Day 12

Buongiorno,

Today we had a very exciting day.

From our hotel in Tirrenia we drove an hour north to La Spezia. Well, it took a bit longer than an hour to actually get to the train station, by the time we’d taken a wrong turn or two. The good thing about the little Clio is we haven’t found any where that it doesn’t fit yet, so a wrong turn is not a disaster, we just carry on and take the next turn, or find a way to do a U-turn. Much easier and less stressful than the big old camper!

The train station was a model of Italian organisation and efficiency. Complete chaos. A pair of Frenchmen tried to jump the queue, which caused a very loud argument in French and Italian, neither side willing to back down and grievances as far back as the Napoleonic wars being aired.

We managed to get our tickets, find the correct platform, and onto the right train. We were headed to Cinque Terre.

“Cinque” is the Italian word for the number five, and “Terre” is “lands”, or Five Villages. These are a group of five beautiful little villages, literally clinging to the cliffs above the sea. The villages are within walking distance of each other. It normally takes about five hours to walk to all five, but the track was closed between the last three villages due to floods and slips in 2011.

While a rail line runs through all five villages, access by car is very limited, and not possible to some villages.

We rode the train all the way to the furtherest village, Monterosso.

What a beautiful little place. There was a beautiful beach, mostly private, but there was a public area as well. Little restaurants, shops, and lots of tourists.

We had a light lunch while watching the beach-side scenery. Then we decided to have a swim. The beach was lovely. The sand was almost the consistency of shingle, or builders mix used for mixing concrete. Very course sand and lots of little pebbles, not a fine sand like we

see in New Zealand. There were no waves, it was more like a lake than the ocean as we know it.

The water was very clear. We think this is because of the very coarse, heavy sand and the lack of wave action to stir the sand up. The water looked very blue.

The shore dropped away very steeply, so you did not have to go out very far until it was over your head. Further out it was about five metres deep. Koro was enjoying diving as far down as he could to see what was down there. Didn’t see any fish, or sharks. We felt very safe and the water was lovely and warm.

We walked a bit further round to a different beach and had another swim, then sat in the hot sun to dry off. Buzzy Bee was also enjoying the sunshine.

We started off on our walk to the next village, Vernazza. It was a very narrow and steep track, and it was a very hot day. So it was a long hot walk that took about two hours. The track meanders through private little farms where families have been growing grapes, lemons and olives for hundreds of years.

The terrain is very much like what we see at places like Kohi Point in Whakatane. Steep, rocky cliffs dropping down to the sea, covered in thin, dry soil. The families that live here have spent a very long time over generations cutting terraces and planting fruit trees and grape vines.

The little villages are amazing, with the tiny coloured houses stacked on top of one another. Walking downhill into Vernazza was like something you only see on TV. Such a beautiful little harbour, filled

with people swimming and enjoying the sunshine.

By this time we were both buggered. It was only a two hour walk, but the heat and our time sitting in the hot sun on the beach had sapped our energy. The next village was a 90 minute walk. We also knew that at the next village, Corniglia, the path from the train station to the village had 400 steps. So we caught the train to the village of Manarola.

Manarola is the village you see in all the picture postcards of Cinque Terre. The view from the outlook back to the village is very beautiful. We arrived just as the sun was about to set, and the outlook was packed with budding photographers trying to catch the village while it glowed in the orange fire of a Mediterranean sunset. We were no different, and Grandma took some great shots.

We were hungry by now, so we took the train to the last village, Riomaggiore, found a restaurant and were treated to an overpriced, underwhelming tourist trap meal. It was food, and we were hungry.

After dinner we took the train back to La Spezia and our car.

Cinque Terre is every bit as beautiful as the tourist websites and travel agents say it is. It is also very busy. I would not want to be here in the height of summer, as it would be very crowded, and very hot. The walking track is very narrow and often not wide enough for two people to pass. So it must be very slow progress during a hot and crowded summer's day.

Better to visit in the spring or autumn. Plan to go swimming, and plan to take your time. We did a bit of a rush job, and we know we missed a lot. Or, just go straight to Monterosso, which is the nicest village, and spend the day on the beach.

We still had the drive home to our hotel. This was the first time we’ve driven on the Italian Autostrada at night. Even for Koro, who is a very confident driver, this was a downright scary experience.

Under cover of darkness the speeds that cars were doing in the fast lane was unbelievable. There was a total disregard for speed limits and following distances were negligible.

We got home safely and tucked up into our warm bed. Buzzy Bee was also tired after his day at the beach.

Love to you all from Grandma & Koro and Sunbathing Bee.