LA SPEZIA ("La Spe'tzia") was our last stop before arriving and disembarking . A new stop for us, I find the cruise port - from the ship deck - surprisingly interesting, photographically. It is an "industrial" (primarily cargo) port, which is situated very near a small, Italian Naval Facility. There was a lot of commercial activity going on. Because of the nature of the port, we weren't allowed to just get off the ship and walk around. There was a complimentary shuttle from the wharf to the port entrance (about 1.5 miles), that took us out of the port.
WITH OUR inability to safely tender into Portofino, the captain announced that they had made early accommodation arrangements, and that we would just sail on by Portofino, arriving at La Spezia early. We arrived in the early morning hours. Because we didn't have anything planned, we were not in a huge rush to get off the ship. Also, the showery weather put a bit of a damper on things.
BECAUSE WE arrived during nighttime, I was able to get a few rare nighttime shots. I always enjoy when we overnight at a port with some photographic potential. We have done so in Naples and Barcelona, and now, La Spezia.
WE MADE plans with our new friends, to go over to Cinque Terre to casually explore. I had done some basic research, but not really enough to appreciate the huge photographic opportunities there. This was a cruise we had booked on the spur of the moment, and we had not made our usual intensive private excursion arrangements. We really didn't know much about this stop and decided to just play it "by ear," so to speak. As much as the photographer in me urges me in certain directions, sometimes, it is just nice to relax, socialize, and not really think about making good pictures. This was one of those times. But I still managed to sneak away and make a few.
THE PLANNED "excursion" to Cinque Terre would not happen until early afternoon. Wanting to check email, stretch our legs, and get a cup of coffee, my wife and I walked off the ship mid-morning, and took the shuttle to the city, and walked a couple blocks into the city center to find a coffee shop. One thing we discovered while walking around is that La Spezia is not particularly remarkable. It is just a normal, mid-sized city. I think most of it involved commerce, industry, and the people who live there. There really isn't much to promote tourism in the city itself.
CINQUE TERRE, translates to English as "Five Lands." There are 5 bucolic fishing villages along this portion of the "Italian Riviera," in a region known as Liguria. From later research I learned that 3 of the 5 villages were built right into the steep seaside mountains. Each of these 3 villages, Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Vernazza, have small, quaint, and very picturesque harbors. Having seen shots of a couple of them, these fishing harbors with the mountainside buildings were the primary attraction for me. There is a hiking trail, which begins in either the southernmost village (Riomaggiore) or the northernmost (Monteroso al Mare) ["al Mare" means "by the sea"] and goes from one end to the other. It is possible (and at times popular) to hike this trail. If you are fit, and a hiker, it may well be the best way to see all the villages, as well as the views in between. But I think it would be impossible to do on a day-long cruise stop. It is one of those destinations in Italy where I think it would be worth spending more than a day.
WE KNEW, generally, that the area could be accessed by boat, train, or automobile. But we didn't know the details. In hindsight, we made perhaps the worst choice of the three. Not really knowing train schedules (or how close the train station was), we opted to take a taxi from the port entrance. The drive from La Spezia to the village we had chosen (Manarola), was unremarkable. As we approached the village, we came to a large parking area high above the village. At that point our driver informed us that we were "at the end of the line." There was no vehicular traffic further down into the village. We had a long, steep walk down to the main village. On the way, we passed the railroad station, very much closer to the village. Later that day, we learned that there was a commuter rail line that ran between the 5 villages. All day tickets would allow unlimited on and off access for the day at all of the villages. We took the train back to the La Spezia station.
I KNEW that the village could be photographed from a pedestrian trail that was really the main tourist spot. I had read that there were other (purportedly better) vantage points. But I didn't really have the time (nor inclination) to seek them out. I did (I thought) the best I could with what I had. And really, the viewpoint is pretty amazing (when I later returned to Manarola in 2022, I found all of the suggested viewpoints - including a strenuous hike up to the top of a cemetery - and made shots from there. In spite of a fair amount of commentary to the contrary, my own conclusion is that none are better than the primary tourist spot. Nor are they worth the effort, in my view).
WE SAT and had a drink at one of the little sidewalk establishments and took in the views and people-watched. It was relaxing and enjoyable. We then made the few steps to the station, and took the train back to La Spezia. Once back, we opted to walk (about 15 minutes) back to the port, stopping again at an outdoor restaurant in La Spezia's city center for drinks and appetizers before returning to the ship. While I did not get all the photographs I had hoped for, it may have been one of the more enjoyable days of all of our cruises. Our new friends, Rob and Carol and Brian and Meryl helped to make it a memorable experience (both the day and the cruise). We often meet great people on cruises; more often than not in the smoking area (due to my penchant for cigars). We stay in touch with some of them. A pretty cool thing happened very recently for us. We just got off a cruise a week ago which stopped in Liverpool, England among other places. Rob and Carol live in Manchester, only about a 30-minute drive to Liverpool. We met them for lunch and drinks! What a fun thing. Hopefully we will have more of those experiences as time goes on.
WHILE NOT my idea of a premiere port, La Spezia, for a number of reasons, will always stimulate fond memories for us.
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