# CInque Terre



## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Cinque Terre*

Site of the ITT at the Giro this year... and I can now say from personal experience that it would have been a nasty piece of work. I "did" Cinque Terre three ways: by bike, by boat and by foot. The bike was the hardest. We stayed in Monterosso, the most northern of the "five lands", and the furthest below the main road. The climb up was fairly challenging, but not as steep as many of the climbs in Umbria and Tuscany. The road at the top though - yikes! For much of it there is room for, oh, 1.5 cars. Yes there is a guardrail, but this road is not for the faint of heart, nor anyone that suffers from vertigo (especially going north to south, placing you on the drop off side). The climbs up and down are also not for the weak of will or leg. 

I start with a number of shots from the ride. You should be able to get an idea of the roads....


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Monterosso interlude*

All of the towns in Cinque Terra are charming. Monterosso is the biggest and has the most places to stay. All are on the train route from Genova to La Spezia on onward to Rome, so the area is quite easy to get to. By car it is a little more remote and you can't drive into most of the towns. Fortunately for us, the public parking lot in Monterosso is right down at the beach, which means a fairly short walk with your luggage to the hotel. 

The whole area is overrun with tourists during the summer. I was there in October and most of the tourists had left, which was good. The weather was not the best (hardly unexpected) but I still saw some brave souls going for a swim. One thing I did notice is that the locals seemed pretty tired of the tourist hordes and were at times downright cranky. They certainly weren't terribly helpful.

But, no matter, it is a pretty place. Here just a few shots of the beach and area. You can see that a storm is moving in. On one night there was a wild thunderstorm which I always quite enjoy.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Cinque Terre by boat*

A ferry regularly plies the waters along Cinque Terre. It was quite rough the day we took the boat, but not too bad. We took the ferry from Monterosso to Rio Maggiore, then hiked the whole way back. The next few shots are from the boat ride. The towns in order are Monterosso (not shown in this section), Vernazza, Corniglia (up on the bluffs), Manarola and Rio Maggiore (photo is off the ferry dock). You can see the train tracks in one of the shots.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

*Cinque Terre by foot*

From one end of Cinque Terre to the other is something around 20 km, maybe a little less. The track is pretty good (especially at first), though it is rather up and down. The rain put in an appearance which made some of the footing a little treacherous. Five or six hours maybe? And that included lunch. There is a beach or two I gather, but that would have involved a bit of a scramble down (and up) the hill and the weather wasn't really nice enough anyway.

Hope you enjoyed these photos from Italy. I have a few more of Pompeii which I will get to eventually.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2009)

That's a pretty place.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Nice!


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## jpdigital (Dec 1, 2006)

I was actually just reading about the "Five Lands" last night. You're pictures help bring it even more to life!!! Now I want to visit. Very beautiful pics & nice photography. I'm sure the holiday was wonderful:thumbsup:


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

It looks like a Disney fantasy land.


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## Sojourneyman (Jun 22, 2007)

Absolutely gorgeous. Rick Steves turned me onto this place, then the threads here and the Giro TT fueled the flame. Need to get there one day.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

The Cinque Terre is one of my favorite spots on earth. We stayed at a pensione in Vernazza when we were there. We did the hike from Vernazza to Riomaggiore. Never made it to Monterosso al Mare tho. 

Looks like you had a fantastic trip. Thanks for sharing the pics.


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## CHL (Jun 24, 2005)

Hi Oarsman:

Outstanding pictures of a wonderous place. Thanks for taking us on a brief trip abroad.:thumbsup: 

CHL


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Excellent pictures and brings back many good memories -- I am pretty confident that you and I have cycled on about 80% of the same roads in Italy! I'm looking at Puglia in April.... and maybe a return to the Amalfi coast. Where are you headed next?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Puddy Tat!


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

Wow!

Added it to the list of places to go...

Thanks for sharing.


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## pdainsworth (Jun 6, 2004)

Went there about 15 years ago and fell in love with the place. Good wine, wonderful seafood, pretty ladies. What else could one ask for?


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## pigpen (Sep 28, 2005)

I want to move.


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## Chain (Dec 28, 2006)

Sweet.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Che bella!*

Mille grazie.


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## theBreeze (Jan 7, 2002)

That's "il gatto" 

meow wow!!!


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

philippec said:


> Excellent pictures and brings back many good memories -- I am pretty confident that you and I have cycled on about 80% of the same roads in Italy! I'm looking at Puglia in April.... and maybe a return to the Amalfi coast. Where are you headed next?


I am sure I have not cycled any thing like the number of roads in Italy that you have (that annoying 12 hour flight thing...), but I certainly plan to return to Italy to cycle. Probably the north - might as well do some of those mountains. Lots of other places in Europe are on the list as well (French Alps, the Dordogne, Northern Spain, Corsica....). I am interested in going back to North Africa as well, maybe mountain biking in the Atlas mountains or road biking in Tunisia

Pretty sure the next epic trip will not be Europe or North Africa though, more likely Asia (have been to Asia several times, cycling twice). The current plan (assuming I can swing the cost, the time off work and am able to get over my qualms about some of the high altitude passes, lots of sleeping rough and 12 weeks on the bike) is this:

http://www.tourdafrique.com/epictours/silkroute/the-route

I am looking at the stretch from Ashgabat to Kashgar. I know my calendar won't permit the leg from Istanbul to Ashgabat (pesky three month murder trial is getting in the way) and am not certain if I can get the time off for the long haul through China to Xi'An.

Other places I am thinking about are Bhutan, Mongolia and Laos, possibly with this tour company:

http://www.spiceroads.com

I have no issues about traveling about Europe on my own or with a few friends, but am more comfortable with a supported tour in the more far-flung places.


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## worst_shot_ever (Jul 27, 2009)

Beautiful pictures! My wife and I went there for our honeymoon 10 years ago, and loved it. Amazed you managed a ride between the villages, however! In addition to the difficult climbs, my recollection is that the car traffic on those narrow twisties were a recipe for suicide by bike.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

worst_shot_ever said:


> Beautiful pictures! My wife and I went there for our honeymoon 10 years ago, and loved it. Amazed you managed a ride between the villages, however! In addition to the difficult climbs, my recollection is that the car traffic on those narrow twisties were a recipe for suicide by bike.


Traffic itself wasn't bad - but it is vaguely disconcerting to have a truck mirror zip by an inch or two away while you are about a foot and a half from a very long plunge to your death...


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

pigpen said:


> I want to move.


Ya, but then you would turn into a grumpy local chuffed by all them pesky tourists!


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Wow. I need to get across the pond. Great pictures on what looks like an awesome experience.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

Beautiful! Fantastic photos. I can only imagine what it must be like to ride and eat there!
Arby


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## Starliner (Mar 7, 2002)

The cat looks like one of the homeless cats tended by good hearted souls at a sort of impromptu homeless cat shelter located on the winding, mountainous path between Vernazza and Monterosso. A year ago in October I spent a week in Vernazza walking that path a number of times. On one of those trips there happened to be a bearded man of the mountain sitting on the edge of the path as it wound its way still high above the Mediterranean. He lived and had a small vineyard up above nearby. A rather timid sort, he had a small number of bottles of wine he had made from his grapes, bottles which he was selling to people as they traversed on by. In normal life I generally avoid buying things in back alleys, but there was something rare about this moment that I could understand that if I left him without a bottle I would regret it. So, I bought a half bottle of a red and took it on down to the beach in Monterosso where bravely I drank it, not knowing what condition it would leave me in. In fact it was quite pleasant to drink; made from a grape I couldn't identify, light to medium in body, relatively simple and not terribly tannic. On the way back I wanted to buy some more of that red and a white he had, but he was gone. I went back the next day but he wasn't there either. Just one of those experiences that had to happen.


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

Starliner said:


> The cat looks like one of the homeless cats tended by good hearted souls at a sort of impromptu homeless cat shelter located on the winding, mountainous path between Vernazza and Monterosso.


That is where the cat was - several actually. There were dishes for the kitty cats and a few bins of food. Walkers would take the lid off the bins, put some food down for the cats. The cats I saw actually looked quite fat and healthy.


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