27 Agosto 2015 — Hilarious, Exhausting Day in Cinqueterra: Trains, Feet, Boats, Planes. 8/27/15

August 27, 2015

Greetings from the Genoa Airport, where we are waiting for our Air France flight to Paris (just overnight, as we catch flight to SFO tomorrow morning…. and definitely on the homeward part of the journey and thinking more about office than about final day here.

So, yesterday (Thursday) — we decided to take the train to the Cinqueterra… a bit of an afterthought and with no preparation. We thought about checking out of the Genoa hotel and staying overnight in one of the five villages, but thought again more logically and realized that would get quite complicated given that we had to catch the flight from here in Genoa. So, we headed out of the hotel at about 9 am to take the ’10 minute’ walk to the train station (treni stazione).. asked at the hotel how to walk there and they gave fairly straight forward directions which we followed, but after 10 minutes we were not at the stazione and it wasn’t in sight… so we stopped into a farmacia (where they generally have some English) and they gave different directions. We then checked iPhone GPS and still different directions. (There are actually quite a few train stations in Genoa and we didn’t know which we were going to… but we did keep saying “train to Cinqueterra”)… Anyway, finally got there.. about 45 minutes from when we left the hotel… long lines to buy tickets and now we had very little time to get the “fast train” which takes one hour.. It was leaving in 12 minutes (still had to navigate ticket, track, and figure out the whole system).. Mike went on line and I dashed to one of the automatic machines. I finally figured out the system and Mike left the line.. Decided to get first class ticket.. not much difference in price and there’s a reserved seat (with a power outlet to charge gear!) Made it to the track as the train was boarding.. a small miracle.

Got onto train but no signs as to what the car numbers are… turns out that once you board the train there are little pieces of paper taped to an inside window that tell you the car number.. but on several cars they had two different numbers.. and the train numbers were not necessarily in sequence.. So we needed to walk through many cars to find ours. Along the way, we wound up in one car that smelled awful.. and was sort of backed up… Turns out that one of the passengers had a dog with her and the dog had a bit of an “accident” in the aisle… causing both the back-up and the odor!.. She was trying to mop it up and it was just spreading the feces around. Good thing this was NOT our car.

Finally found our car and naturally people were in our seats. I think this is pretty common on European trains. People sort of sit where they want (in the better seats) and then if someone comes with a ticket for that seat they (generally) move. Not really sure if the guys in our seats were in first class or not, but our seats were sort of primo I suppose since they were at the windows (facing each other) and closest proximity to the power outlet.. a very big deal which I totally appreciated. So finally – a relaxing ride to Monterosso (after a very stressful boarding procedure and first hour of our day). The Cinqueterra is made up of five small towns that cling to cliffs along the water. The terrain between the towns is quite steep and thus they were accessible for centuries only by footpaths between them. (Now as you will hear soon — a train and also a ferry system connects them and they are sort of accessible by car). But it is from the footpaths that you have incredible views. Apparently backpackers “discovered” the towns in the 1970s and they started to become very popular destinations — which is rather unfortunate!

Arrived in Monterosso. The train station is practically on the beach.. We purchased a day ticket that let us hop on and off the train and go to any or all of the five towns. The beach area was totally packed and also filled with lots of shops selling beachwear, fast food, and trinkets. After a short walk uphill to get away from the crowds, get some good views, and also to see what the town was really like.. we decided to “move on”… so we hopped on the train to Riomaggiore, another one of the villages about 12 minutes away, where we thought we’d have lunch and perhaps have fewer crowds.

The train to Riomaggiore was totally packed.. like the NYC subway at rush hour, with people wearing all sorts of dress and non-dress.. string bikinis on the train, men without shirts, men in bikini bathing suits — you name it. Made it to the village, which was similarly buzzing with tourists (Japanese, Italians, Brits, French, and some Americans)… We had read about a restaurant that was away from the beach — about a mile walk uphill; we had the name (La Lanterna) and the location.. and made our way up the hill.. But couldn’t find the restaurant even though the GPS said we were right there. So I went into a shop and asked. Their English wasn’t very good, but finally I realized the restaurant with that name had closed and the chef had opened a new restaurant down in the marina (but a bit away from the crowds) with a new name (Rio Bistro). We figured it was worth a try and by now we were very hungry. OK.. success. Found it, and it was great.. Simple lunch.. Capresse salad and steamed mussels. Hit the bill.. Nice white wine and lots of water. Forgot to mention that it’s been pretty hot.. high 80s (which for me is totally painful) and it was probably up to about 90 in the little villages. (More on my total impression of Cinqueterra soon).

Headed back to the train to take the 3 minute ride to what is supposed to be the most beautiful of the 5 villages — Manorola. First little crisis.. we walked passed the stazione. It’s so nondescript that we didn’t see it. Finally realized and had to run back or else we’d have to wait another 20 minutes for the next train. Got to the station and the track (not easy to figure out which track) — no one seems to know.. not even the station people or the Italians. Anyway, as we waited we were standing next to two people from Sacramento area and we chatted a bit. They’ve been to the area three times before and were coming now for about five days. They basically stay at a hotel in Manarola and use it as a base — taking day walks, sometimes from one village to the next..which they said is about an hour’s walk.. not that difficult. Anyway, the train was late by about 20 minutes and as we waited more and more people began to fill the platform until it was body to body on the platform. Fortunately we were in the front. Anyway, when the train came we jumped on with everyone else.. but after 3 minutes we could see Manarola whiz by from the train and it turned out that we headed back to Monterosso along with many others who were headed where we were!

By now, Mike was more than frustrated.. Me, I’m just going with the flow! Anyway, the next train from Monterosso to Manarola was not for 2 hours (siesta time?), so we decided to see if we could find a boat to go from Monterosso to Manorola. There was a boat in an hour. Decided that would be better than the train. So off we went by ferry (again no one really sure which ferry goes in which direction and everyone giving different answers to the question. Ferry was about 45 minutes and included about 3 stops. Gave us good views of the villages. The ferry was pretty packed also. Made it to Manorola which is the prettiest town of all. By the way, disembarking from the ferry is quite a scene. There’s a long line of folks trying to get onto the ferry. They are stretched out along a very narrow winding path going downhill. On their right is a very steep drop to the Mediterranean.. and there isn’t any railing. The path is probably no more than 4 feet wide. Those of us getting off the ferry move alongside them but we are hugging along the rocks of the cliff — sharp, unexpected juttings, and attempting to navigate carefully so as not to move too far left or you might push one of those waiting to board right off the cliff! Italian planning at its best.

Bopped around Manorola and then attempted to find the train station to get back to Monterosso where we would catch the train to Genoa. Again many different directions as to where the station is and no signs at all. Made the train (only because it was late); got to Monterosso; had an hour before the Genoa train.. so we strolled the town again. It was a bit cooler, the crowds had thinned out, and the town looked better. Oh, and while getting on the very crowded train from Manarola to Monterosso a young woman wedged in between Mike and me and I turned and looked at her angrily as she literally pushed me forward and at the same time another woman tried to get Mike’s wallet from his back pocket.. but he immediately put his hand on his pocket and then the two ran off the train. Pickpocketing averted. They do say that those trains have lots of pickpockets; they even announce this at the train stations.

The Cinqueterra a beautiful area, with the five towns surrounded by rugged steep cliffs and a national park. I’m sure the hikes up above are spectacular. The villages were developed in the 16th century to oppose attacks by the Turks. they fell into decline until 19th century when a train was built to connect Genoa and Le Spezia.. then people fled (I assume because they had been so isolated).. and then in the 1970s the villages were “found” and tourism became its own industry. My guess is that American hippies were the discoverers, because it was the era when young Americans were exploring and trying to find peaceful and beautiful locations around the world. This would have qualified at that time. The houses hanging off the cliffs are all painted different colors, supposedly so that the fishermen could see their house from the sea…. to be able to see that their wives were doing their wifely chores!!!

Boarded the train from Monterosso to Genoa — back by the window and the power cord, which was a good thing since we took a lot of photographs and had to use the GPS, so very little power left.

While I think I would recommend going to the Cinqueterra — I’d suggest going in the fall — like November (although it’s probably rainy season) or maybe spring (April?). I would not suggest going any time between May and September. Too hot, too many people. I’m sure many of the beach shops close in the winter and that would be good as far as I’m concerned. The sun umbrellas that pack the beaches make for a great “graphic” but I cannot imagine that it is pleasant to be so body-to-body on the beach. And, I would add that I think I’ve visited villages that are more beautiful than the Cinqueterra (like the Amalfi Coast or the hilltop villages of Italy that are not at the coast — I guess it is the coast and the swimmable beaches that bring the crowds; I’d also rather return to the beautiful “white” villages of Spain.. and more).. I suppose that if you take the hike in the hills there are streams and rivers and you can swim and be more remote.. or if you really love the beach, then maybe it’s OK.. Just not my most favorite place.. I’ll take Turin over this.

Walked back from the Genoa station to the hotel (now clocking 9 miles for the day).. and then walked a few blocks for a late dinner at a place called Rosmarina. Again directions from the hotel were totally screwy. But we found it. Great meal.. started with marinated beef salad, went on to lasagna, and then piglet with figs… all followed by a fig cobbler.. Figs are everywhere.

I’m back online.. here in Paris Airport Hotel.. and am a happy camper… We took advantage of this one night in Paris.. and headed soon to the train to get to Gare du Nord and to walk to a restaurant called Au Passage. Quite wonderful.