Vernazza - Beach

Beyond the special location of Vernazza and the stunning views, the town is remarkable for another reason. Just 3 years ago, the village experienced torrential rains that resulted in a devastating flood, mudslides and landslides. This video was shot just a few buildings down from where we stayed and shows the water, mud and debris flowing through the village's main street:

The town has done an amazing job of rebuilding and were it not for the signage in town, it would not be apparent how much the community has overcome in just a few years.

An area of town not shown in the video, but I suspect also impacted by the flooding and landslides was a beach area on the other side of this underpass. I am glad my mom braved it and then later came back to the apartment to let me know we needed to check it out together. I am not sure I would have ducked into that little underpass without some encouragement.  There were a lot of warning signs to stay out :)

When you walk through, you come out to the other side on a wide open, rocky beach.  The area seems to be viewed as unstable, because there are all sorts of cables installed to catch or slow falling rock.  I suspect this is the reason behind all of the warning signs.

The remnants of devastation are evident in how the remaining buildings are situated above the netted areas and in the debris on the beach.

We enjoyed two visits to this beach, soaking up the sights and sounds of crashing waves and the power of the ocean tides.

We didn't spend all of our time at sea level, though.  There were beautiful things to see up higher in the village.  I will share some of that with you tomorrow!