Italy - Day 5

Every morning I look outside as soon as I get up to make sure this magnificent view outside hasn't disappeared overnight. Is it real? Is it all a dream? Yes, still there!

And my breakfast is exactly the same every day - a small with meat and cheese, a yogurt, an orange juice, and a sliver of bread with Nutella.

The boat departed Lerici at 9:30 AM and went to Porto Venere where we had to disembark and change boats. 

After leaving the Gulf, we headed north along the coast to the farthest of the Cinque Terre villages, Monterosso. 

The weather was quite cool and breezy and I made good use of my Gortex jacket, something I thought I wouldn't end up needing on this trip. We stopped in at village number 2, 3, and 4 to let passengers on and off.  It was a bit foggy and it was difficult to get good photos.

Also, the way the boat had to maneuver was not conducive to photography! I was expecting that the buildings would be a real multitude of colours like the photographs I had seen previously, but they were much like the colours of Lerici - shades of oranges, reds and creams. I sat up at the front of the boat which was a bit breezy but a prime spot for photos. 

We have a new guide today - Umberto. He has a great sense of humour and is interesting without going on for too long. We had a tour of Monterosso, the furthest village in the Cinque Terre portion of the Italian Riviera.

They are part of the National Parks system of Italy and are very popular. We thought by going early in the season, we would avoid the crowds but there were plenty of visitors on this day. 

The temperature in the village is quite warm and I ditched my jacket in favor of my sleeveless top. The afternoons have been quite hot since I've been here. We walked by the touristy areas and into the not-so-touristy areas which was nice. The doorways and windows are so unique.

 Lemons are found growing in many spots and the flowers are lovely. 

When we were done the short walk, we were given time to have lunch and walk around. I didn't want to waste time so I grabbed a quick bite (a cold Margarita pizza) and set off on my own.

I made a few purchases in the shops and explored some of the alleys and stairways.

As well, I found a small beach and collected some sand, sea glass and well-women ceramic pottery. I hope I can craft some earrings from my treasures. 

Just after 2 PM we boarded the boat again and went to village 4 - Vernazza.

We were also guided along for 20 minutes and climbed the stairs into the upper regions of the village.

People live so very close to one another and very little sky can be seen between the buildings.

It seemed like there were way more people in Vernazza, but Umberto said it is just a smaller village and there is nowhere for people to go. Locals are complaining that there are too many tourists visiting and I can see why, especially if it gets busier as the summer wears on.

We stopped to enjoy a gelato - my second one of the trip, but not my last. I got a chocolate hazelnut as well as some of the darkest chocolate ice cream I have ever tasted! Awe-some! Then I found a cute little tshirt with 'Vernazzi' on the front.

All too soon, we had to board the boat for 'home' and I quickly retrieved some sand, stones and a shell from the tiny beach.

On the ride back, we didn't stop at any of the villages. It was very crowded and must have been an 'express run'. We did have to stop and change over to a smaller boat in Porto Venere again. 

Supper was at 7:30 and we didn't get done until 9:50 PM! It was a very unremarkable meal - lots of seafood and such a long time between courses that we wondered if we were done. We weren't. And no dessert after all that time -  haha! Like I need it!!