Italy: Cinque Terre Villages: 9 of 12

This excursion needed tansport by boat... the harbor from which we launched was a madhouse of boats and tourists and general hubub.

We left our bus, walked to and boarded our boat, and that was that... no drama, no line, just get up and go. Wow. So here we are, heading out of the harbor toward the Ligurian Sea:


 

That's our intrepid giude for the day, tan cap, on the left, pointing out something of note... our only male guide of the whole trip. You'll note Linda, white hat, the only known Catholic in our group, attentive in her pew...

The Ligurian Sea in this area is home to the Sea Catacean Sanctuary. Whales. and dolphins abound in the area, although we did not see any. Later, toward the end of summer, the plankton population swells, and the big guys feast then. Now, it's all in the deep.

Still in the harbor, making our way out to sea, I can't get enough of the vistas...the old wall with the trees planted behind, the newer residential structures to the left, and the sailboats and more traditional housing to the right:


 

Finally out to sea, we catch a glimpse of homes on the hill... this is what I now have in mind when we say "verticality":

 

The phrase "living on the edge" also comes to mind...

I've been trying to find the name of this village... is it the first of five? Hard to tell, but easy to show:

 

And if you wonder how an agrarian economy might work here, look no further than the terracing:


 

For a sense of scale, there are people down on the beach... 

I took this shot of the villa and terraced land just about dead center... but mainly due to the working stiffs in the chopper above the villa, ferrying something maybe a quarter mile away, dropping, coming back, picking up...


 

Upon disembarking from our boat, it was time to find something to shoot... that took about thirty seconds:


 

 Kathy was there and offered to take a shot... oh my gosh. Those two again?


A house, a cliff, another house.... and wait. What's that down below? That's a hole in the rock, and you can in fact see the beach, and the Ligurian Sea:


 

Our guide, Fernando, told us of a resident with whom he'd had many conversations over the years, but she'd aged and he'd not seen her in a while. Here he is leading us around Vernazza (there's the Vox transmitter unit mentioned earlier):


 

... and then, around a corner or two, we hear a woman shout out from a window... it's her! Upstairs but still spry and so glad to see him!!!


 

Alas, it's nearing time for us to leave, so a quick shot of the town and the crowd:

 

And a fond farewell to Vernazza. and La chiesa di Santa Margherita di Antiochia:


 

 

 

 

Italy Posts (click to navigate):

Context, intro, meandrie avertimentis

Sorrento and Amalfi Coast

Pompeii

Imperial Rome

Rome, St. Peter's Square & Borghese Gallery

Orvieto & Umbria

Historic Assisi

Lucca

 Cinque Terre Villages

Florence

Venice

Final thoughts

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