Cinque Terre #3of3

Down the steps from Corniglia, and on the train again to the next town, Vernazza, where forts and bell-towers, narrow streets, arcades, little squares, old houses, all mingle in a magnificent setting, creating a collage of unforgettable shapes and color. A few remaining grape vines and olive trees speckle the steep, terraced hillsides.

In Vernazza, as in the other towns, eight to ten story apartment buildings are built in the lower part of town, with other buildings hung on the sides of the surrounding hills. Some multiple-storied buildings are so near the steep hillsides, outdoor entrances lead to most every floor. This really is a bedroom community for workers with jobs in nearby cities.

The street area in Vernazza and in the other towns, are lined with fishing boats, parked as cars would be elsewhere. We wonder, are they still called streets and sidewalks when there are no automobiles, only boats? There are indoor bars and restaurants of course, and several sidewalk cafes pose near the sandy beach that is lined with huge boulders.

After a couple minute train ride we arrived back in Monterosso al Mare, and our free campsite. The northern part of this town, called Fegina, is separated from the southern part of Monterosso by a high rocky point, and the sidewalk, the street, and the train run in a tunnel through that hill. With a few stores and many small hotels, restaurants, and places to get a drink and a bite to eat, this is a tourist spot, pure and simple. Restaurants are open in these towns on Sunday, but not much else.

The second time we were here it was the middle of the tourist season. The shoreline of Monterosso was crammed with row upon row of umbrellas and beach chairs lined impeccably straight, as if by a drill sergeant, or perhaps a surveyor. They were not put in place by the visiting tourist, each cluster of umbrellas were of a different color, each color the emblem of the various rental agencies.

Since the town was jammed with tourists, what had been Monterosso’s soccer field during our earlier visit, was now a parking lot filled with cars. There was much less room in the “campsite,” but there were still RVs in the “No Campers” zone.

Italy’s Cinque Terra, an outstanding vacation destination.