grant and helena's excellent adventure: Le Cirque Terre

Arriving in Italy, we thought the van either needed to have a wheel alignment or new front left tyre so spent a couple of nights at a cute little Italian village just over the border from France. Our front right tyre was virtually stuffed so we replaced both front tyres. We enjoyed staying at this little place and hospitality from those operating the park cafe. He was a real character and you should've seen his version of a iced coffee - well, it didn't look like a iced coffee and it certainly didn't taste like it either - this confirmed when he proudly pulled out a bottle from the back shelf and mimicked his pouring action into my small glass which by this stage had a couple of ice cubes and a layer of cocoa on top. Dinner was pretty much the same - you were never really sure what you were going to get and there were even differences between orders of the same meal !!!! But he was nice, genuine and that made the difference.

Vehicle problems now sorted, we headed off towards Italy, driving through many short and long tunnels on our journey from Albenga to Rapallo. Some of the tunnels were over 3km in length before staying at Camping Miraflores which was recommended by Carla. Camping site was about 2km from the centre of Rapallo, a seaside resort which is in the centre of the Tigullio Gulf - a location which gave us good access to the coast.

Catching a bus to Rapallo, we caught the train to Monteresso - got left behind in the carriage when they did a coach transfer and then ferry to reach the first of the five hamlets of the Cinque Terre which are located on the west coast of the Rivera.

Village hugging the cliff

We walked to Riomaggiore

Looking at Monterossa from the boat

Le Cirque Terre - the villages of Monterossa, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore either cling to the cliff face or are concealed in miniature inlets perfectly blending in to this unique and unspoilt landscape. The area has been turned into a National Park and is a thriving cultural centre of the area. The hamlets are linked by a footpath cut out of the sheer rock just a stone throw away from the sea or inland path which winds thru the hillside, past small and large veggie patches which miraculously cling to the hillside.

Fantastic view but very steep as you can see

Amazing cultivation on the hillside

We hiked through vine filled terraces and enjoyed the scents of aromatic plants which are typical of the Mediterranean bush from Manarola to Riomaggiore, had lunch and enjoyed the company of the Thomas family who were from Pt Lincoln in South Australia. Rather long but pleasant lunch overlooking the sea.