We caught a train from Siena to our next port(s) of call, the area known as Cinque Terre where five small ports (from the north: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corneglia, Manerola, Riomaggiore) lie at the base of steep cliffs along the northern west coast of Italy. The northern towns date back to the 11^th Century.

We stayed in Corneglia, the center of the five and apart from walking to Vernazza on one day, caught trains from there to visit the other towns as there is no easy road access between the towns. We also visited the two towns to the north of Cinque Terre, Levanto and Sistre Levante. It was too windy on the day we wanted to catch the ferry to view the towns from the sea.

The trains, train stations, streets, ports and ferries were already packed with tourists moving between the towns where the attraction is not so much the history, but the streets, houses and people.

A tired tourist and her companion wait for the next train.

Corniglia

The stairs from Corniglia down to the train station were challenging but good for the calf muscles! We stayed in the pink block on the second level; the stairs can be seen clinging to the side of the cliff behind the pole.

Church bells rang hourly in the town, even at night, and were fairly close.

The center of town is a jumble of colour, vehicles and people.

Small shops are tucked away in the narrow winding streets.

A local enjoys a glass of wine while tourists clean strawberries at one of the several communal spring water taps found in the village. 

We watched the sun set from the edge of town.

We could see Manerola from our balcony and we visited there the next day.

As we arrived at the harbour we saw local kids diving off a rock wall along one edge of the port.

Locals hanging out (a fair bit of this in Mediterranean Europe) plus the main street down to the port where we ate dinner (restaurant beyond the boats on the right)

No room for graves in these towns. 

The town is crowded up against the hill with vines clinging to the steep slope.

Probably the best of the villages to photograph in the setting sun.

Riomaggiore

We fought our way to Riomaggiore in the crowded train. For those of you going to Italy don't forget to validate your train tickets in the machines provided around the stations. 

More locals taking it easy while a young tourist decided that the best way to raise money would be by sleeping through it all in the afternoon sun. 

Riomaggiore has a small narrow harbour with apartments hanging over the water. Vernazza

We found Vernazza the most interesting of the towns. Maybe this is because we walked there from Corniglia and so got an view of it from the track  through the trees as we approached. It has a wide harbour, a nearby church and a fortress.

Vernazza was flooded in 2011, the waters coming down off the hills and through the town bringing what looks like a lot of the hill with it.

We watched ferry boats taking on tourists before sailing off, packed to the hilt.

Some of the facades are a little worse for wear!

Monterosso

Artists like to paint this scene.

Levanto

Levanto is north of Monterrosso and not included within Cinque Terre.

Maybe not the best way to model your wares!

We visited some interesting markets with fish and other products.

Interestingly, there is a bit of surfing on this coast, as there is on a larger scale in Portugal (a blog for a later date). The mobile phone continues to be ubiquitous. 

All set up and no one to play.

Sistre Levante

Like other towns on the coast there are sections of beach where you pay to get on (around 10 Euros) and enjoy the relative peace and have drinks served.

Hans Christian Anderson favoured this coastal town north of Levanto, where he settled for a while in 1833.