Cinque Terre, Italy

This is a continuation of the chronicle of our 2 week trip through Italy and the Mediterranean. If you haven't read the previous Italy posts, you should start with the previous two...

The Cinque Terre, or Five Towns, is on the coast of Northwest Italy, north of Rome and south of Milan. It is (surprise, surprise) a set of five small towns built along the cliffs, and from the first town to the fifth is just about five miles. This was our third major stop in Italy.

Tuesday, May 5th

We left Rome on a not-too-early train, and arrived in Manarola, Italy around 3pm. Counting from south to north, Manarola is the 2nd town of the five. All of the towns are very small, and there are not many hotels. Most of the places to stay within the towns are rooms for rent that are owned by locals, and pre-booking is pretty difficult. Since we like to travel with some amount of surety, we made a booking at one of few places that we could - the only hostel in the area (boringly named Hostel 5 Terre). The place was nice enough (though somewhat dorm-ish), but what we weren't told was that getting there required a hike up an outrageous hill. By the time we finally got to the top with our 40 pound backpacks, we were dripping with sweat and completely worn out. This might have been okay if it weren't for the fact that the whole reason people come to the Cinque Terre is to complete the semi-strenuous hiking trails that lie between them.

There are 4 trails connecting the towns. They wind through lemon and olive groves and along cliff ledges looking over the sea, and are one of the most beautiful places we've set our eyes on. The trails range in difficulty from an easy 20 minute stroll to a 2 hour hike that includes several hundred rugged steps.

After getting into our room and freshening up a bit, we headed out to complete the easy stroll to the southernmost town, Riomaggiore. The trail is called the Via Dell'Amore (I've seen several translations, but my favorite is Lover's Trail). Many decades ago, people tended to spend most of their lives in their village, even though the other villages were so close (due to the treacherous cliffs getting between towns was difficult). They were born there, had jobs there, and generally found their spouse there. When this path was built, it made for easy access between these two towns, and quickly became a meeting point for young lovers living in separate towns, hence the name.

We lazily strolled along the trail and took in the amazing scenery, stopping to sit on some rocks down by the water. When we got to Riomaggiore, we took Rick's advice and took a walk around the town, getting a nice view of the area, which was very enjoyable. Afterward, we headed back to our town, Manarola, and completed Rick's walk there as well. This was very nice, as it included a walk up into the hills above the city that was full of vineyards, olive and lemon trees, and great views of the town.

By the time we finished these short walks, it was dinner time, and we took more of Rick's advice and headed for Vernazza, the 4th town, by train. This is probably a good time to mention that the Cinque Terre is the birthplace of pesto, one of Jenna's favorite pasta sauces. Apparently the climate is very friendly to basil, the main ingredient. There is a restaurant in Vernazza that was supposed to have good pesto lasagna, so we headed over there. To say that Jenna enjoyed the dish would be a terrible understatement. In fact, the first bite resulted in her declaring "This is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth". After talking her into not ordering a second piece (which she now regrets), we grabbed a quick treat to "make Jenna's gelato mouth happy" and headed back to the hotel.

Wednesday, May 6th

This was our hiking day. We got up pretty early, packed up a backpack with the essentials (water, some trail mix, and the camera) and headed off.

The first walk was north to Corniglia, about an hour long and not too hilly. It was a good way to get our feet wet. Once we got to Corniglia, we were disappointed to find out that the next trail was closed for repair work for a few days, so we wouldn't be able to do it. So, unfortunately we had to hop on the train and head to Vernazza, skipping a 90 minute hike (but giving us 90 extra beach minutes later).

After walking through the town of Vernazza, we started off on the hardest hike to Monterosso al Mare. This was tough but well worth the effort (and helped offset some of the week's gelato!). It involved a very hefty climb, then lots of zig-zagging and short ups and downs along the coastal cliffs. In all it did take us about 2 hours, and now looking back, it was definitely an experience of a lifetime.

We arrived in Monterosso at around 2pm, so we went to the beach (this town has the nicest beaches in Cinque Terre) and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. It was funny because about every 30 minutes, school groups ranging from early middle school through high school would come down from the hills, presumably from some hike, hang out on the beach for a while, then get herded off by their chaperon's only to be replaced by the next group. It was a little annoying as we tried to relax/sleep/read on the beach, but at the same time it provided some good people-watching (nothing like seeing 10 retarded teenagers run fully clothed into the 55 degree water and watch them try to act like they don't mind the cold).

The rest of the day was pretty relaxed, spent hanging out on the beach, walking around the town, and enjoying the amazing scenery of the area. We grabbed dinner from another of Rick's suggested restaurants (where I had my favorite meal of the trip - seafood ravioli), and then headed back to the hostel to get packed up and prepare for our whirlwind day through Pisa and Florence. We loved Cinque Terre, the hiking, the beautiful scenery, and the fabulous beaches/views of the water. We hope to come back someday and finish the part of the hike that was closed.

(to be continued)