Cinque Terre Damage

 

On October 25th, the day after we visited Cinque Terre, the area was hit with torrential rains and mud slides causing much damage to the beautiful area we had just visited.  We had had lunch in the beautiful square near the water in Vernazza.  The first picture is one I took the day we were there.  The other pictures are of the same place one day later.

                   Before                                                    After 

It makes me very sad to see the destruction but I know that the residents are very resilient and will all pull together and recover from this…….

The following is an article published on Rick Steves’  web site

Updated 11/16/11

One of our most beloved corners of Europe suffered a severe natural disaster on October 25th. Flash flooding, triggered by unusually heavy rain, ripped through Italy's Liguria region and inflicted serious damage on the Cinque Terre towns of Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare. In these towns, flooding was accompanied by landslides, filling streets with rocks, mud and debris up to 12 feet deep. About a dozen people are dead or missing — a tragic but thankfully small number of victims considering the scope of the damage.

Relief crews have been hard at work in both towns, excavating enormous amounts of earth to uncover streets and the ground floors of buildings.

The next priority will be to rebuild each town's infrastructure. Electricity, gas, water and sewer services will be slow to return to Vernazza and the old town section of Monterosso. In many cases, engineers will need to evaluate the safety of structures before they can be used again. Only then can homes and business begin to clean out, remodel and reopen.

In the meantime, Vernazza's residents have been evacuated. Entry to the town is restricted to the military and people working with relief crews. The road that led to Vernazza is now just a narrow, dirt track, boat service has been curtailed, and there is no public train service. Vernazza is expected to remain off-limits through the winter.

Monterosso has fewer restrictions because its new town section, access road, and train station are quickly returning to normal. 

Random Thoughts

 

Our pre-cruise stay in Civitavecchia was very nice.  Delia introduced me to Pasta with Clam Sauce which I loved!!!  Our day in Rome was very hot..especially the Scavi Tour (which I wouldn’t recommend to my worse enemy).  Even though it is past prime tourist season, the crowds were enormous.

Ports on the first cruise were very intensive (11 ports in 12 days).  Very tiring.  We had good times on our private tours in all the ports except I really wasn’t pleased with Florence/Pisa but that had nothing to do with the sights.  Our guide was awful!!!!  Rich did not like the tour to Delos…said it was just a pile of rocks!!!!

Venice was somewhat of a disappointment.  I had fantasized about this wonderful city for so long.  The tour of the Doge Palace was great…even getting lost in the dungeons.  Again, everything was so crowded and overpriced.  We enjoyed our second day in Venice better as we were out of San Marco and in a neighborhood.  Charlie got his mask so I won’t hear about that anymore!!! The last day was a bust.  Don’t know if we will ever return but it won’t be high on my “bucket list”

On the second cruise, our tour from Naples to the Amalfi Coast was wonderful..our tour from Civitavecchia to Assisi and Orvieto was too much driving…tour to Cinque Terre from Livorno was good but would have been much better if the day was sunny…..Cannes was awful…rained all day.  Didn’t even get off the ship. Barcelona was good as it always is.  We love this city.  Lisbon was great..just too short.  Ponta Delgado, after a rocky start was a good day.

The food on the ship does not seem very good to us.  Other people seem pleased with the food so maybe it is just us.  Rich is sure he has lost some weight.  I will be happy if I just don’t gain any.

All in all…a good cruise..just not one of my top 10!!

The Ship..

 

This was our first cruise on the Ruby Princess but we were familiar with the layout as we had sailed on her “sister” ships.

On the 2 cruises, we had a total of 5 formal nights.  Of course, we dressed in our best.  Charlie and Rich looked very handsome in their tux and ,of course, Delia and I looked beautiful!!

   

On the fourth Formal night, the photographer mixed up who went with who…….

Dinner was so bad that Charlie went up on deck and got a cheeseburger,,,,

The ship was decorated real cute for Halloween.  There were even some kids “Trick or Treating” in the shops.

Charlie dressed up for game day but there certainly hasn’t been anything to cheer about!!!

We went to a few of the shows at night.  They were OK..not great.  The theater is pretty small for the number of passengers so if you want a seat you need to get there about an hour ahead of show time.  For the most part, the wait wasn’t worth it.

Charlie attended most of the lectures and enjoyed them.  Rich, Delia and I just went to the lectures by John Maxtone-Graham about ocean travel.  Charlie had heard most of his lectures on previous cruises so he skipped them.  I did get Mr. Maxtone-Graham to sign my copy of his book “Titanic Survivor”.

Today is our third sea day…we have three more before we reach Fort Lauderdale.  I have acquired a lousy cold so I fell like S..T!!!  Hopefully, I will feel better tomorrow so I can play Mah Jongg.  It was neat “skyping” with Jane last night.  Don’t know where Gloria was.  I tried her again today…it said she was online but she didn’t answer. 

Today is our last sea day….tomorrow Fort Lauderdale and then home to the cats.  We are  ready to get home.  Yesterday was my last  Mah Jongg game.  I ended up winning about $4.00 for the week.  Pretty good when I was playing with 3 Floridians that play a lot.  Packing today.  Not looking forward to that.

That’s all folks………..

P0nta Delgado

 

October 30, 2011

Today is our last port before we start crossing the Atlantic.  Today I have arranged a tour with Lisa Ringelberg.

Welcome to Ponta Delgado…

The day started very bad!  Our driver/guide did not do this kind of work normally.  He was very soft spoken and people in the back of the van could not hear him. We were following another van and I think we got lost a few times.  Our first few stops were a complete waste of time as the fog was so thick, we could not see anything!  The fog cleared slightly as we got to Sete Cidades (the blue and green lakes inside of the crater) but without any sun, there was no color to see.

 

About this time, I thought I was going to have a mutiny on my hands.  Some of people on the tour, wanted to cancel the tour and return to the ship.  Our driver was trying to connect with Lisa (tour provider) to find out what to do with us.  We proceeded on the route and finally did meet with Lisa.  Our agreement was to continue until lunch and then any one who wanted to return to the ship would be able to.

Fortunately. by this time, the weather cleared some…not perfect but much better.  Seating was rearranged so the driver could be heard better  and every one seemed fairly happy…mutiny averted!!!!!!  Some of the scenery was truly beautiful.

 

   

Then it was on to lunch at a farm owned by a Portuguese Canadian couple.  The food was delicious and the wine flowed freely.

Last stop of the day was at a supermarket to restock our wine supply for the 6 day crossing.  Just before reboarding the Ruby, we had to stop for a beer at the same place we stopped at in April 2010.

All in all, after the terrible start, this turned in to a very good day that I will remember for a long time.  Our driver was truly a gentleman.  He is some one I would like to have as a friend.  He refused to take a tip from any of us.  He said he was proud to show us his country.

Goodbye to Ponta Delgado…

Lisbon

 

October 28, 2011

Today, I have arranged a tour to Sintra and Cascais thru Inside Lisbon.  This is the same company we did a walking tour of Lisbon with last year.  Hugo was our guide last year and will be again this year.

The day was beautiful..sunny and warm.  Sail in to Lisbon is always spectacular!!!  Going past the Belem Tower, the Monument to the Discoveries, going under the 25th of April Bridge and past the statue of Christ the Redeemer.

 

It took a long time for the Portuguese officials to clear the ship and the lines were very long waiting to disembark.  We are only in port for 6 hours so our tour very short.  Hugo was waiting for us as we got off the ship and we were off to our visit to Sintra.  Set in the mountains, Sintra is one of Portugal’s oldest cities.  The hillsides are dotted with the manors and castles of feudal lords and monarchs.  An 8th-century Moorish fortress overlooks the town.       

    

We drove thru Cascais on our way back to Lisbon.  Cascais is a small fishing village on the Bay of Cascais that became a fashionable seaside resort with an interesting mixture of early 20th-century homes and modern buildings.

Our final stop of the day, was in Belem to get some of the famous “Belem Tarts”.  These are custard tarts that are wonderful!!!!!

We had a good day..just too short. Then it was back to the ship, thru Lisbon’s Friday rush hour, to enjoy sail away from our balcony….