The Five Towns

Manorola, Cinqu Terre

Friday, 22 June, 2012

Hi again!  We have wi-fi so I can type directly into my blog and caption my photos.  Before, I had to create a word processing document and line up the photos for Randy to go into town to the wi-fi spot to upload them.   This is way better!  If you have not, please create a google account (super easy) and comment--I love to read the comments--especially when we have wi-fi access!  : )  The comments get sent to my email.

Well, today was a lot of time in the car--traveling from the Dolomites to the Cinque Terre.  We are in the town just north of the five towns (cinque=five).  The towns are all located on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.  They are very cute!  Orange and pink buildings, cute little streets, and kind people.  Also, not too crowded--though I'm sure it can be at times.

We took a train to the town furthest south--Riomaggiore.  It was a quick trip, and our plan was to walk back along a walking path above the sea called the Via del Amore--the pathway of love.  The walk is very flat and only about 15 minutes from one town to the next.  The towns themselves are spread out, going up the steep hillside.  Above the town are the fields!  Olive trees and wine grapes are their primary crops.

Then we walked to Manorola, the next town.  The weather here today is warm (upper 80s) and extremely humid!  So it seemed hotter than it actually was and there was no strong breeze to cool us off.  And we just felt drained.  After Manorola, the plan was to walk to the next town, but there were landslides from torrential rains less than a year ago and the path is still closed (actually, we saw it and it doesn't exist--it stops at a bunch of dirt).  It was getting late--around 7:30, so we ate some yummy pizza made with foccacia bread and went to the train station.  Due to a train strike that ended earlier in the day, the train was due to be almost and hour late.

A young (Italian?) woman on the symbol of the pathway of love

The walking path along the sea

There were some other trails leading around the landslide that may have been open, but we (all of us but Randy) were tired and drained and not in the mood for a lot of walking uphill in the humid heat.   We instead took the train back to Levanto and our B&B.  Our place is quite quirky.  We are not staying in the Cinque Terre because they all required at least a two day stay and we only had one day.  Our B&B is like a small farm or menagerie.  We counted at least 5 cats, 4 sheep, 2 horses,  2 dogs, cockatoos in a cage, and bunnies!  I'm hoping to not encounter any animals that aren't part of the "family" (such as lizards or other bugs).

Randy hard at work on his blog in the breakfast room

The house is a bit run-down, with greenery growing everywhere.  The air outside smells of flowers, but the inside smells a bit of cat litter box.  Our room with the shutters and windows open is beginning to smell more of flowers.  We have three bedrooms--each with a huge bed and we share a bathroom down the hall.  The other room--another couple is staying there, they have their own ensuite bathroom.  The bathroom is clean but could use a makeover--quite a step down from our last place!  But we have wi-fi!  (Although we don't think we will at our next place in Tuscany).