Cinque Terra - Adventures in Legoland

There is only one word to describe a Fiat Panda. Tiny. It seats 4 and has room left over for very small luggage. In my case the 3 other seats were occupied by 3 hysterical women. Hysterical because as we were tearing down an Italian highway at 150 kms. per hour and assorted cars, trucks and motorbikes were merrily cutting into our path without indicating their hostile intentions; I made the mistake of telling them I had never driven a stick shift car in this part of the world.

Karen took over the GPS, Michelle screamed every time another vehicle came close and Dragana, who is slightly younger than my son, but will probably make a very good mother one day, periodically checked if I needed water, if I`d like to eat something and once wanted to know if I needed to go to the washroom.

Three chaotic hours later we were parked off the road above Riomaggiore, the first of 5 villages that make up Cinque Terra (pronounced Chin-kway Tay-rah).

The villages, nestled at the base of the steep slopes, look like something kids would make if given a thousand boxes of Lego and a free hand. Houses perched on top of the other, with 3-4 foot wide alleys and stairways creating meandering patterns while they all lead down to the sea, the entrance to one house doubling up as a veranda to the next. The villages have some kind of aesthetics commissioner who decides the colours of the houses. The result is so enchanting that even something as mundane as laundry hung out to dry, seems to add to the charm.

The hill sides above Riomaggiore and the next village Monarola have been cut to create terraced vineyards. On the shores of the Mediterranean, the 5 villages are very close to each other and you can see all of them from virtually any vantage point above Riomaggiore.

The hike from Riomaggiore through Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza to the last one – Monterosso is quite another matter. The first 2 legs are along the coast and easy. To get from Corniglia to Vernazza is a 1 and a half hour hike over the mountains. The last leg to Monterosso requires you to traverse 3 hills and takes 2 hours.

The mountainside above Corniglia is thick forest. There is a pleasant aroma which I think is pine. The guide books also refer to several other herbs and edibles about which I know very little since I only see them crushed and in bottles.

Took it easy today (Sunday). Walked for a couple of hours through the streets, dawdled in the archaeology museum and then finally climbed the 487 steps up the Tower of Asinelli – the highest structure in Bologna.

Torre degli Assinelli is 334 feet tall. My guide book says it is tilted 2.5 mts. I cannot see the tilt but it is definitely twisted towards the stop. Inside, engineers have used a system of braces that seems to hold it all together. The stairs are steep and narrow. About half way up is a marker that tells you that you are passing the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It`s back to work tomorrow.