Cinque Terre 2

Friday, 22nd May.

Today we bussed into La Spezia station and bought one way train tickets to Riomaggiore, the southern-most of the five towns and different again from the three towns we visited yesterday but every bit as enjoyable!  After visiting Riomaggiore, we thought we'd walk along the path to the next town but unfortunately the path had been closed for some time due to the odd landslide...so the train timetable was once again consulted and 4 minute ride took us to lovely Manarola.  It was here that we ended our Cinque Terre visit and in deciding whether to return to La Spezia by train, then bus to the camp near the port or to take a ferry ride to Portovenere on the peninsula south of La Spezia and find our way home from there, the unanimous vote was for the ferry ride.  While waiting for the ferry, it started to rain, not heavily but enough for rain jackets to be donned though by the time the boat arrived it had stopped.  We stayed on deck for the 40 minute ride, which stopped first at Riomaggiore, glad we had rainjackets to stop the wind from going right through us as the scenery was amazing.  Stopping at Portovenere for an hour, we just had time for a brief wander, coffee at one of the cafes there and a quick trip to a small supermarket before boarding another ferry to Lerici, another attractive town on the waterfont and from there, a short taxi ride 'home'.
Four of the five towns slope down to sea level, the exception being Corniglia which is perched on top of a tall cliff and all have narrow, crooked streets lined with colourful old houses stacked haphazardly on top of each other.  Monterosso is a little different in that it is a little beachy/resorty but still charming.
The trains were sometimes crowded, standing room only which didn't bother us as the distance between towns is very short...a number of tour groups from cruise ships and coach trips were out and about but we managed to avoid them most of the time.
All in all it was a wonderful experience...a no pressure, relaxing visit to the Cinque Terre and we are so happy to have been there.