Italy: Riomaggiore

February 2019

Riomaggiore was the first of the Cinque Terre towns I visited on a day trip from Genoa. I figured it made sense to go there first (the farthest from Genoa) and slowly make my way back.

The train was packed with tourists and the train ride through that famous region was mostly through tunnels with only glimpses of the sea. Upon arrival, I followed everyone out through a tunnel in the mountain that included half of the station. We exited into town where I found the main street leading to the water and the town's small harbor. The town was, as depicted, ridiculously beautiful.

It was also mobbed (mostly Chinese tourists).

The famed Via dell'Amore carved into the cliffs leading to the next town, Manarola, was closed due to a rockslide. That was disappointing because it was to be one of the high points of the visit - a cliff-edge walk along the Tyrrhenian Sea. Oh well...

I explored a bit, but the crush of humanity in the town square was overwhelming. Riomaggiore is an extremely small town and there were literally a thousand people crammed into limited space. I don't see how the locals could stand it.  Getting a coffee was out of the question. I tried to find a part of town with fewer people just to breathe. Surprisingly, it was easy to get away from the mass of people on the main street at a nearby overlook, but Riomaggiore was simply too small for me to "go" anywhere. I decided to move on.

I got back on the train and headed to Manarola [see: Manarola]. I should have stayed longer in Riomaggiore - the next city was even more crowded!