Cinque Terre

Ciao

Sometimes there is nothing better to do than just sit in the sun and dream
the day away. So that is exactly what we decided to do on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Well I did ease my conscience a bit by cycling the few miles into
town to get a few items to keep us going.
On Thursday as planned we set off early, well 09h00 is early for us, and
cycled to the train station in town to get a train out to the furthest of
the 'Cinque Terre' towns, Riomaggiore. The train was fairly quiet, and the
crowds not too bad on arrival. We took a stroll around the town to get away
from everyone and to let them get a head start on the path along the coast
to the next village. We nearly mistimed it though as we returned just after
another train had arrived with what seemed like an endless stream of school
kids on board, luckily we managed to get passed them and onto the coastal
pathway. The fist path is the busiest and has been very made up to cope with
the crowds. Unfortunately this seemed to detract from the setting and you
felt at times that you could have been anywhere but in a nice pretty coastal
nature reserve. Things eventually get better the further along you go and
after the second village things improve and you get back to nature. Having
said that there are still areas that are very built up or shabby on the
paths. The weather was cool and cloudy and very hazy which was nice for
walking but not too great for photography as the views were great but not
easy to capture. Halfway along we stopped in a little restaurant for a
coffee and a slice of lemon tart, and also a quick trip to the loo.
We eventually made it through Manarola and Corniglia to Vernazza where we
had a bite to eat and a sit in the sun on the side of the harbour. As we
were taking in the sun the clouds thickened and the thunder rumbled so we
made haste to the train station for cover and made it just as the heavens
opened. The train services all of the five villages so you can either do the
walks or use the train in between each. The walk to the last village was
about 2hrs or so and the rain would have made the path very slippery so we
caught the next train and headed back to Deiva to collect our bikes. The
last village is not supposed to be the prettiest of the five and in the rain
even less so. We managed to get back to the site just in time before it
started to rain heavily there.
Today we left Deiva and hit the SS1 towards Pisa. We are now based at a site
in Torre del Lago Puccini, and will get either a train or bus into Pisa
tomorrow. Monday is another holiday, so we may stay here until Tuesday and
then head in the direction of Florence.

É una tradizione locale o nazionale?

Ciao

M&S