The day began with a nice short decent to the old train tunnel from Framura to Levanto. Five kilometers with a few peekaboo views of the sea. After Levanto things changed quite a bit as the terrain kicked up quite a bit.
The many hills we ascended and descended to get here, to Riomaggiore, could have counted several more had the road we'd mapped to follow not been closed due to road washouts, forcing us to backtrack and descend three towns northwest of our destination. Thankfully we reached Vernazza in time to catch the next train (mille grazie to the man who helped heft our bikes up and across the 3-foot void from the platform!) to Riomaggiore. Looking up from sea level, marveling at the steepness, we felt so lucky to be two of the very few who approach the Cinque Terre from above.
This place is so ridiculously beautiful, foreign, hidden, old yet re-newed (or at least enough to keep things from falling apart). Passageways that lead nowhere or somewhere and a cocophony of sound--workers, tourists, children carousing before heading to school, the old women hanging laundry two stories up conversing across the void. It's magical. I'm sure if I lived here, dealing with so many tourists, the charm would grow old. But right now, for us, here just two days, it's a wonder. And we are incredibly lucky to be here. So many moments captured...pared down to several or more.
The three church towers.
Looking down on Manarola.
Guess we better turn around.
Descent into Vernazza.
Next-day trip to Vernazza and Corniglia.
Stairway from Corniglia.
Farmers workign their terrace.
Riomaggiore from above.
We'll be adding more photos....
And here they are:
Our flat.
We're peach, first balcony up.
Patron saint of pork(bottom right)--were down with that.
Lovely, bellies sigma, I want two days in that little cove
ReplyDeleteHav
Bellissima not bellies sigma!
ReplyDeleteI figured. And it is, truly, bellissima! Leaving was hard. And the traffic the last 2 days requiring eyes on the road more ( and not so much marveling) . So it goes.
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