2019 - La Spezia

Port of La Spezia, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

La SPEZIA.  Our next stop. We were scheduled for a much anticipated stop in Santa Margherita and Portofino; just a short ferry ride from our Santa Margherita port dock. I really hope to be back there someday when we can stop. I have seen video of the beautiful little Italian port town. But alas, it would not happen on this cruise. What happened? In a word, Weather. One of the things we have learned from our travels is that you can plan meticulously and things still don't always go according to scheme. There are just some things we cannot control. Weather is one of them. I often read with a chuckle, people complaining on various forums about this cruise or that cruise they took "sucked," because they missed a port or two. This was their "trip of a lifetime." It often comes across as if it is somebody elses "fault." Trust me. The cruise lines don't like having to skip a port any more than their customers do. In addition to disappointing passengers, it costs them. Fuel equations, port fees and time all are unplanned costs. And, usually they also have the cost of crediting some of their costs (e.g. port fees) back to their passengers. But they know (read your contract - LOL, we all know nobody does) that there will be inevitable problems that are generally out of their control.

[I]t is nearly 100 miles from the La Spezia port to Florence!

ON A cruise ship, the biggest and most common uncontrolled "variable" is weather. And for an ocean-going vessel, that is mostly going to be wind and consequent waves. There are just going to be times when, despite the best laid plans, conditions will be unsafe to anchor and tender (or even sometimes to dock). Most often this is a problem with tender ports. While the seas do not appear to be effecting the cruise ship to passengers, the much smaller tender boats are unsafe for passengers. In those cases, the captain may choose to skip the port completely. That is what happened on this cruise. While it happens, in our experience it doesn't happen all that frequently. But when it does, it is obviously disappointing. And the cruise line will be the first to tell you that passenger safety is their highest goal. I believe that - at least on a high level - they are sincere about that. We can certainly argue that certain policies and practices, and sometimes lack of maintenance, goes against my belief. But again, I think those conditions are the exception, rather than the rule.

Port of La Spezia, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

SOMETIME DURING the afternoon, the captain came on the PA system and announced that port authorities in Santa Margherita (our scheduled stop) had determined that condition at the port rendered it unsafe to tender passengers in. Rather than anchor out, or just sail around, the captain had radioed ahead to our next scheduled port (La Spezia) and obtained permission to arrive and dock early. So. No Santa Margherita. No Portofino. Disappointing. But what I have come to call "First World Problems." We will hope for another oppportunity and be sure to avail ourselves of it if it does arise. We sailed into La Spezia in the evening, and our stop turned into an overnight stop. That didn't make much difference this time, as the unplanned changes had left us without opportunity to arrange, or schedule any additonal shore activities. Our plan continued to be to walk off and try to find our way to a nearby attraction.

Manarola -  Cinque Terre, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved 

IN THE meantime, La Spezia was a brand new port for us. As a photographer, I think it is a pretty special venue. Later, I learned that all those pretty, pastel colored buildings built into the hillsides were historically not colorful at all. While I have to imagine they were still very picturesque, the brightly colored paint was the brainchild of promoters of tourism in the 1970s, as they realized that the colors would completely transform the landscape, making Cinque Terre the huge photo-op that it is today! We have since been back and I expect will be back more times if we sail itineraries along the Italian Mediterranean coastline. With its deep, protected harbor, La Spezia has a well-developed port with lots of commercial and even some military activity, making it one of Italy's most important ports and including a major Italian Naval Base. For tourism, it is noted for its close proximity to the Cinque Terre National Park (more detail below). One of my pet peeves - and I have written (perhaps ad nauseum) about it a few times - is the cruiselines' misleading promotional materials for this port. Every cruise brochure and online itinerary calls the La Spezia port "for Florence and/or Pisa." It certainly can be done, and I see many passengers talking about it on online sources. But it is nearly 100 miles from the La Spezia port to Florence! And 50 miles from the port to Pisa. You can travel there by train (and La Spezia had a nice, modern train station), or by private car. But either one is going to eat up well over half your day on a normal single-day cruise stop.

One of my pet peeves - and I have written (perhaps ad nauseum) about it a few times - is the cruiselines' misleading promotional materials [for some of its port stops]

IN THE past, we sailed this part of the Mediterranean on Princess, and at least back at that time, their principal port was Livorno. Livorno is comparatively more practical as a port from which to visit these two places. Pisa is 12 miles from Livorno, and easily doable. Florence, though, is still 50 miles from Florence. That is still a pretty good distance to reach Florence, another one of those towns in Italy that really begs for more than just a day trip. We did an excursion to both Pisa and Florence in 2015 and though we arrived in Pisa early and spent a nice leisurely time there, the rest of our trip to Florence felt rushed and we concluded there was really not enough time to see the city. I have a personal goal to see Florence in a more leisurely fashion one day, and that will involve and overnight or two. But when I see discussion online about travel to either Pisa or Florence from La Spezia, my own contribution it to pour cold water on it, pointing out the above and suggesting the trip might be disappointing. Everyone works within their own set of expectations, though.

Containers waiting to be loaded - Port of La Spezia, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THERE ARE two reasons I discourage Florence/Pisa excursions from the La Spezia port. The first is the factors I set out above. The second, though, might (should, in my opinion), ice it for anyone looking for a great day! Immediately to the northeast of La Spezia is a region along the north wets coast of Italy, on the Ligurian Sea (part of the Mediterranian), lies a region of Italy known as Cinque Terre (roughly translated: "5 lands"). Cinque Terre consists of 5 tiny little villages which lie along the western slopes of the Appenine Mountains (which form a "spine" down the Italian Peninsula). Now a National Park, there is a hiking trail from one end to the other, through the villages. The buildings, in most cases, are built right into the steep faces of the mountains creating a breathtaking scene which really makes you wonder: "How did they do that?" Today, the buildings are painted in bright pastel (if that is not a contradiction) colors which give is a kind of artists rendering as you view it. Each village has its viewpoints, and each has a small, but imminently picturesque harbor.

Port of La Spezia in the early morning light - La Spezia, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

CINQUE TERRE is among the easiest to reach sights you will ever find on a cruise. It is just over a mile from the cruise port to the train station. There is a "commuter" train that travels from the La Spezia station to all 5 of the Cinque Terre villages and runs every 15 - 20 minutes. Best of all, it is extremely affordable. When I was there last (2022) an all-day on and off pass was just 8 euros. The trip from La Spezia is under 4.5 miles, so just a very few minutes, to the first of the 5 villages, Riomaggiore, and the next village, Manarola, is only 3/4 mile further on the train. The distance between any of the 5 villages are all less than 2 miles, so the train rides are quick and short. It is also possible to visit Cinque Terre by boat. There are sightseeing boats that sail by each village. I am not sure if or when they stop. I want to be on the ground with my camera, so the train works well for me.

Manarola - Cinque Terre, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

I HAD done some research on Cinque Terre and knew it would be one of those chance of a lifetime photography opportunities. I did not do my homework as well as I could have though. I didn't know about the commuter train, the cheap cost, or the convenience it gives. Going ashore, we were joined by our new friends, Rob, Carol, Neil and Mel. We didn't really know much about the train situation, which is why I go to such length to discuss it here - do not be afraid to use it! It is so easy and so convenient and so inexpensive. You can walk to the station, though that is probably going to be 20 minutes to 1/2 hour. Or you can take a relatively reasonable taxi right outside of the cruise port - which makes it a 5-10 minute trip to the station. From there, the train is easy-peazy. Don't hesitate. We did, and we ended up sharing a taxi, which took us to the second village of Manarola. We did that because my research told me Manarola was the village I most wanted to photograph. We didn't know, however, that there are no cars down in these villages. Instead, way up on the highway, there is a large parking area for busses, taxis, and I presume private vehicles. We had to walk down from there, about 1/2, down a very steep grade (which made it feel a lot longer), to the center of the village. We passed the train station just a very short distance from the village center, and made note of it. We bought tickets and rode the train back to La Spezia - and learned about the daily fee setup. I knew that I would be back one day and would keep that information in mind.

Manarola - Cinque Terre, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Righs Reserved

DON'T LET those short and quick train rides fool you though. In each instance there is a bit of a (downhill) walk from the station into the tiny little seaport towns. Nothing like the walk down from the Manarola parking area, though. And worth the walk. But in addition to perhaps a 10 minute additional walk, you will want to spend more time than that in each village. The views are nothing short of spectacular, and the villages still rustic, with strong remnants of their seafaring, fishing history. Like many places in the world, tourism has become a (if not the) major source of income for these villages. But they have done a wonderful job of preserving them. We ended up only having time for Manarola. But in 2022, we were back again, this time on an overnight stop - once again on the Celebrity Edge. And that time, I had a plan. I was off the ship early in the morning and on my way to the first village: Riomaggiore. I would meet my group later - in Manarola. Got some great photos on that visit, and did some vigorous hiking. But that is for an upcoming hike.

Manarola - Cinque Terre, Italy
Copyright 2022 - All Rights Reserved

FOR THIS trip, the day in Manarola was to be our final stop of the cruise. For a cruise which was relatively unplanned for us and on which we didn't know a soul the day we boarded, this one was a pretty amazing experience. In addition to our sightseeing and photography opportunities, we made a few great friends. And with 6 Celebrity cruises under our belts now, we were feeling right at home with the cruise line - truly becoming "(I Am) A Celebrity." 😁 We had a couple different additional cruises planned, to other areas of Europe (notably the Baltic). We were on a roll and pretty excited about our future cruises. To our disappointment, it turned out that we would not set foot onto another cruise ship for two full years. This one was in October of 2019. In less than two months' time the world would experience a crushing blow that my generation and younger had never experienced - a worldwide pandemic. By 2020, most of the world was locked down by COVID 19. We wouldn't reopen 2 years later, and even that was shaky. We had 3 or 4 cruises cancelled, an re-scheduled as COVID inexorably shut the world down. Finally, we were able to forward our pre-booked cruise fees for a renewed Baltic Cruise in 2022. But I am getting ahead of myself. Stay tuned. We were ultimately able to sneak in a couple short cruises at the end of 2021 and early 2022. I will blog about them in the not too distant future.