Cinque Terre by land

Last night we had another thunderstorm.  This time, it was the wind that woke us up.  The apartment has shutters.  Everybody has shutters and they are all dark green.  (Think it may be a requirement by law.  This area is protected by UNESCO under World Heritage of Humanity.) Our landlord said that shutters need to be shut when you are away and at night.  It is okay to leave the windows/doors open for ventilation, so we have been doing that.  When the wind whipped up last night it roared through the shutters as it went up the valley.  It was like the train going through.  It roared for ages.  We closed the door by this stage, which blocked out most of the noise, but not all.  A small amount of thunder made it a loud night.  By the time we got up, it had all passed and the day looked good.

We trained it to Manarola first up.  This is Rio Maggorie station.

Lyn C, I think this is the jigsaw puzzle that you had.  The angle of the sun gives it a different colour.

Or it might be this one.

Either one, it looks spectacular.

We were able to walk around the corner for some more views of the coastline, but this is another path that is closed due to land slips.

The Manarola cemetery high up  on the hill.  There had been a couple of burials this year.

The caskets go in to concrete slots and then sealed.  5 high.

  Space is a premium here.

Below is taken from adjacent to the cemetery.

The view from the station below.

It was on to Monterosso where we paid the €15 to spend the afternoon lazing on the beach.  

Russell had just got the good news that North had won.

The water temperature was a little bracing (no different to Victorian beaches) but once in, it was very comfortable (except for the stones).  

There is no sand, just a section of fine stones, then bigger stones!

Very hard on the feet, but a pleasant way to spend the arvo.  The water was quite salty and very buoyant.

Back to catch another train home.

Having a quiet night in with some takeaway, yes pizza and some local red wine.  Most of the hills around here still grow grapes and considerable quantities of red and white are produced. 

Hard labour required to produce the wine though.  Tending to the vines and carting grapes still has to be done manually.  We did see in Manarola a motorised wheelbarrow with 4 wheels that was able to cart 4 crates of grapes.  Almost feel guilty buying a bottle of the red for €4.50. It is very nice too.

To end the day, we watched the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea.  Looked pretty.

Tomorrow, we will visit to two towns we haven't visited yet and follow that up with another relaxing arvo on the beach.  Weather mid to high 20s which is pleasant for the beach.

By for now.