10 & 11 Sept: Cinque Terra

Wow, the last week has flown by and I haven't had my laptop during our two "overnight trips" to Cinque Terra and then to the area around Siena  --  so the blog is now quite a bit behind.  Sorry!

Now, which few photos will I select from the 400 or so we took in CINQUE TERRA?  (The Five Lands, or The Five Villages.)

We saw some spectacular scenery on the drive toward La Spezia, but for some reason, TomTom did NOT want us to use the main freeway.

TomTom was also a bit too slow sometimes.  I'd be faced with an intersection like this, waiting for TomTom to tell me which way to go.  Hairy to say the least!  Had to do a U-turn once or twice but my two passengers managed not to have heart attacks!

 La Spezia, on the way to Cinque Terra

 After leaving La Spezia, we saw more and more vineyards on the steep hillsides

It was hard for Daryl sitting on the back seat to take photos from the moving car, but every now and then we'd see a tiny village nestled into an inlet:

The roads became VERY narrow and wound up and around the hillsides  --  fortunately, Lorraine was there to keep everyone calm and Daryl stayed silent on the back seat!!!

We were booked into a hotel just before the first village, Riomaggiore, because it had a car park.  Our rooms weren't ready, but just down the road, we found this little restaurant literally hanging on the side of a cliff:

We had our lunch, looking out over the Mediterranean:

 After we checked into our rooms, we went to the bus stop just over the road from our hotel.  We did wonder how a bus would negotiate the narrow, windy road.

Well, the bus did get us safely down to Riomaggiore, but as you can see, the driver had to do something like a 10-point turn to get the bus facing the other way to go back up the side of the mountain!

A very short walk from the bus and there was the water ...  These wonderful old fishing villages have lost none of their charm.

The train connects all five villages, but travellers can't rely soon the train timetable.  In an hour, three trains went one way, but no trains the other way.  Not at all sure how the system works!

Unfortunately, the walk from Riomaggiore to Manorola was closed (due to rock falls).  We were very disappointed.  Here's Daryl showing his disgust:

So we sat and had a coffee instead

 A train hadn't come for ages, so we crossed back over to check with the station manager.  She said, "It's due in two minutes."  Damn.  We had to go back down underground, race across to the other side, and climb the stairs again.  Just in time!

A much bigger beach at Monterosso, the "fifth" village.

The next morning, we decided to abandon the train service, and we got a taxi to the 'fourth' village, Vernazza.  On the way along the top of the cliffs, the driver stopped so that we could see the "grape train" ...

Instead of hauling boxes of grapes up the sides of the steep cliffs, the wine growers now load the boxes on to the back of this grape train.  So much easier than in years gone by!

Finally, down into Vernazza:

Houses clinging, somehow, to the rock face:

 Finally, we got the train to Manorola:

We're sure the five villages survive on tourism today, however, traditional employment (fishing, wine and olive oil production) continues.

Finally, it was time to leave our hotel and head back 'home' to Fiorino in Tuscany.