August 1 - Cinque Terre: Part 1

Cinque Terre, five lands, is a short section of rugged Mediterranean coastline in the northwest part of Italy.  There are five small towns connected by railway and in the past, also by hiking trails. This year, two sections of the hiking trail are still closed because of landslides.

For the past three nights we have been staying in Riomaggiore. It is the most southerly of the five towns.  It is definitely built on a hill and our legs have been given a good workout.  For instance, from the train station to our accommodation by the marina, there are 21 steps down plus another 11 with handrails on the left, tunnel under the train tracks, another 12 plus 12 steps down with handrail on the right, through a small plaza congested with 50 or so boats pulled out of the water, and then up 6 plus 12 plus 12 narrow very steep steps into our apartment. Of course, every time we leave the apartment, the reverse holds true.  Generally speaking, we are in and out three or four times a day.  For someone with mobility challenges (i.e., wheelchair, walking frame) the route would be impossible.  With my white cane I negotiate it with difficulty.

Our apartment itself is adequate. We were pleased to see a TV, telephone, and electric kettle when we arrived., but not so pleased when we discovered that none of these worked!  In fact, there were only two electrical outlets that did work. We instantly plugged the fan into one of these.  The stove top was also interesting.  There were four gas burners which could be lit with the use of a cigarette lighter thoughtfully provided by the apartment management. Lyle has singed his fingers on several occasions.  In spite of all this, we have become used to the Italian eccentricities of the apartment and are enjoying our stay here.

We hear many languages on the street - Italian of course, but German and English also prevalent.  Most of the shopkeepers do speak a little English, or else we can point at what we want.  This was not so in the tiny butcher shop.  There was nothing on display, but finally the inspired butcher announced spaghetti and mince meat.  "Yes," we said, and that decided our menu for the evening. Tonight we are trying again and hoping to buy hamburger patties.

Tomorrow we are going to Manarola, but that is for another post.