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Published: September 19th 2023
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Manarola where we stayed
Picture taken early morning heading for our hike. Normally the street would be shoulder to shoulder people. The boats line the streets as there is no space close to shore for dry docking. After an appx 2 hour train ride from Florence, we arrive in Cinque Terre (pronounced Chink weh Tay reh). The name refers to 5 Villages that hug the rugged coast line as part of the Italian Riviera. Up until about 1990, the area was a relatively obscure tourist destination with a few visitors mainly from France, Germany and other European countries. When Rick Steves, the American travel writer, discovered it, the area became the 4th most popular travel destinations in Italy, behind Rome, Florence and Venice. In the early days prior to the “tourism takeover”, the main attraction in Cinque Terre was the Via Delle Amore, or ”walk of love”. The trail connected two of the villages, Manarola and Riomaggiore and when opened, it dramatically improved relationships between these once isolated communities. Young people, who rarely intermingled, now had romantic encounters on the trail. Legend has it that acts of love (i.e. kissing or hugging) between couples on the trail would bond them together for ever. Unfortunately the trail has been closed due to landslide hazards so Debra and I will have to rely on some other trail for romance.
Hiking is one of the main attractions of Cinque Terre.
RiomaggioreHarbour
It’s a fairly protected harbour and quite a few people were swimming There are many trails connecting the towns that wind their way up through the vineyards and farms high above villages. There are also some coastal trails that hug the shores, however, many of these are closed due to landslides which have become a challenge for the local authorities. We were a little apprehensive to take a strenuous hike having just recovered from Covid, however, we did complete a moderate to difficult climb from Manarola to Corniglia. The scenery was outstanding and certainly worth the effort. The development of terraced vineyards at that height took centuries to complete and the difficulty in maintaining and harvesting the crops cannot be overstated. Today It is still mostly done by hand although some semi-mechanization is being used. The region is noted primarily for its white wine with 3 predominant grape varieties, Bosco, Albarolo and Vermintino. The blend of these provide a slightly sweet, moderately light tasting characteristic.
It is a short train ride between each village and we managed to visit 4 out of the 5. Travel is full of compromises and one of mine was a boat cruise that provided a different perspective of the area. It was a pleasant warm evening,
On the boat tour
It took about 2 1/2 hours to travel to the various villages with some stops along the way. the water was somewhat calm and a moderately clear night allowed us to enjoy the sunset. Our last night in Cingue Terre concluded with a nice dinner at “Trattoria Billy’s” high above the village in Manarola.
After a couple of days in Cinque Terre, our trip concluded with train ride to Milan for our flight home. Debra as usual did a great job in planning the Italy trip and everything went fairly smoothly. What did take the edge off a bit was the unplanned experiences. Catching Covid took some adjustments for a few days and then to cap it off, after a exhilarating hike the 1st day in Cinque Terre over some pretty rough terrain, I ended up falling the next day in downtown Monterosso taking a chunk out of my chin and knee and hurting my hip to a degree that might require medical follow up at home!! (although it has improved a bit)
We’ve had many years of wonderful trips before and after retirement so the law of probabilities is such that there is going to be one more memorable than others. Italy 2023 will stand out for sure, maybe memorable for different reasons. Even though
Manarola
Picture taken from the boat one “road warrior” will be limping home, we are not to be deterred and hopefully have a few more excursions left. For 2024, we are looking forward to spending winter in southern Spain, in the Malaga area.
Bye for now.
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