6/07/2010 10:46 PM
What a strenuous day! We visited a fabulous place, the Cinque Terre, five little “hamlets” that cling to the side of these mountains which drop 800m into the sea below. The houses jam themselves together and completely fill the tiny little river valleys that drain out into the sea. (Think of building and farming on the sides of the hills on some of the Whitsunday Inlets and you get the picture.) It was the most spectacular place we have seen so far.
Only one village can be reached by bus. So first we had to walk down steps into the second village, Manarola; then travelled by tunnel through the mountain and around the side of a cliff face to get back to the first village, Riomaggiore, where another tunnel took us to a ferry; the ferry carried us past the third village, Corniglia ,which cannot be reached by the boat and on to the fourth village, Vernazza, where we bought the juiciest grapes and cherries for a snack before we boarded the ferry again to go on to Monterosso.
Here we had a two hour lunch break. We found a little cafe and had the best mixed seafood lunch you could imagine followed by a short expresso coffee...Thank goodness it was short. It would blow your head off. Then it was through another tunnel and down yet another hill before we reached the bus. Then came the most amazing climb back up from the shore to the summit and an excellent drive home through the most amazing Tuscany countryside.
With very hot days our clothes are saturated by the end so I’ve had to wash tonight and am quickly putting this blog together before falling into bed. Hobo 1 is chuckling his way through a movie which is almost finished so I’ll find a few photos to attach and call in again tomorrow night after our visit to the Cannes.
What a strenuous day! We visited a fabulous place, the Cinque Terre, five little “hamlets” that cling to the side of these mountains which drop 800m into the sea below. The houses jam themselves together and completely fill the tiny little river valleys that drain out into the sea. (Think of building and farming on the sides of the hills on some of the Whitsunday Inlets and you get the picture.) It was the most spectacular place we have seen so far.
Only one village can be reached by bus. So first we had to walk down steps into the second village, Manarola; then travelled by tunnel through the mountain and around the side of a cliff face to get back to the first village, Riomaggiore, where another tunnel took us to a ferry; the ferry carried us past the third village, Corniglia ,which cannot be reached by the boat and on to the fourth village, Vernazza, where we bought the juiciest grapes and cherries for a snack before we boarded the ferry again to go on to Monterosso.
Here we had a two hour lunch break. We found a little cafe and had the best mixed seafood lunch you could imagine followed by a short expresso coffee...Thank goodness it was short. It would blow your head off. Then it was through another tunnel and down yet another hill before we reached the bus. Then came the most amazing climb back up from the shore to the summit and an excellent drive home through the most amazing Tuscany countryside.
With very hot days our clothes are saturated by the end so I’ve had to wash tonight and am quickly putting this blog together before falling into bed. Hobo 1 is chuckling his way through a movie which is almost finished so I’ll find a few photos to attach and call in again tomorrow night after our visit to the Cannes.
Thanks for the advice Rhys...we'll look for mousetraps today!
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