Chapter 13: Livorno & Cinque Terre
by Bus, Boat, Etc.
28.09.2023 - 28.09.2023 80 °F
View Fjords & From Barcelona on Cunard on paulej4's travel map.
"Livorno"
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Arrival at 7:00am, Livorno Port is unexciting. It is not pretty and impatiently awaits shipping of thousands of cars and trucks lined up and waiting.
Today's excursion is a ridiculous one: 7:30 until 5:00. B4 wisely asks to skip it due to her leg issues. I wholeheartedly agree. I have Lisa and Mike and little sisters Jo and Mary to adopt me for the day so I will be fine.
A "coach" takes us to the port of La Spezia, 90 minutes away. We pass Carrara en route where marble yards lie beneath the massive hillside marble mines.
We see the Italian Navy from the street, or, at least a couple of what appear to be very old submarines.
From the coach as we rise up the mountain the terraces of Cinque Terre become quite clear. There are more miles of terraces to grow grapes and more that there are miles between here and New York. Built by hand over centuries, there are rebuilt today with help from the Italian government which inexplicably is wiling to fly needed stones in by helicopter as it would be almost impossible to hand carry them to where they are needed.
From the coach, we board a ferry. I am adopted by Little Sisters Jo and Mary who, unlike our youthful companions in the bow, stay awake for the entire half hour journey.
Cinque Terre itself? Five Lands; the Italian Riveria. All of it very romantic and, for me, a destination long neglected.
The ship described it thus: 9.0 hours, high activity level. "Visit a trio of the five picturesque villages that comprise the spectacular cliffside Cinque Terre. The pretty pastel-painted villages of Cinque Terre, or 'Five Lands', are nestled in a gorgeous setting on the Italian Riveria. Each village in this Unesco World Heritage Site has its own personality. You'll find Manarola the most charming village of the group, with its tiny harbour and piazza of seafood restaurants.
Vernazza, arguably the prettiest, is filled with narrow lanes and terraced olive groves, and boasts a medieval castle. While Monterosso is known for its lovely resorts and beaches, we are free to go for a swim. Some others do but, I think, none of our group join in. We enjoy ferry rides between the villages and have free time to explore each village on our own.
Next, after passing Corniglia high on a hill, we arrive at Monterosso Al Mare. Here, finally, there is time for lunch. We five, Lisa & Mike, Mary & Jo and me, go searching for a sidewalk cafe where we can enjoy both pizza and pasta. The problem is that hundreds of tourists have departed the ferry ahead of us. Tables both here and there and everywhere are filled. As we walk further into the town, we find a spot that has pasta but no pizza. Starving, Mary, Jo and I give up and find a spot where we can enjoy our pasta (Meat ravioli accompanied by a glass of red wine) while Lisa and Mike continue there pizza AND pasta search. Finding them later, we learn that they were successful.
Next we board a modern Italian train for the 30 minute trip back to board the coach and return to the ship.
Pausing here, I offer a critique of cruising in general. Manarola deserves a day (and a night) of its own, as does Vernazza and as does Monterosso. However, that privilege offers itself up to you only if you have chosen a ground-based vacation or are lucky enough to have bought an apartment aboard cruise ship The World which, as its uber-wealthy owners decide, would spend three or four nights in the port of Livorno--a plan unthinkable by any of the major cruise lines available to mere mortals such as your authors.
Given that, one should look upon days such as this as walking through their local Costco store, encountering one of the sample ladies offering up a bite of their just warmed up mini-quiche with the intention of you deciding that one bite is justification to purchase the entire pie to enjoy later. Spoken more clearly, you take this tour with the intention of determining whether or not to come stay a week in Cinque Terre at some future time.
Oh; by the way, what of the other two of the 'Five Lands?' (Is the tour more accurately dubbed "Tre Terre?) They are Riomaggiore and Corniglia, both, by necessity, skipped over on this one-day tour. It would probably make sense to budget three to four days to experience the ins and outs, the red and blue hikes often mentioned in travel articles and, most importantly, the vibe that shifts in places such as these when night falls. Cruises, long gone by sunset, fail to offer these sensory experiences, a fact not grasped by a high percentage of cruisers.
Beneath a bright sun, there is local color here.
General Douglas MacArthur said it best: "I shall return." (We hope our President Harry S. Truman fans/friends are not angered by our use here of this controversial man's quotation)
As the sun sets and we make a difficult maneuver to exit the Livorno Harbor, we give way to the Azamara Pursuit, just arriving. I am curious about this because, in my experience, cruise ships depart ports at sunset and arrive at sunrise. The Pursuit is arriving here in the evening. Will they be here for the night? They must be. Perhaps some of the passengers will take transport into the city? There isn't much of a city to see here without that long bus ride. It is mysterious but it is happening as I, and you, can plainly see.
Let me point out that B4, (Big Business Beryl Beth) did not see. She is, true to her persona, participating in a Board of Directors call, via Zoom, earphones in, laptop and phone both in operation. I fear she will lose connectivity as we steam farther from shore but I wish for her the best. And, the same for the Board because I know--and you should know--that they are better with her input than they could ever be without it.
Just as am I.
