CINQUE TERRE - Trails Closed Both Directions but the Alternatives Worked!
Oct 21st, 2013, 04:03 AM
#41
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CAMOGLI and BACK TO MANAROLA
The trip to Camogli was relaxing. The coastline is rocky and rugged, with a dot of a castle or military bunker here and there. There was a brief stop on the way at a tiny hamlet – don’t get off there – where we saw dozens of fishing nets hanging to dry.
We left there and far off across the bay spotted a city of colorful tall pastel buildings behind a huge rocky outcropping sporting a castle. I didn’t know what to expect of Camogli, but it wasn’t this. I felt a bit disappointed…until we sailed to the end, passed the castle and lighthouse and entered a tiny cove surrounded by more of the colorful buildings and lined with tiny fishing boats. Absolutely charming. The first thing I noticed was the way the afternoon light hit the buildings – it looked almost unreal! The story goes that the buildings were painted very colorfully to help fishermen find their way home easily.
Camogli is a resort beach town, and also fishing village, but even more interesting were the building faces. They were all very detailed with stonework, balustrades, frames around the windows, marble streaking, shadows, architectural details. Nothing out of the ordinary, until you realize that all these details are actually tromp l’oeil – everything was expertly painted including the large blocks of stone at the bases of the buildings. I was constantly amazed! It really WAS unreal!
We walked up and down the beach past an assortment of restaurants and shops, but unfortunately, due to our train fiasco we had arrived later in the day than we had planned. Most of the restaurants were closed and we were hungry! We finally found the Binji Bar overlooking the beach and water and settled in for…pina coladas! Who would have thought! We added some salads and sandwiches and just relaxed. Afterwards we shopped a bit, wandered around the town almost until sunset and made our way to the train station.
Camogli is known for its annual Fish Festival in May. What makes this special is that is uses 13-foot diameter, 26 ton frying pans which hold 1000 liters of oil to fry 3 tons of fish – I’ve read about fresh anchovies and blue fish. They supposedly serve about 3000 – 5000 people for free. That’s a lot of fish! One of the enormous iron pans, now retired, is displayed along one of Camolgi’s walks. Pretty amazing!
We walked back to the train station, which was very pretty with palm trees growing in the platform, and returned to Manarola just in time for our reservation at Il Porticciolo along the main street down near the harbor.
Dinner was trofie pasta, a short twisted pasta, in pesto, fresh whole orata fish with potatoes and olives, and a bottle of wine. A very nice dinner. Our plan had been to finish dinner, get back to the apartment to pack and leave for Florence early the next day, but our inner-Italian emerged so we abandoned that plan and just sat for hours talking and people watching.
The trip to Camogli was relaxing. The coastline is rocky and rugged, with a dot of a castle or military bunker here and there. There was a brief stop on the way at a tiny hamlet – don’t get off there – where we saw dozens of fishing nets hanging to dry.
We left there and far off across the bay spotted a city of colorful tall pastel buildings behind a huge rocky outcropping sporting a castle. I didn’t know what to expect of Camogli, but it wasn’t this. I felt a bit disappointed…until we sailed to the end, passed the castle and lighthouse and entered a tiny cove surrounded by more of the colorful buildings and lined with tiny fishing boats. Absolutely charming. The first thing I noticed was the way the afternoon light hit the buildings – it looked almost unreal! The story goes that the buildings were painted very colorfully to help fishermen find their way home easily.
Camogli is a resort beach town, and also fishing village, but even more interesting were the building faces. They were all very detailed with stonework, balustrades, frames around the windows, marble streaking, shadows, architectural details. Nothing out of the ordinary, until you realize that all these details are actually tromp l’oeil – everything was expertly painted including the large blocks of stone at the bases of the buildings. I was constantly amazed! It really WAS unreal!
We walked up and down the beach past an assortment of restaurants and shops, but unfortunately, due to our train fiasco we had arrived later in the day than we had planned. Most of the restaurants were closed and we were hungry! We finally found the Binji Bar overlooking the beach and water and settled in for…pina coladas! Who would have thought! We added some salads and sandwiches and just relaxed. Afterwards we shopped a bit, wandered around the town almost until sunset and made our way to the train station.
Camogli is known for its annual Fish Festival in May. What makes this special is that is uses 13-foot diameter, 26 ton frying pans which hold 1000 liters of oil to fry 3 tons of fish – I’ve read about fresh anchovies and blue fish. They supposedly serve about 3000 – 5000 people for free. That’s a lot of fish! One of the enormous iron pans, now retired, is displayed along one of Camolgi’s walks. Pretty amazing!
We walked back to the train station, which was very pretty with palm trees growing in the platform, and returned to Manarola just in time for our reservation at Il Porticciolo along the main street down near the harbor.
Dinner was trofie pasta, a short twisted pasta, in pesto, fresh whole orata fish with potatoes and olives, and a bottle of wine. A very nice dinner. Our plan had been to finish dinner, get back to the apartment to pack and leave for Florence early the next day, but our inner-Italian emerged so we abandoned that plan and just sat for hours talking and people watching.
Oct 21st, 2013, 10:13 AM
#44
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OUR LAST MORNING IN CINQUE TERRE
I woke up early our last morning and while enjoying the view from the bed one last time, decided, why not enjoy it from outside! DH had had enough hiking and step-climbing by this time, so I went out on my own for a short walk on the paths on the other side of the harbor. I had been eyeing those walkways from our apartment ever since we arrived. First I took the direct route to the harbor down zillions of stairs then walked around to the coastal path toward Corniglia. This was the path which was closed, but it was still possible to walk around the promontory until the gate closed it off. There was a man in orange sitting and using his cell phone near the gate and in my fractured Italian, I asked him if it was his job to be sure that no one hopped the fence. He said no, there was no job like that, he was supposed to be cleaning. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his little broom and off he went. While walking back, there he was again. He pointed me towards some stairs and indicated I should go that way. I followed his advice, went up and came across a beautiful viewpoint of Manarola, and went onward past a little park to the hilltop cemetery. Row upon row of vaults with the most gorgeous view.
I left the cemetery and took another route back down the hill. Instead of climbing those stairs from the harbor back up to our place, I decided to go up the main street, which sort of looked like the overflow parking area for dozens of small fishing boats, back to the gradual path we normally took.
DH was up and about by that time so I joined him in packing. We had checked the train schedule and had decided to take a later and nicer train, one that only involved one change.
The cleaning staff popped into our apartment about 10:30. Oops – we hadn’t realized that check-out was at 10! Luckily, we were ready to go and were out of there quickly. We were so glad the walk back to the main street was downhill without stairs.
Since we had over an hour and a half until our train, we went to Aristide for breakfast and nabbed the perfect table on the covered patio out front. We had a birds eye view of the tour groups arriving (it WAS 10:30, after all!) but this time could also hear the instructions given by the tour guides. It went sort of like this:
“Here we are in beautiful Manarola. Look around, go see the harbor, check out the shops but be back in 15 minutes! Don’t be late…we are taking the train and it won’t wait!” Some tourists scurried off like their life depended on it, some came into the café for a drink, others nervously stood there, probably afraid they’d get lost and miss the train. I know some tours in some countries might suit me, but definitely not this type! Yea for us having 4 nights in Manarola instead of a quick jaunt in with a group! If I only had a day to visit, I would come in by train early in the morning and use Fodors information to plan the perfect day! (maybe even my info
)
We went to the train station with its long line at the ticket window (yes, I already warned you not to plan to buy tickets just before a train arrived), but we knew we could use the ticket machines to buy them. What we didn’t know was that the machines didn’t work! Dilemma! We had already waited extra time for this train which arrived in Florence late afternoon and since we only had the rest of that day and the next, we didn’t want to wait for another one. So…we hopped on and hoped for the best, figuring that the truth would set us free.
We were nervous to do this…why? (Other than the obvious reason.) I had met a traveler a few days before who said she had to hand over 50 Euros on the spot for not validating her train ticket. The next day, I watched as a conductor asked for tickets, saw that a couple had not validated their tickets made that couple pay as well. These conductors are very serious and don’t put up with any excuses!
Tip #15 - Remember to validate your train tickets before getting on the trains! (Except you don't have to validate tickets where you have a reservation.)
Not only had we not validated our tickets, but we also hadn’t bought them! Yikes!
Luck was with us – the conductor didn’t come around during our 11 minute ride to La Spezia where we changed for the direct train to Florence. Once in La Spezia, it was easy to get the tickets for Florence so our time in Cinque Terre was officially at an end. Great trip!
I woke up early our last morning and while enjoying the view from the bed one last time, decided, why not enjoy it from outside! DH had had enough hiking and step-climbing by this time, so I went out on my own for a short walk on the paths on the other side of the harbor. I had been eyeing those walkways from our apartment ever since we arrived. First I took the direct route to the harbor down zillions of stairs then walked around to the coastal path toward Corniglia. This was the path which was closed, but it was still possible to walk around the promontory until the gate closed it off. There was a man in orange sitting and using his cell phone near the gate and in my fractured Italian, I asked him if it was his job to be sure that no one hopped the fence. He said no, there was no job like that, he was supposed to be cleaning. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his little broom and off he went. While walking back, there he was again. He pointed me towards some stairs and indicated I should go that way. I followed his advice, went up and came across a beautiful viewpoint of Manarola, and went onward past a little park to the hilltop cemetery. Row upon row of vaults with the most gorgeous view.
I left the cemetery and took another route back down the hill. Instead of climbing those stairs from the harbor back up to our place, I decided to go up the main street, which sort of looked like the overflow parking area for dozens of small fishing boats, back to the gradual path we normally took.
DH was up and about by that time so I joined him in packing. We had checked the train schedule and had decided to take a later and nicer train, one that only involved one change.
The cleaning staff popped into our apartment about 10:30. Oops – we hadn’t realized that check-out was at 10! Luckily, we were ready to go and were out of there quickly. We were so glad the walk back to the main street was downhill without stairs.
Since we had over an hour and a half until our train, we went to Aristide for breakfast and nabbed the perfect table on the covered patio out front. We had a birds eye view of the tour groups arriving (it WAS 10:30, after all!) but this time could also hear the instructions given by the tour guides. It went sort of like this:
“Here we are in beautiful Manarola. Look around, go see the harbor, check out the shops but be back in 15 minutes! Don’t be late…we are taking the train and it won’t wait!” Some tourists scurried off like their life depended on it, some came into the café for a drink, others nervously stood there, probably afraid they’d get lost and miss the train. I know some tours in some countries might suit me, but definitely not this type! Yea for us having 4 nights in Manarola instead of a quick jaunt in with a group! If I only had a day to visit, I would come in by train early in the morning and use Fodors information to plan the perfect day! (maybe even my info
)We went to the train station with its long line at the ticket window (yes, I already warned you not to plan to buy tickets just before a train arrived), but we knew we could use the ticket machines to buy them. What we didn’t know was that the machines didn’t work! Dilemma! We had already waited extra time for this train which arrived in Florence late afternoon and since we only had the rest of that day and the next, we didn’t want to wait for another one. So…we hopped on and hoped for the best, figuring that the truth would set us free.
We were nervous to do this…why? (Other than the obvious reason.) I had met a traveler a few days before who said she had to hand over 50 Euros on the spot for not validating her train ticket. The next day, I watched as a conductor asked for tickets, saw that a couple had not validated their tickets made that couple pay as well. These conductors are very serious and don’t put up with any excuses!
Tip #15 - Remember to validate your train tickets before getting on the trains! (Except you don't have to validate tickets where you have a reservation.)
Not only had we not validated our tickets, but we also hadn’t bought them! Yikes!
Luck was with us – the conductor didn’t come around during our 11 minute ride to La Spezia where we changed for the direct train to Florence. Once in La Spezia, it was easy to get the tickets for Florence so our time in Cinque Terre was officially at an end. Great trip!
Oct 21st, 2013, 09:48 PM
#46
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Hi Kwren - loved your holiday notes on Italy, Cinque Terre and Florence. Hubby & I are going and I have loads of time to plan but only a week or so to decide how long we'll go for. So far it's a month but might have to add some more days. I was about to can the Cineque Terre region because it just sounded too hard getting there - can't locate a map of the trains that you can use with an Italy Pass - but after reading your notes might have to try and work it in. Also wanted to stay in Florence and go to Perugia and saw some notes on that area as well, though they may not have been yours. Can't remember now. Aanyway, thanks for the posting.
Oct 22nd, 2013, 02:53 AM
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Nice report. I did almost the same exact trip in July except I based in Rapallo. I also did Portovenere and Portofino and had the same thoughts you did (and the same experience with missing a boat in San Frutusso). In July the only trail closed was that first one from Riomaggiore to Manarola. Also there is another trail to Camogli besides the one down near the water and I accidentally got started on that one - I don't recommend it - it was really steep. But they were all open. The one from Monterossa to Vernazza was closed but just for a day or so for 'temporary' maintenance which I think is fairly common.
I also did a trip report (need to scroll past the France part to get to the CT report) http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm
I also did a trip report (need to scroll past the France part to get to the CT report) http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm
Oct 22nd, 2013, 05:48 AM
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Loved your report! Now I know that I need to go back to the Cinque Terre and explore those towns on either side up and down the coast. I'll be printing this out for my Italy folder.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing!
Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:44 AM
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I've also had a great experience in Cinque Terre, and the alternative routes where just amazing! Passing trhough local vineyards and breathtaking views! My travel report and photos here
http://www.nomadtravellers.com/backp...its-rural-side
http://www.nomadtravellers.com/backp...its-rural-side
Oct 23rd, 2013, 06:35 AM
#50
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Thanks to all for your comments and links! 
lyn - if you can find the time to stay in CT I would recommend it! There is way more than one day's worth to do, especially if you want to hike the trails. Seeing the towns from the water also gives a different perspective. It was so easy to get there, of course paying attention to fast versus local trains. Can't you go on almost any train with the Italian pass (if its a train pass that is)? I'll be putting together my Florence notes on my other thread next (which had both Cinque Terre and Florence along with Abruzzo in the title, but for some reason I forgot that and accidentally stated this thread instead of continuing that one)
Funny the same thing happened to you in San Fruttuoso. Missing that boat proved to be a good thing and even if not touring the abbey, it was nice to walk around and have some time to see the mosaic on the wall. I didn't mind that little bit of time there, but wouldn't personally plan a few hours.
phidias81 - I agree that those walks through the vineyards were wonderful!
irishface - glad my report could help you! I hope you get to go back.
lyn - if you can find the time to stay in CT I would recommend it! There is way more than one day's worth to do, especially if you want to hike the trails. Seeing the towns from the water also gives a different perspective. It was so easy to get there, of course paying attention to fast versus local trains. Can't you go on almost any train with the Italian pass (if its a train pass that is)? I'll be putting together my Florence notes on my other thread next (which had both Cinque Terre and Florence along with Abruzzo in the title, but for some reason I forgot that and accidentally stated this thread instead of continuing that one)
Funny the same thing happened to you in San Fruttuoso. Missing that boat proved to be a good thing and even if not touring the abbey, it was nice to walk around and have some time to see the mosaic on the wall. I didn't mind that little bit of time there, but wouldn't personally plan a few hours.
phidias81 - I agree that those walks through the vineyards were wonderful!
irishface - glad my report could help you! I hope you get to go back.
Oct 24th, 2013, 07:12 PM
#51
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Hi Kwren I think the Italy Pass doesn't allow all trains, but could allow most. I did see something about the pass not being valid for whatever I was looking at. Gosh it's hard organising everything yourself. So easy to give in a do a tour, but we're not tour minded people. Hate the way they go to say Rome e.g. and stop 1 or two nights and move on - like you can see it all in a day? I'll look for your other postings. Ciao
Oct 25th, 2013, 05:14 AM
#52
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Hi Lyn
I'm confused about the Italy pass. I went to the RailEurope website to read about it and here is what it says:
This pass gives you unlimited travel on the national rail network of Italy.
Is that the "Italy Pass" you bought?
That sounds like you should be good through the CT as well as everything else you've written about. If there is something you read that makes you think otherwise, maybe you could post it here and someone could help you figure it out.
If you are thinking that you can't use it in the CT for some reason, the prices are just a couple of Euros between the towns. For example, I think we paid something ridiculous like 1.5 Euros between Manarola and Riomaggiore.
Or, could it be that it does not include the freccia trains (the fast, reserved trains)? If that's it, I think there are always "slower" or local trains which run the same route that should be covered. We took some of those.
I'm confused about the Italy pass. I went to the RailEurope website to read about it and here is what it says:
This pass gives you unlimited travel on the national rail network of Italy.
Is that the "Italy Pass" you bought?
That sounds like you should be good through the CT as well as everything else you've written about. If there is something you read that makes you think otherwise, maybe you could post it here and someone could help you figure it out.
If you are thinking that you can't use it in the CT for some reason, the prices are just a couple of Euros between the towns. For example, I think we paid something ridiculous like 1.5 Euros between Manarola and Riomaggiore.
Or, could it be that it does not include the freccia trains (the fast, reserved trains)? If that's it, I think there are always "slower" or local trains which run the same route that should be covered. We took some of those.
