Two days ago we finished the first half of our cruise, arriving back at our starting point, Civitavecchia, Italy. During the morning hours, many people disembarked, including some who had been onboard with us for this 10-day eastern Mediterranean cruise and others who had been onboard for 26 days (crossing from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Italy, and then doing the 10-day part). Then in the afternoon, new passengers embarked. So, we have a slightly different mix of people these next ten days. We spent nearly all of the day in Civitavecchia loafing, reading, and enjoying the sun on deck. Late that afternoon, the 10-day western Mediterranean portion of our cruise began with the ship sailing to Livorno, Italy overnight.
So yesterday, we awoke in Livorno, which is not far from Pisa and Florence and other interesting parts of Tuscany. Because our good friends David and Donna had treated us to such an excellent adventure in Florence four years ago, we decided to do our excursion north along the coast to the area called Cinque Terre. Though we have never been to Pisa, we actually did see the famed leaning tower of Pisa in the distance as our bus traveled north. It is crooked! They could straighten it, but that would stop the tourist dollars from flowing.
Cinque Terre is now an Italian National Park and is also a World Heritage Site, as recognized by UNESCO. Cinque Terre literally means five lands or five villages. They are all within about six miles of each other and sit right on the coast, mostly at the foot of high cliffs. The sea in front of the villages is also protected. La Spezia to the southeast and then Cinque Terre mark the beginning of the Italian portion of the Riviera, which continues westward along the coast through the remainder of northwestern Italy, through Monaco and into France.
To say that Cinque Terre is picturesque is a big understatement. The villages were once reachable only by foot or by sea. Today, a train runs through the villages, though it is mostly in tunnels and under the villages. A road reaches one of the villages for buses and other vehicles, but from there the roads into the villages are exceedingly narrow and are only used in limited ways. A ferryboat system operates between the villages and La Spezia.
The people in Cinque Terre are very proud of their isolated existence. Their language is a dialect of Italian. They are said to be very healthy because of their diet, which consists of lots of vegetables and seafood. Grape vines grow on terraces that they have cut into every available, usable piece of the cliffs. There are thought to be around 4,000 miles of terraces along these cliffs around and above the five villages—a length exceeding that of the Great Wall of China.
In order from southeast to northwest, the villages are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. The bus dropped us in Manarola, and we walked down into the village to spend some time noodling around the shops and admiring the clustered buildings and seascapes. Next we walked along Via dell’Amore (Lover’s Lane), a walkway well above but alongside the sea to Riomaggiore. There are some steel nets that have been placed over some of the cliff faces to stop falling rock from hurting anyone. On these nets and other metal fences and railings along the path, lovers have fastened padlocks to the net or fence or railing and then thrown the key into the sea to bind their love forever. The guide asked us to watch for combination padlocks (we saw a few) and to contemplate what that might mean about commitment!
From Riomaggiore, we took the ferry to Vernazza, where we were given two hours of free time to explore the shops and have lunch. Kathie and I found an excellent café overlooking the sea, where we were able to sit outside. Because the region is known for its seafood, pastas, and pesto sauces, we had a seafood sampler, spaghetti with clams, and a local pasta with the pesto sauce. Red wine to go with that, naturally. The seafood sampler consisted of both hot and cold items: anchovies fixed two different ways, calamari (squid), tuna and octopus. Excellent!
We took the train back to La Spieza were our bus waited for us and then drove back to our ship. It was a long day for us and a little tiring, but it was lovely.
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