Italy - Day 8

Well today was a most interesting and challenging day. The scheduled itinerary involved a lot of free time so I decided to strike out on my own. Lerici is a lovely town but there is not a lot to do other than eat, sleep and stroll along the water.

I decided to head back to Cinque Terre as I'm sure I won't be back any time soon, if ever. There are a lot more places on my 'bucket list' without going to the same place twice. I caught the 9:30 AM ferry over to Riamaggiore with a stop to change boats in Porto Venere.

It was clearer than the trip on Friday, but the atmosphere is different here by the water it seems. I was nervous when it looked like the ferry was going to bypass the town completely, but it just had to go around a yellow buoy before it could turn into the harbour. 

It seemed like we didn't have much time in Riomaggiore yesterday so I wanted to go back. It turns out that the town really is that small. Instead of following the large crowd off the boat, I went in the opposite direction as I spied a beach of sorts.

There isn't much sand on the beaches in this part of Italy, they are quite rocky. A very few people were sunning themselves on the rocks (which seems weird to me) and there were 2 or 3 people swimming in the water. I enjoyed the small area, picking a few rocks and taking some great photos. 

I headed down the main street and bought a few postcards for Amy. The scenery in each of the Cinque Terre towns is truly beautiful. I stopped in at the church for a rest. They are quiet, cool peaceful places to sit for a while and recoup.

I decided to head outta there and catch the train to the next town. The train platform was crowded and I found it hard to understand where to buy the 6 hour train ticket. I had hoped to buy it in Lerici at the tobacco shop but they didn't sell them. By the time I figured out where to buy the pass, the train had left. I was surprised that the trains didn't run every few minutes. I had over an hour to kill so I went back to town and had lunch there.

I had originally planned to visit each town but the logistics of getting from place to place were more than I bargained on. Ahh, the joys of travelling! I decided to skip town 2, Manarola and go to town 3, Corneglia. This is the one place we didn't visit and I wanted to see what I was missing. As it turned out, not much!

Having learned my lesson in the last town, I checked at the office for the time of the next train north. It was about an hour from then, so I thought that would be plenty of time to explore. Well, I didn't realize how far away the town was. Corneglia is high up on a hill. A really big hill. There is a shuttle bus but it doesn't run often or coincide with the train schedule. The walk from the train platform is a long one. And THEN you have to climb stairs, many, many of them!

This set of stairs is called the “Lardarina”, and is composed of 33 flights with 382 steps! To make matters more of a challenge, it was a hot day - very, very hot. Long story short, I climbed the stairs, did a short walk around, then headed back down so as not to miss the train. 

Onward to Vernazza. By then I was parched and felt I deserved a bottle of water and a gelato. Chocolate and lemon are soooo good together.

I wandered down the main street towards the water. Up there was no accessible beach. When heading back I noticed a sign that said "Castle - this way". I wasn't sure where I was going but the path was away fro the crowds into the little alleys and pathways above the beaten path. More stairs!

But my curiosity got the better of me. The castle was pretty tiny - only a tower really.

But the views were fabulous. I could see the previous village as well as the next one. I could also see a beach! 

Walking back along the main street, I saw a natural (?) tunnel I hadn't noticed before.

It led to a small rocky beach. It really amazes me how people can sun themselves on the rocks. They were gorgeous rocks!

The colors were unique and varied, and I came upon a little bit of beach glass too. The patterns in some of the stones were really cool and I found myself completely engrossed in 'rock-picking'. The waves splashed my feet and that helped me cool off a bit. Beach-combing is so good for the soul and I almost lost track of time!

The train to La Spezia was due to leave at 5:35 and it was actually on time, and crowded. At the end of the line I asked for and got a bit of help from some non-English speaking Italian older ladies. It's really amazing how you can communicate in a language you don't know.

The bus ride back to the hotel was about 40 minutes long but I was dropped off almost on my front doorstep. The rest of the group had already gone for supper in the next town and I could have joined them. I just didn't feel like rushing around so I enjoyed a pizza and a glass of wine at an outdoor restaurant in the main square.

I'm proud of myself for navigating on my own today. It was a challenge and I survived!!