Picture postcards

Today we travelled through a series of picture postcards. Firstly, though, we had to pack our bags and leave the funky Poet Hotel La Spezia behind, dragging our suitcases over the cobblestones and down to the marina. Here, a lovely young man was waiting to whisk our luggage away and deliver it to our next location; a location we were going to reach by boat. 

We wondered what the size and style of the boat might be, as we watched others come and go, collecting groups not dissimilar to ours, who were also set to spend a day on the water, until finally our boat came into view.  It wasn’t too small, nor was it overly large, but it was big enough for the eight of us, our captain and his one crew member!  

As we left Porto Mirabello every direction we looked was picture postcard perfect. Andrea, our tour guide and boat captain kept up a lively commentary on the coastline we were passing - places with names like Cadamare, San Terenzo, Lerici, and Tellaro.  He pointed out the large military presence in the area with various bases and military zones occupying ‘the best bits of coastline!’ We saw the large naval ships in harbour near Cadamare and then had a display of large military helicopters buzzing around overhead doing some sort of training, as if to confirm Andrea’s information. 

He showed us great swimming, diving and snorkelling areas along the coast as well as natural rock formations, a waterfall and caves, all of which he was enthusiastic about and full of pride for his region. The party really started when he broke out the prosecco and aperitivo snacks consisting of a local speciality in the form of a savoury cake, some simple pizza slices, rice cakes (not the polystyrene type we are familiar with), and focaccia.  There may have been quite a bit of enthusiastic singing at this stage of the trip too, but what happens at sea, stays at sea!  

Swimming off the boat was an option, had we wished and had the weather, and the water been a little warmer. Having said that, we were blessed with a sunny day, with little wind and calm waters. It only became a little rocky when we hit the swell from the large ferries which ply the same coastline .  

We arrived at Portovenere from the back, so that we could see the amazing church sitting high above the water at the junction of the two streets that make up this pretty village. The church appears to grow out of the rocks.   We had a 90-minute stop here and availed ourselves of some lemon, basil, and mint gelato, followed by paper cones of hot chips and fresh seafood obtained from one of the two restaurants owned by Andrea’s brother.  Portovenere is another quaint and incredibly pretty Italian village, that was well worth visiting  

After our lunch break we travelled along the Cinque Terre Coast enjoying more history and information about the area, and other small villages and vineyards that seemed to grow out of the cliff-faces, as we approached the first of the five famous villages - Riomaggiore - looking every bit like a postcard. As each of the villages revealed themselves we were in awe, not only of their well-known colourful buildings, but of the tenacity of the people who built them here and the generations that have stayed on to live in these inaccessible towns, sustaining themselves on the terraced hillsides which are made to provide all sorts of fruits and vegetables, as well as the grapes that are used to make the regional wines.  

Of course now the villages are linked by rail, with each other, and the outside world, enabling the tourists to come in droves, walking the trails, and boosting the local economy with their tourist dollars. Andrea delivered us to the last of the villages, Monterosso, at 4:30, after a day of sunshine, sea breezes, laughter and wonder.  Here we successfully navigated the system and caught the train back to village number two - Manarola, where we have the privilege of spending the next three nights  

Admittedly, it was a hard slog up the hill from the railway station in Manarola to the shop where we had to collect our luggage and check in to our accommodation, but it was an even harder slog to the very top of the town, dragging our suitcases and hand luggage, until we reached the Church, and then the long flight of steps that lead to our apartment accommodation.  But, gee, the views are worth it!