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Published: November 15th 2010
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Morning Harbor Scene
Looks like another good day for fishing... We decided to spend our last morning exploring Vernazza's sights--something we really hadn't taken the time to do so far--and then ride the ferry between the towns during the afternoon, to get a different "perspective", literally, on the area. This made for a more relaxed day, although we got our hiking fix, by walking the trail straight up the hill above the town--gotta get in that "stairs work"!
Dinner was at a highly recommended restaurant, Al Castello, perched high on the cliff above the harbor just below the castle ruins. Unfortunately, it was nearly deserted, no view since it was dark this time of year, and the clear plastic sheeting "walls", which probably would have been rolled up during the summer, let in very cold drafts. The few diners ate in silence huddled in their coats. We had already ordered when we heard the man at the table next to us say to his wife, "This is the worst meal I've ever had!" Uh-oh...
Our seafood risotto turned out to be OK, although some of the seafood didn't seem to be the freshest and we left it on the plate. We got out of there as fast as possible,
Climbing Up to Il Castello
Typical Vernazzan "street" then looked for somewhere to salvage our last night. We popped into a lively bar on the harbor for some limoncino (AKA limoncello, another specialty of the region) and ran into the couple who had made the negative comment in the restaurant. They asked us to join them, and we enjoyed a couple of hours chatting with them over drinks. They were a ER doctor and his wife, who split their time between San Francisco and Truckee.
This has been one of the upsides of the overwhelming number of tourists in this area--travelers are open to striking up conversations with strangers, and in such a small area, you often run into the same people again and again, creating a sort of comaraderie. The downside is what we have begun to call "the Rick Steves-ization of Cinque Terre". When the trains pull into the stations or the ferry docks in the harbor, the towns are flooded with tourists, all heading down the main street like lemmings to the sea, with their blue "bibles" in hand, all taking photos of the same Rick approved sights. Seriously, I felt I had to hide my own copy in my purse and sneak looks
Il Castello
We climbed up to the ruins of "the castle" on the point adjacent to the harbor. It once served as the town's lookout spot for pirate attacks. at it, so as not to be associated with the tourist hordes. Oh wait, I guess we can't escape that easily. We ARE tourists, and American tourists to boot!
The locals seems to be somewhat ambivalent about this state of affairs. On one hand they are counting the days until they close for the season (which seems to be next week, in many cases), and can have their town back. On the other hand, tourism is now the major industry thanks to Rick, who "discovered" the area in 1980, allowing for perhaps an easier way to make a living than relying on fishing or trying to farm the rocky terraces. Our host Giuliano was quite frank in his dismissal of the numerous tourists who came to Vernazza expecting a 5 star resort, and bemoaning the fact that he still needed a few more weeks of guests to "make it"... He was especially fed up with the Americans he'd been dealing with, with their classic "Ugly American" attitudes. (I guess his venting to us meant he didn't put us in that category?) Of course, he was experiencing marital difficulties with his American wife, and that may have negatively prejudiced him
towards the tourists, especially Americans. But I do think he was right on in his view that people come to CT treating it like Disneyland, when it is lived in by real people, who continuously struggle with the land and the elements to make a living. As he said, it is beautiful here, but life is hard in a way outsiders can't understand.
OK, enough philosophizing--on to the photos!
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