June 28, 1997, A night at Momma Rosa's           I guess the secret is out and there is no since in hiding it.Italy. has a stretch of land that rivals the French Rivera and is lower key than the northern portion of the Italian Rivera. It is called Cinque Terre. It is a favorite spot among Italians and backpackers. It has been saved from the explanation of the French Rivera because it is very hilly with no large sand beaches. Furthermore, the roads are too narrow for the coach tours that plague Florence , Rome, and Sinea. By the time that the big buck corporations started to think of Tara forming it to their needs, the government made it a national park, preventing any large scale change.      This stretch of the Rivera is really scenic. It is made of five (hence Cinque) towns (I believe Terre is terrace and not town) all with in walking distance (with the possible exception of the last two, a very rugged, hilly three mile hike.) There is regular train service between the towns. The towns, at one time safe havens from pirates, are all picturesque. The hilly vineries are picturesque. The ocean is the same sea is the same sea people pay big bucks for in Nice, but there are a not less people. I am sure little has changed for three hundred years except for electricity, and of course the train. Things also operate on an Italian schedule. Which means they are laid back and there is no rush. It makes an ideal stop over from seeing every castle, cathedral and art museum in Italy and France.      Most of the places to stay are fairly expensive except for two. One is a "hostel" called Momma Rosa's. The other one, is a slightly nicer located through a train tunnel across from Momma Rosa's. I stayed at Momma Rosa's for two reasons. First I couldn't find the tunnel connecting the Rigimorige train station with Rigimorge where the other hostel is located. Second, my guidebook didn't list a price for it.      Momma Rosa is not a 4 star hotel. It isn't even a 1 star hotel. It is a hostel for the most Spartan of travelers. If you must have fluffed pillows this is not the place for you. It is dirt-cheap. I think ten dollars. And you get what you pay for. There is a rudimentary kitchen, dorm style beds and cats running around. The shower room is in a cave of sorts so it is very damp, but all things considering the lack of serious mold or algae does mean it gets hosed down regularly. None of this fazed me. After the places where I bathed, slept and ate in Sumatra, this was a 4 star hotel. People are of two minds for Mama Rosa's. Some hate it because you have to be a Spartan traveler here and others love it because of their experience meeting other hearty soles. Oh one more thing, it is right next to the train tracks.      This was my first trip to Cinque Terre. When I got off of the train Mama Rosa accosted me and two other travelers with her cheep room offer. I was on a budget, having been ripped off by a cash exchanger in Venice, so took her offer. I checked in, saw no one else there and quickly set off for the next town of the five. I had a very enjoyable day hiking and sun worshiping. When I got back to wash, I met some of my fellow travelers. We all had one thing in common; we didn't want to spend money. So we planed on everyone chipping in and making a spaghetti dinner. I think there were about ten of us so we went out and bought Spaghetti, cheese, vegetables for salad, pasta sauce and meat and of course several bottles of wine.      The items in the kitchen were clean. Mainly I think because the people who cooked dinner the night before were good soles and cleaned them. I am sure people have arrived to find them dirty. Some people were on cooking crew and some on cleanup and some on table setting. All a communal atmosphere. Everyone was extremely jovial at dinner, swapping stories, and telling jokes. After we cleaned up we spent a few hours drinking and storytelling. At one point someone went out and noticed the very full moon rising over the sea so we all ran, with our wine glasses to the wet, slippery, stone path to the next village and the sea. In the process of going out to a point where we could get a picturesque view, an unfortunate woman (girl) spilled an entire glass of red wine on her blouse. Her blouse was most likely ruined since 1 we were a long way from a washing machine and 2 it was a potent red wine. This being the case, when someone suggested pouring white wine on it to get red wine out she thought it was a good idea and liberally poured red wine on her blouse. Most likely we were missing a step like scrub or rinse. The white wine did not get the red wine out. It did dilute it, making it run form the one spot into streaks down her shirt. The shirt was ruined. I felt really sorry for the girl. She seemed to take it in good spirit though.      We spent the rest of the night sitting out by the full moon, toasting Dionysus (I am Greek and the Romans took him from us and renamed him). It was a very enjoyable evening. Unfortunately I left early the next evening for Rome for three days in the imperial city. In hindsight, I wish I had spent another day in Cinque Terre, experiencing more of what the "Momma Rosa" experience has to offer since my first day in Rome was a waste. I had a good experience at Momma Rosa's. I met some cool people, and got a funny story out of it. I did return to Cinque Terre two yeas latter and stay at Mama Rosa again. I met other interesting people and also had a good time. Guide Books |  FAQs |  Photos for Sale |  Travel Essays |  Links Contact info: