the foot of Corniglia. The village itself sits atop a high promontory, well above everything around it. Jane didn't want to climb the hundreds of steps to get up there but, since the next train to Vernazza wasn't until 4:43, she finally relented. It was a struggle, but we finally made our way to the top and into the village square. We took Jane's picture with the steeple of the 14th Century church of San Pietro in the background to prove that she really did it. The walk down wasn't any easier on her knees, but we took it easy and got back to the station in plenty of time.
We expected Vernazza to be the most charming of the villages, and we were not disappointed. It was after 5 p.m. and the light was fading, and Darrell wanted a picture of the marina from a distance. He ran half a mile up the footpath toward Monterosso to get it while Jane rested on a bench near the center of town.
We wanted to check out the Castello Restaurant for the view and as a possibility for dinner. It looked like a nice place, and the view was great, but it was up so many steps that Jane didn't want to come back for dinner. We walked up Via Roma, the main street, away from the water. Between the harbor and the train station, it widened into a lovely square filled with tourist shops and restaurants. Except perhaps for the harbor itself, this square was the most captivating part of the town. As we passed the train station (located above the street), a mob of young people came streaming very noisily down the stairs, filling the street in front of us. It turned out to be a group of Americans led by Rick Steves. They preceded us up the street to Sorriso's Pensione where they stood blocking the street while waiting for their rooms. We had to push our way through. They were still waiting there when we came back down.
Back at the harbor about 6:30, we sat on a bench and watched the people. We had some time to kill because wanted to see Vernazza by night and also had to wait for the restaurants to open. There were dozens of young people out on the breakwater screaming every time one of the big waves broke over the top and splashed them. A few were even swimming across the mouth of the harbor. The Taverna del Capitano finally opened a little after 7:00, and we ate there. It was right on Piazza Marconi, the square by the harbor, and we took a table outside so we could watch the sunset. The food was very good, especially Jane's fritti misti seafood. The waiter, who said he'd worked for 20 years on cruise ships, was a bit too familiar. At 8:15 we finally had to rush him to get our bill so we could catch the 8:32 train, just on the odd chance that it might be on time. Vernazza was beautiful at night. We were very glad that we had stayed to see it. The train was only a few minutes late, and we were back in Sestri Levante at 9:20. This was our fifth train ride of the day, and the total cost was less than $6.00 a person. We only had to pay for one ticket each way because you could get on and off as often as you wanted on a single ticket in each direction. Of course, no one ever checked to see if we even had tickets. Except for the first train (our longest ride), all the train cars were in excellent condition. Since this was "out of season" and not a weekend, none of them were very crowded, nor were the villages of the Cinqueterre. It had been a long and exhausting day with a lot of walking and climbing. We didn't even think about trying to pack. After relaxing a short time enjoying the view from our balcony, we called it a day. |
