The Unique Cinque Terre

The past week has been terrific.......it started with meeting our Swiss daughter in Lucca and ended with a rewarding Cinque Terre trek. Lucca was charming, a city of 85,000 people but it seemed like a lot less as we immersed ourselves inside the completely walled old town where we were fortunate to find a small two bedroom apartment to stay in. You can actually walk on top of the wall and it is a beautiful 4 km stroll along tree lined walkways that look down into the old town. The annual Comic and Games festival (largest in Europe) was about to happen and the preparations were underway for the massive event which would have been fun to be part of......270,000 people attended last year with many of them wearing costumes of their favourite characters. We still found enough to entertain ourselves, walking up the Guinigi Tower (207 steps, great city views), marvelling at more beautiful churches, catching a Puccini opera recital and having delicious meals with our daughter on hand.

We then took the train to nearby Pisa where we walked around the city but spent most of our time at the Field of Miracles where the Leaning Tower and Cathedral reside. They are special to visit and observe, along with the Baptistery, but Pisa didn't seem to have a lot more to offer (compared to other places we have been in Italy) so our planned short stay was appropriate in our eyes.

The following morning Rachel took an early morning flight back home to Basel, heading to the University right after her flight landed. It was sad to see her leave but that is life for our busy working daughter and we appreciated the time we got to spend with her. Fortunately for us we will see her again soon when she returns to Canada for a Christmas visit. We also left Pisa the same morning, catching a train to La Spezia which was our jumping off point for our Cinque Terra trek. La Spezia surprised us with it's lovely seaside promenade, pedestrian-friendly main street and former palaces around the city which were still in great shape (at least on the outside). It was obvious this historically famous port town was very affluent in its day and remains an enchanting city to walk around.

Leaving our big backpacks behind at our La Spezia guest house, we took the ferry the next morning all the way to Monterosso where we planned to start our hike. It was a fabulous way to view the Cinque Terre from the sea before walking the trails back to the pretty villages that seemed trapped between the mountains and the sea. The ferry and the trains were both very busy with tourists as they were the only public transportation connections between the 5 villages for those that preferred not to walk (or were not able to handle the up and down paths). The train line is actually down by the sea and spends 99% of its time in tunnels getting from village to village. All of the villages, built on rocky, sloped terrain have populations of less than 1,500 people so they are tiny but stunning to view from any angle with their colourful homes and almost cliff-side locations. We spent less than an hour walking around Monterosso.....you can cover every part of all the villages in that time......and had lunch before heading to our first overnight stop in Vernazza. The path contained many steps, both up and down as we passed along several inlets but the rugged coastline views remained spectacular all the way. We decided to spend two nights in Vernazza so that we could enjoy the views and the village even more. It was a good decision with the lovely 20'sC temperature following us around everywhere we have been, giving us a chance to watch other travellers come and go while we relaxed in a very enticing environment.

Yesterday we left early in the morning to walk to Corniglia the next village along the way. The start was a fairly steep step walk up above Vernazza then the path leveled out but once again provided wonderful views of the coastline. We passed through many small vineyards (and olive groves) where the locals were producing their own wines and olive oils, using terraced land which they had created with laborious stonework. After lunch in Corniglia it was time to move on to Manarola, our stopping point for the night. With the coastal path being closed for reconstruction (landslides) it was necessary to take the high path which meant even more climbing and a steeper descent at the end. Another 2 hours of strenuous walking was rewarded with a cold beer and a shower. Manarola was another great choice for a stopover.....a busy tiny village with travellers coming and going, and one main street leading to the waterfront to watch it all happen. We had a fabulous dinner of steamed mussels in a wine and lemon broth, and grilled octopus. Fresh seafood was available everywhere and was the predominant staple in the Cinque Terre area which pleased us and especially me with anchovies being on every menu we came across.......along with local wines and tiramasu!

Today was our final day in Cinque Terre National Park. With both the coastal and high paths both closed to foot traffic (more landslides), our only option to get to the fifth and final village, Riomaggiore, was to take the train or the ferry (and the ferry doesn't operate in high winds which were forecast). Fortunately for us, we got wind of a temporary train strike happening, which is apparently fairly common in Italy with their train system. We caught an 8:30 am train just before the 9 am strike time to get to Riomaggiore where we walked around a bit and had breakfast. I'm quite sure a lot of other travellers were still having their breakfast at this time, unaware of the strike and soon realizing that the frequent trains they depended on were not running and they were confined to their village for several hours if they were not hikers. We then caught the first ferry (which was operating after all on a less frequent basis) to Portovenere, just outside the park boundary but still along the coast and built on a hill. We walked up to the seaside fortress-like church and then further uphill to the Doria Castle for a great view of the peninsula. Then we took a bus back to La Spezia where we reclaimed our big backpacks and settled in for the night at the same place that treated us so well before our Cinque Terre visit (Atmosfere).

Tomorrow morning we will catch a train that will take us to Siena where we will begin our exploration of the Tuscan countryside.

Lucca - one of the entry ports into the old town taken from our room window inside the old town. The tree-lined wall top was a pleasure to walk around and we found ourselves up there several times.

Lucca - the Pfanner Palace from their lovely backyard.

Walking with my daughter along a pedestrian friendly street in Pisa.

The Leaning Tower (background) and Cathedral in Pisa.

La Spezia harbourfront

One of the many former palaces, most of which have turned into luxury apartments or condos in La Spezia.

Monterosso - at the north end of the Cinque Terre and where we started working our way back. It was the only village with enough space to have a nice beach.

Ten minutes after our first climb began out of Monterosso and Rhonda wondered if the steps were ever going to end. She started thinking this might be the Stairway to Heaven.

Vernazza when we were half way back down to the village.......which only meant we would be climbing back up again another day to get to Corniglia (the next village).

Manarola - maybe the most beautiful village of the five, although they all had their own unique charm.

Riomaggiore - the train tracks were in tunnels below the villages and the stations were only accessible on either side of the villages. Passengers had to walk through tunnels at the bottom of the villages, or walk down many stairs to get to the stations. Almost all the ride was in darkness while in Cinque Terre National Park to preserve the coastline.

Portovenere - our final stop. St. Peter's church is in the back left side behind the sailboat masts and protected  from the sea by a massive wall. The Doria Castle is at the top of the hill.