Hiking the Italian Rivera, Cinque Terre
Trip Start
Jan 11, 2011
1
10
11
Trip End
May 08, 2011
Riomaggiore, Italian Riviera, Italy
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Cinque Terre, or "The Five Towns" is located in the corner of Liguria Italy. The towns are all situated on the coast in the mountains and the most popular way to get from town to town is to hike. The landscape is literally breathtaking and each town along the way is charming and unique.
Katie and I started our hike in the Southern most town of Riomaggiore, we began the hike on the most famous path called "Via dell'Amore". This path connects Riomaggiore to the second town Manarola and was the easiest and the shortest of the trip. Along the Via dell'Amore graffiti from lovers and friends covered the walls and thousands of pad locks with etched initials were hooked on to nets hanging from the rocks. There are benches to admire the outstanding view of the sea and hundreds of different species of flowers along the ledge.
The second town, Manarola was beautiful...pink, yellow, orange, and green buildings built up along the cliffs overlooked the blue-green sea. We looked back along the side of the mountain and could see the just as colorful town of Riomaggiore, and to our other side were the three other towns looking much closer than what they really were. In Manarola we stopped for a slice of Pizza to give us some energy before we began the real hike.
Between Manarola and the third town, Corniglia travelers must take the train due to recent mudslides. The train only took about five minutes because it cuts right through the mountain.
We explored the town of Corniglia for a few minutes and then began the hike to the fourth town Vernazza. The day was getting progressively hotter and I was thankful for my full water bottle and choice of hiking attire. The trails were well marked up and down steep rock steps and along the edge of the cliffs. At some points the trail was so narrow it became a serious issue when hikers came from the other direction. There were steep uphill stretches along the trail that went on for 15 minutes at a time. We thought we might die a few times. But after every huge hike up a hill there was the most amazing view of the ocean and views of the previous costal towns behind us. Our legs were sore and shaky as we finished the two hour hike into the village of Vernazza. Vernazza was similar to the previous towns, built up on rocks with colorful buildings, tourist shops and restaurants. We took a short break to eat an apple and a granola bar and make our way to the final town of Monterosso.
The final hike was even more challenging than the previous trail. The steps were steeper and the paths were more uneven. We passed areas where I felt like I was in the jungle ducking under overgrown trees and bushes and crossing tiny bridges over creeks. We hiked through open areas in the mountain and countless vineyards. I was thankful for the shade and each time we arrived at a clearing that overlooked the ocean I got another burst of energy. There was a perfect breeze and not a cloud in the sky all day long. The final trail took us about an hour and half and we arrived in the final town of Monterosso at about 7.
Cinque Terre is known for its sea food and pesto so I can't lie, the last few hours of the hike I was already planning out my dinner. We changed out of our dusty tennis shoes and found a restaurant that looked up to par. After five plus hours of hiking we ordered a liter of white wine and I ordered the Pesto Gnocchi. Now I normally don't choose pesto dishes or Gnocchi, but this was one of the best meals I have had in Italy so far. The gnocchi was soft and the pesto was unreal. I was extremely happy with my choice that night. Katie and I got gelato and then made our way up to the train station that would get us back to La Spezia. We were both exhausted when we finally made it back to our hotel room around 11 that night.
Our room was tiny and the bed was hard as a rock but I fell asleep so fast it didn't even matter. The next morning we planned on going back to Monterosso because there is a nice beach but it was cold and cloudy so we were unsure of what else there was to do. Our train tickets back to Rome were not until 8pm and the jerks, I mean the men working at the train station wouldn't let us change our train to an earlier one. With about nine hours to kill Katie and I explored the town of La Spezia which was actually really nice. High-end shops and cafes lines the streets and we made a much needed purchase in a candy store. Katie bought a beautiful ring from this really cool jewelry store and we sat down for some lunch.
We wandered all day along the little towns and took the train to an even further north town of Levanto. Both tired and bored we found the beach and took a little nap to kill some time.
Before we got on the train back to Rome I did something I'm not exactly proud of but I am very happy that I did. I ate....McDonalds! We wanted to grab a bite before we got on the train so Katie bought fruit and yogurt and I bought a cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake...So good! It was so great and it tasted JUST like how McDonalds tastes back in the US.
The train back home went by fast and it was nice to be back in my bed last night. I know someday I will go back to Cinque Terre, I hope I'll be able to do that hike again in my 60s! Ciao for now!
