We had thought we might visit the two remaining Cinque Terre villages by boat but rough seas cancelled the ferry. The day was still bright and sunny so we set off undeterred … by train!
Our first stop was Manarola, where to save our legs, we took the bus up the hill to the Santuario Di Nostra Signora della Salute in the small hamlet of Volastra.
We took the path towards Corniglia for a short way to get a view of the terraced vineyards where grapes for both sweet and dry white wines are grown.
We also saw Corniglia in the distance …
… and Manarola below.
Returning to the church, we began the descent and are really pleased we hadn’t done this walk both ways as what seemed to be an never ending flight of steps descended between the olive trees …
… and between the terraces of vines.
We caught glimpses of Manarola as the path zig zagged …
… then finally reached the main viewpoint at the bottom …
… and returned to the station.
We caught the train onwards to Riomaggiore, the last of the five villages, and the largest. We took a few snaps but it didn’t have quite the charm of the other villages and we didn’t linger.
We had hoped the boats might have started running again so we could get a view of the Cinque Terre from the sea, but it wasn’t to be and we returned by train.
Our last night here, so we had an aperol in the last of the sunshine then more pansotti for dinner in the taverna round the corner. Over dinner we agreed we had picked the nicest village to stay in and that of the others, Manorla was the prettiest. As for Ivo’s Camere, we struck gold here with such a central location, a lovely comfy room complete with lashings of hot water and a kettle to make tea … and those 67 steps have certainly kept us fit!
Tomorrow we take the train further west!
The predicted weather forecast for today has been getting worse every day this week, so we knew it was likely to be a wet day … we just weren’t sure how wet!
A lovely day and a walk planned! We took the bus to the hamlet of San Bernardino, a steady ascent for 15 minutes which was going to make our day a whole lot easier and got out at the 
Corniglia clings to a ridge, the only village without a harbour and we wandered round it’s narrow streets, finding churches, piazzas and views …
It hadn’t started well. We woke to a damp morning, grey and unpromising. We took the day slowly, went for some breakfast, checked out the bus timetable and visited the information office. The very helpful chap suggested the best path for the day might be to the sanctuary above the town as it was cobbled and would be ok even if there was more rain.
The path became a series of cobbled switchbacks, with stations of the cross on the way.
Cinque Terre means Five Lands for the five small coastal villages of Monterosso al Mare, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza, built into the sheer rocky coast of Liguria. They are famed for their rugged scenery and are popular with tourists and hikers alike. The access by road is limited, so most visitors travel between the villages by train, boat or on foot.
Another speciality awaited us for dinner – pesto lasagne and a little local red!
Off Travelling Together 