Dreaming of some time out from the current reality, Mother Nature put on a special show for me (and others) at the Cinque Terre, at least for those of us who live above the main villages. Probably due to the unseasonal warm weather we are having despite it still being Winter, a reaction between the sea and land temperature….whatever it was, it was truly magic!
Three days of clouds rolling in and up and slowly dissipating during the day, to rollback in again the next day and the one after. Locals call it “il caligo” – meaning fog, but it is rare to see it at this time of year and to continue as such for days. For us above it all, it was a fairytale blanket of clouds, inviting and enticing us to take a plunge into its soft fluffy texture.
As it slowly dispersed the village of Corniglia would reappear in a dreamlike state
Time to explore what it was like down inside the fog, and see how the villages were coping with Covid restrictions and hear the news. Hiking down I found a couple of dry stone walls collapsed but no major landslide fortunately and Vernazza looking beautiful as usual.
Rumour has it Via dell Amore will reopen this year, but that has been promised before so we will just have to wait and see.
Vernazza’s main street was very quiet, just a few shoppers waiting their turn outside the mini supermarket, and the table soccer game waiting for the kids to return from school.
But they were busy on the beach rebuilding the boat slipway before the weather warms up.
The water in the bay looking crystal clear…..
and the view across to Monterosso a peaceful one.
Corniglia was the same, hardly a soul about apart from a group of friends enjoying the sunshine with a picnic at the panoramic point.
Unfortunately another wall down on the way in to Corniglia while a new drystone wall has gone up in my little village. A stonemason’s artistic masterpiece showing the skill and talent required.
As the fog rolls in I hike back up to enjoy the view and wait for another fairytale beginning on the Cinque Terre.
Oh, that new stone wall is fabulous – so clever, but a dying art, in Oz at least
Not many know how to do drystone walls here either Vicki. In fact the workers were young Albanians with a history of those walls. They did a fabulous job and were very proud of it.