Like sardines we were on the 10.01 train from La Spezia to Montorosse al Mare the furtherest of the 5 towns from La Spezia that make up the Cinque Terre.
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| Looking back down the coast |
The plan was to walk back along the trails through each of the towns back to Riomaggiore and then take the ferry to Porto Venere before getting back to La Spezia either by bus or ferry.
The walk is expected to take between 4 & 5 hours so there was only time for a coffee when we arrived at Montorosse al Mare before we hit the road.
The first leg was to Vernazza and we started with a spring in our steps as we took a smooth roadway up the side of the slope away from Montorosse.
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| Easy... |
Smiles were quickly wiped from our faces as the road gave way to steep paths and steps - however we were committed.
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| Still sprightly |
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| ...getting harder |
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| ...and harder |
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| ...and narrower | |
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| Looking back to Montorosse after about 1 hours walk |
Approx. 1.5 hours later we arrived at Vernazza and with the plan to catch the 3.40 boat from Riomaggiore we strode on through the town and headed south.
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| Vernazza |
It wasn't long before we were clambering up the mountain tracks again high above the Mediterranean, shirt off, back pack on and bodies sweating profusely.
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| Others on the tracks |
After another hour and a quarter we arrived at Corniglia and with it being around 2.30 pm sat in the shade and had lunch and tried to recuperate our flagging bodies.
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| Corniglia |
We then started off for Manarola but found that the walk way was closed due to a slip and having been advised that the walk around the "high road" would take 2 hours caught the train instead, a 7 minute journey.
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| Manarola |
From Manarola we traversed the Via del Amore (Walk of Love) a very easy 20 minute paved walkway to Riomaggoire.
The Via del Amore is where couples leave signs of affection for each other on the fences or rails in similar manner to Mikata in Japan where Sam took us some years ago.
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| Via del Amore |
We didn't make the 3.40 ferry but caught the 4.40 and had a relaxing trip down the coastline to Porto Venere.
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| Riomaggoire |
The only reason we were going to Porto Venere was because Alessia our hostess had spoken passionately about it when we met last night saying it was more beautiful than Portofino, whether it is or not we will find out when we visit Portofino tomorrow en route to Genoa.
Having had a walk around Porto Venere which lived up to Alessia's description we took another ferry back to La Spezia
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| Porto Venere |
The whole of Cinque Terre is simply beautiful in similar manner to Amalfi, but unlike Amalfi is far less commercialised and the villages have retained their character from years ago.
The area is a UNESCO world heritage site with protected marine areas and is worth putting on your bucket list.
Dinner at a very popular fish restaurant which was a unique experience in that we had to queue for 30 mins even before it opened and then try and tell the lady behind the counter what we wished from the buffet without actually knowing what was in each dish - nevertheless we ended up with a satisfying meal.
Even as we left the patrons were queueing down the road!
"The Ultimate Contraceptive" you may ask - well after walking all day it is guaranteed that one or other or both of you will be so knackered that hanky panky is off the menu!
Oh, by the way we saw an UFO today
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