Making the Connections
Cinque Terre had one striking difference from all the other cities visited. It was a relatively remote network of villages. But it possessed its own magic, a lush landscape of vineyards and mountains. Here, words do not do justice in explaining what Cinque Terre is all about, because words pale in comparison.
The 18 mile hike was a unique activity. I felt like I was in a mysterious land doing this hike. One got to be lost in nature, something that balanced the contrarily impatient pace of the other cities. I also connected with the past in another way. A bonus activity, a mule trail hike, allowed us to recreate a pilgrimage between the Santuario and another Church near Vernazza. I am glad I was able to complete the hike, and look forward to doing more physical activities going forward.
A modern installation in the age-old Cinque Terre region was the railroads. We arrive at what the class called the Tolga dilemma (due to my interests in railroading). The coastal Ferrovie dello Stato rail line brought an influx of tourists to the region, and does so today. The eventual idea of the Cinque Terre region was to suppress as much development as possible. Of course, with a higher population comes the need to develop. (here we call it transit-oriented development). The rail line's arrival brought forth that drawback, but I feel that in the end something would have to have been needed in part thanks to the information age. That being said at least this "paradise" would have been discovered by somebody, and either ports or a road/rail link would be needed to complement the demand. This dilemma is rooted in capitalism versus tradition, and happens in many places. Miami is starting to be one example, given recent calling for environmental management. Sometimes decisions are difficult to make regarding planning, and ones with more benefit as opposed to cost are advisable. I think the railroad brings more benefit than harm to the region as a carefully handled system, but otherwise, as with say, interstates, do almost no good,
My favorite town was Vernazza. It had a little bit of everything - a beach, shops and restaurants, and a boat dock. Monterosso had the same but I felt it was too massive in scale, and not as cozy. Manarola is a close second, and I wish I had more time to explore it. I immediately felt reminded of the Florida Keys - not only on the basis of the abundance of seafood and the proximity to the sea, but also on the ambiance of these towns. The Oversea Railroad brought the Keys to prominence, so the connection between the Keys' growth and that of Cinque Terre is there. Both originated as fishing towns, but inevitably became attractive to tourists.
Cinque Terre is one place to which I promised myself a return. Not only for personal reasons such as "railfanning" (See Takeaways), but also for the breadth of physical activities available and also for the exploration of these five villages. There is much more than meets the eye, and that goes for all the cities. I even nicknamed the "Tolga Triathlon" for the activities available here: (rail) photography, swimming, and hiking.
I was also touched by the images of the 2011 mudslide (that happened on my birthday actually). Just like here, 5 Terre is as prone to natural disasters. This is something that as inevitable as it is should be considered when planning a settlement. We had Hurricane Andrew, and they had that mudslide which dealt a fair share of damage. This was for me one of the strongest elements of self reflection done here in 5 Terre.
