On the road again...

We awoke this morning to the ever present buzzing of our local mosquito. Every night we think we have killed the last one. But you know these Italians. They have family everywhere and mosquitoes are no different. We think we are rid of the pest and in the early morning hours we realize his brother, sister, aunt or uncle has taken over the job of pestering us. We couldn’t find the little pest so we just decided to call it a night and get up. Well it was 7:00 am anyway.

We headed out of our apartment around 9:00 am to catch the 10:30 train. Of course it isn’t just walking down the 50 stairs. It is Jim with a loaded backpack and usually carrying 2 suitcases and I with my fully loaded purse and carry-on. I help with the suitcases too just in case you might think I am a slacker.

We then rolled our suitcases and luggage to the train station that’s about a mile away. Of course that in itself is no easy task as the streets are narrow, the sidewalks are narrower and people don’t seem to be too interested in the fact that they just cut right in front of you or block your only narrow path. So we maneuvered and maneuvered and we finally made it to the train station.

We hopped on the train that stops in Pisa. Once in Pisa we had to change trains and get on the train to La Spezia. (There was a direct train to La Spezia but we nixed it because it left so much later). We found the train and the right track but of course nothing is set up for the luggage carrying tourist. First you have to get off the train carrying your luggage and pack backs. Then you have to go down the stairs to go under the track, then up the stairs to go to the ticket office. Then you buy your ticket, look to see what track you are on (it is never the #1 that is right off the platform), then you reverse the process by going down the stairs to go under the track, then up the stairs to get to your track. Remember all the while you are dragging your luggage with you.

Our ride to La Spezia was beautiful. We went by the town of Carrara that is perhaps the world’s most famous marble quarries. Michelangelo traveled here to pick out the marble that he would work into his masterpieces. Everywhere you looked you could see huge blocks and slabs of marble and granite. The tops of the mountains looked like snow was covering them. It was a very picturesque scene and knowing that marble from here has been made into famous sculptures and altars, made it even more so.

We arrived in La Spezia where we were to pick up the Cinque Terra train. Of course that entails carrying our suitcases off the train, down the stairs to get under the track, up the stairs to get to the ticket station, and then back down the stairs to get under the track, up the stairs to get to the track. Then we stopped and looked and decided with the help of some newfound friends from Boston that we would be better off at track 5 instead of track 2. So the process continues, down the stairs to go under the track, up the stairs to get to the track, and then up on the train!!! If you are exhausted reading this, imagine how Jim felt carrying it!!! Just kidding—I helped a lot!

We said goodbye to our newlywed friends who stopped in the first Cinque Terra town of Riomaggiore and we proceeded on to the 2nd town of the five, Manarola.

Cinque Terra is a remote section of the Italian Riviera. During medieval times this chunk of coast was described as “the five lands” or now known as the Cinque Terra. The towns are very secluded and there are no cars or vespas in any of the towns. A train runs through a tunnel regularly between the 5 villages connecting them to the outside world.

The region has become a national park and because of that, its natural and cultural beauty will be preserved. It is truly one of the most beautiful places in all of Italy. The towns literally hug the walls of the mountains, and time has come to a standstill for most of the towns. Each town speaks its own dialect which explains why neither Jim nor I could understand them!

We got to our town and after seeing the steep hill we would have to walk with our luggage dragging behind us, we decided to wait for the “Park” shuttle bus that would take us up the long hill to our apartment. We are so glad we waited. What is probably only a 10 minute walk, dragging a suitcase and backpack on a steep uphill climb would have taken its toll.

Once the shuttle dropped us off, the lady who was there to meet us, showed us to our apartment—straight up hill!!!! Of course there were stairs to contend with and my thought was “What in the world have we gotten ourselves into this time!!!!”

But once we got to our apartment it was all worth it! (Our apartment was switched out because of problems so they upgraded us to a beautiful apartment with a view of the sea and the town!)

We quickly unpacked and headed out to see what the town was like. We walked a little on the trail that heads out to town #3 and got a beautiful view of our town of Manarola from a distance. We then watched as a local fisherman brought his boat up from the sea using a crane to hoist it up. It is all rather magical as they have learned how to live a simpler life and yet still take care of their needs.

Shopping was rather interesting. There appears to be only one, little, tiny store in the town (tiny being the size of a living room). There was no fresh milk except boxed milk, only one box of cereal, fresh fruit, vegetables, yogurts, meat and cheeses. There was other stuff but we knew that we had a long, uphill climb with groceries so we were keeping it light.

The owner of the shop is also the checker. When we got to the shop there was only a couple of other people there. Within minutes, at least 20 people flooded into this tiny store getting their supplies for Sunday. The owner just took it all in stride. She helped the people at the meat and cheese counter, then went to the front and started checking out people. Then back to the meat counter. No one was bothered by the wait, everyone was greeting each other, and we just went with the flow and wondered what people put on their cereal in the mornings!

You just have to imagine this town. The street up to our apartment is about 6-7 feet wide. At night, there aren’t a lot of lights lighting your way, but there is no need for worry. I am sure there is zero crime here and you truly feel that you are in the midst of a town that hasn’t been touched by modern times.

This is the one place that most tour books say is a must! You can hike between the five towns; I think it takes about 6 hours. Or you can take a train, explore each little town, and then hop on the train and go to the next town. There is one hike that we know we want to do, but will probably take the trains to the other towns.

As there is no internet here or telephone, we will be on the lookout for our local internet connection point. Hopefully we can find one to keep this blog going. If not, it will be catching up time for everyone. Print this post