August 2 - Cinque Terre: Part 3

For our day trip to Monterosso, Lyle and I decided to take the ferry.  Monterosso is the fifth town and the most  northernly of the five Cinque Terra towns.  Taking the ferry was an exciting adventure.

We waited on the flat rock at the bottom of the cliff, occasionally being peppered with salty sea spray.  When the boat nosed in to the rock a crew member flung over a rope to secure the boat.  Then the narrow gangway was pushed from the front of the boat to the rock.  This contraption swayed back and forth and up and down with the motion of the waves.  The angle of the gangway varied from slightly nose down, rising to about thirty degrees up as the waves washed in and receded.This drastically changed the first step from flush to the rock to about thirty centimetres up.

When we boarded, Lyle went first and concentrated on his own balance.  I was undecided as to whether to use my cane to feel for the step, and thus risk dropping it into the water, or to put it into my backpack and use both hands on the rails.  I chose the former, but it was tricky all round.

Finally we pushed off and headed toward Monterosso.  It was only a twenty-minute trip but on the way the waves seemed to have no rhythm or pattern in their motion - just random tossing.  The boat rocked back and forth and from side to side.  At least when we disembarked the protected water in the harbour was calmer.

We spent the day in Monterosso, wandering around both the old town and the new.  We enjoyed both.  This town is much flatter than the other four towns.  We read with interest that in 2011 there was a flood which closed the tunnel between the two parts of town.  This meant to get from one town to the other was a long hike up into the hills or a five-mile trip by road.

Today is our last day in Riomaggiore.  We hiked to the top of the town and then followed a rocky trail with many more stone steps towards the sanctuary and monastery.  I did not quite make the whole distance but I enjoyed the trail beside the river and seeing the few small stone houses along the way.  The only access to these houses was by this trail.  By the way, Riomaggiore actually means "major river"and the river flows from the hill tops and then uindeground through the town on the way to the sea.  Tomorrow we leave for Pisa.