Cinque Terre

Nina's been banging on about this area for weeks now and Andre in Portugal told us not to miss it when we pass by so it had to be done

Sheer driving terror lurked ominously in the back of my mind as a little research revealed its 5 fishing villages precariously placed at the base of a range of steep hills.

'Sinking Terror' became its nickname and I was very glad we reached the only sosta nearby without having to tackle the 'certain death' narrow cliff roads that interlace these villages

The plan was to settle in for a couple of days and 'Fozz' the villages and scenic roads of death…

An example of said roads…

We were just above Monterosso so had a ride down in to the village the first night then explore the other four next day on Fozz

Monterossa

All the villages are linked by the railway which spends most of its time running through tunnels

You had to walk round this well trained cat to enter the shop

Beautiful Vernazza

The rope we guess is to stop you falling in...

Local fisherman at work

Some of these villages suffered terribly recently with flooding

The roads we came down on were no more than eight feet wide in places where they have been shored up

All I got was "no you can't go in"

Not quite sure what was going on here

Corniglia

How do you guys fancy a lifetime of work in Pompeii?

Boats in the high street...

Manarola in all its glory...

Riomaggiore and the last of the famous five

Looking back up the coastline

Local fisherman removing the hook

We found Cinque Terre to be absolutely beautiful and more than worth a visit

Arrive by train though if you value your calmness and serenity….