A hiking we will go
Trip Start
Mar 03, 2010
1
15
28
Trip End
May 26, 2010
Riomaggiore, Italian Riviera, Italy
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Arrived in Cinque Terre in the town of Riomaggiore, in the early afternoon. Our fist goal was to find an accommodation. We ended up staying at Cinque Terre Holiday, a 5 bunk hostel with a kitchen. Let the hiking begin. We walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola along the via dell Amore (the walk of love) and then on to Corniglia up the 380 something stairs to the town. We found a market and bought fresh pasta and pesto to make for dinner. Love this place already.
On Friday we got up early made some breakfast and got on the trail. We began in our town, Riomaggiore and walked the via dell Amore, which is the easiest section of the hike. It was spectacular early in the morning; we almost had the trail to ourselves. Then we made it to Manarola, which is a very neat little town. All of the fishermen keep their boat docked up on the cliff, so as you walked through town you are surrounded by small fishing boat along with restaurants and homes. We continued on our way to Corniglia, this section of the hike lacks some of the picturesque vegetation but still retains the sweeping views of the turquoise sea. When you reach the town it is spectacular, situated up on the hill with breathtaking views of vineyards and scents of rosemary, lemon, and lavender. We continued on the trail towards Vernazza. This was our favorite section of the hike. The trail winds its way through terraced vineyards and hillside cottages. Vernazza is where we stopped and took a lunch break. We walked over to the marina and where sat down and snacked on some fruit, then we went looking for a pizzeria. We found a great place and had the best pizza of our trip, prosciutto and mozzarella (could be because we had been hiking all day, but it was delicious). We also got a beer and drank it in the main square where we met and chatted to fellow hikers. After our refreshing rest we continued on our hike to Monterosso, this was the most difficult section of the hike. There are many steep climbs and narrow passageways during this section. The beautiful views continued along the way. The whole hike including our exploration time took us about 7 hours, hiking 4 ½ , and exploring 2 ½. We had wonderful weather and a great day. We went out to dinner in Manarola after walking the via dell Amore and enjoyed some delicious seafood. We got a mixed plate with a fish, lobster, crab, squid, octopus, shrimp, and prawns. We then walked home, enjoying the beautiful night and went to bed early.
On Saturday we check out of our hostel and moved down by the marina. We stayed in a nice room with a kitchen overlooking the water. We spent the morning exploring Riomaggiore and shopping for our meals. We got fresh tortellini and raviolis with pesto and foccacia. We made lunch at our apartment and sat outside enjoying the wonderful weather and views. Later we went to the beach, where we laid on rocks. We then walked around a bit back to Manarola and part of the way to Cornigilia. Then came back to watch the beautiful sunset while drinking some white wine. After the sun went down we made dinner. After dinner we walked up through Riomaggiore and got some gelato.
Sunday
Woke up to the sound of the ocean. The weather has changed today and it is storming. We ate some breakfast, waited for the rain to stop and made our way to the train station. We are on our way to Venice.
