Tuscan Treasures Tour: Day 9

Friday, June 14: Portovenere and Le Cinque Terre

Early start of 7am today for our longest drive of the entire tour, heading northwest out of Tuscany and into Liguria. We arrived in La Spezia to board the ferry to Portovenere, our first stop in a seaside coastal town. Unfortunately, the usual voice system for our local guide was missing, so that made everything a bit more challenging for him to share information both on the ferry as well as when we walked around the towns. The ride was smooth and comfortable and uncrowded.

In Portovenere, we followed our guide for a tour of the town, up the small main street to a church perched on the cliffs with amazing views all around. More climbing led up to another church, and we passed some residents nearby who were working on an intricate mosaic floor on their patio. 

Then we had time on our own. L had decided not to visit the churches, so Mr. E and I wandered around the curvy and charming streets and procured an early lunch (excellent fresh mint lemonade) to share with L down at the main square, where she had joined up with other members of our group for a cold beverage. Then we had a little more time to go souvenir shopping, with a a pause for an unexpected rain shower, and to encounter some of the local felines before returning to the dock to board the ferry to Monterosso al Mare, which ended up being the only one of the five towns in Le Cinque Terre that we were able to visit.

P had let us know during our morning bus ride that she was still trying to confirm plans with the guide and the ferry company, since they are not able to land at all of the towns if the weather is bad and the water is rough. For this reason, we already knew we wouldn't be stopping at Vernazza, apparently the ferry crew felt that conditions were satisfactory for the trip to Monterosso al Mare, the northernmost of the towns with a more protected dock area. Umm... maybe not... The water was REALLY rough, and the hour-long journey was not pleasant at all. Quite a few people got sick (not just in our group), which was quite unfortunate. Mr. E was OK out on the back deck, I closed my eyes to just ride it out in the lower seating area, and L managed as well, but it would definitely have been a better choice to skip this mode of transportation and opt for the train between the towns instead.

Once we arrived safely (if a bit nauseous...), our local guide gave us a brief tour of the town, including the main church that had been severely damaged by flooding in both 1966 and 2011 and the adjacent Basilica of the Black Brotherhood, which honors the pirates who were such a large presence in the seaside region. Then we found a lovely quiet spot for lunch with an outside table and no smokers. Mr. E and I both ordered salads with tuna and veggies and L indulged in a hamburger and fries. We also tried the local unique white wine.

Luckily, our return to La Spezia was already planned to occur by train, but we had a rather long walk to the station and then a delay of nearly 20 minutes as we waited for the train. Dinner at the hotel was quiet and peaceful with just our group in the restaurant until about 9pm when a large group that had just arrived came in for their meal.