Cinque Terre is not known by all and thankfully we owe thanks to our good friends Tara and Parveen & James who highly recommended this amazing place as a “must see” stop during our travels in Italy. Boy, were they ever right!!
Chris and I had high hopes and expectations of Cinque Terre as we made our 18 hour train journey from San Sebastian to Italy. We made an overnight stop in Genoa before making the last leg of our train trip to Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre is composed of five charming fishing villages consisting of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore and is an Unesco World Heritage site. The area encompasses a national park, protected marine life and various walking paths and hiking trails to explore. It is definitely a hiker’s paradise but also has trains that link all five villages together for those non-hikers out there.
We decided to stay in Riomaggiore, the main village of Cinque Terre and used this as our base to explore the rest of the villages for the four days we had here. When we were first told by the tourist office that they have no maps for the individual villages because they are too small and that each town can be easily explored by foot within a hour or so, we thought we might have allocated too much time here. By the end of the four days though, we would have been more than happy to spend another week here.
We arrived mid-afternoon and were happily surprised when a local hotel accommodation office found us a great room for 47.50 Euros a night. A steal we think since we were expecting room rates of 55-65 Euros according to the Lonely Planet and our prior research. After lugging our bags (which seem to get heavier and heavier day by day) up five flights of steep and uneven stairs, we were eager to get back out and explore our village. We easily walked the streets of Riomaggiore in around 30 minutes and then decided to use the marked trail paths to go on a hike and hiked to a height of 513 m to Telegrafo (paths 3, 3a and 3b for those who are planning a visit). It was a tough hike at times but the cool temperature, beautiful views of the endless Mediterranean and the hike through the lush forest was well worth the 9 km, 4 hour hike. Suffice to say after the long day, our tired bodies were ready for bed. Rather than going to a fancy dancy restaurant, we decided to try an Italian staple and ordered an extra large pizza and cold beer and enjoyed dinner back in our room. With full stomachs and a comfy bed, we fell asleep eager to see what the next day would bring.
We awoke the next day to cloudy, grey and rather cold weather. Not allowing this to tamper our plans, we took a train to the very last town on the opposite end, Monterosso to get in another day’s hike. Monterosso is the most developed of the Cinque Terre villages and overlooks what they like to refer to as a beach. Pebbles, coarse sand and ten feet crashing waves aren’t my definition of a beach though. We arrived early in the morning and again took time out to first explore the village. We walked its narrow lanes, the waterfront and marveled at the four and five level old homes that seemed to teeter upon one another. After a leisurely stroll, we started the hike from Monterosso to Punta del Mesci, Colla di Gritta and Madonna di Soviore (paths 10, 1 and 9) before returning. It was a 7 km hike which should have taken us 4 hours but ended up taking us 5 no thanks to the rain, fog, a near death experience and lack of signs at one point. This hike was definitely different from the previous days. The first hike to Punta del Mesci was fine – the weather was still cooperating and it was a great uphill climb to the very top of the mountain overlooking Monterosso. Here we stopped to have some lunch and enjoy the view before starting again. The rest of the hike is where it gets interesting. We were told that the Madonna di Saviore was another beautiful vantage point and were looking forward to reaching it. Prior to reaching this spot though we had to endure quite a few obstacles. First the fog slowly crept in, at times making it hard to see just a few feet ahead of us and making the surroundings rather eerie. A little later the rain decided to make its presence which wasn’t too bad as it only spit and spat for a while and then disappeared all together. And then came the near death experience!! Just as I was telling C to be careful as there was a point in our hike where the path seemed to hug the mountain side and was very narrow and uneven, my foot slipped and I started to fall. Before I knew it, what seemed like a lifetime to me but in reality was only a few seconds, I was on my back and trying to hold myself up with my elbows before falling into the dark abyss below. Luckily, the strength of my killer arms (from pulling and lifting my bag around) saved me! No, not my boyfriend who was too busy laughing but by triceps saved the day! After the two of us shared a few laughs, we continued on our way. After another 45 minutes of hiking, we arrived at a road and saw the red and white marker directing us upward. So we sauntered up the very steep road which seemed to keep going and going and going. Normally this would be okay but the lack of seeing the red and white painted markers confirming we are going in the right direction made us worry a little considering it was getting darker, colder and there were no other hikers to be seen. We continued a fair bit before we finally saw a sign for Madonna di Soviore. We quickly ducked into the path to only realize that this area was completely doused in fog. We weren’t even sure if were at the right place as we had read that this area was supposed to have a church as well as a beautiful panoramic view. As we stepped a bit further, we finally saw the church when it was just a few steps away from us – that should tell you how thick and dense the fog was. And did we see a view you ask?? I think not…we could barely see each other, let alone any kind of view. Although this was a bit disappointing, we weren’t too let down as the hike was well worth it. We decided to make our way back to Monterosso before it became any darker. The downhill hike back to town was rather easy and unexciting. We had a wonderful dinner that evening at Trattoriera Il Porticciolo, a small cozy restaurant where the balcony was overlooking the thunderous sea that was pounding again the rocks and at times seemed like it would reach the patio where we were eating. The pasta and vino were a great compliment to the view.
Our third day in Cinque Terre was all about the “big” hike. We had read about this prior to arriving and were training ourselves for this with the previous two days worth of hiking. The sentiero azzurro (trail no 2 and the only trail that you must pay 3 Euros/day to use) is a 12-km long hike that runs the length of the coast between Monterosso and Riomaggiore covering all five fishing villages. We were unsure if the weather would hold up for us as the previous two days had been rather chilly and grey but we definitely lucked out. We awoke to sunny blue skies and the temperature was perfect for hiking – warm with a cool breeze off the waters. We started the hike in our village to the first town of Manarola along the Via dell’Amore (Lovers’ Lane) which is a well paved coastal path of 1 km meant to be used by walkers of all abilities. It was a beautiful and very easy walk for us as we stopped various times to look at the dazzling views of the sea and the villages – easy to see why it would be called Lovers’ Lane. Manarola was gorgeous. The sparkling waters, the city centre pressed up against the shore, the old boats tied to the dock and the plethora of color from the homes embedded in the cliffs is a sight to see.
The remaining 11km of our hike was definitely a hike. There were some easy parts but also some very difficult parts. Near the end of the hike, my legs felt like lead and I didn’t think I could climb another step but of course I did.
The remaining two villages that were left between Manarola and Monterosso were Corniglia and Vernazza. Corniglia didn’t really do too much for us and we weren’t as dumbstruck and camera happy as we were in some of the other villages. It is a small town woven into a hillside with a hefty 363-step climb to the top.
Vernazza on the other hand was another dazzling town. Its medieval castle overlooking the water, the bright yellow church which stands tall and still can be heard ringing and the small waterfront piazza make this little town our second favorite out of all five.
Our favorite village of them all would have to be Manarola. Not only was the scenery gorgeous and the town picturesque but we also enjoyed two scrumptious dinners here (will advise of the names of the restaurants soon!!) and our last afternoon lazing in the small picnic area overlooking the town where I read my book while Chris sketched away.
To sum things up, you can not come to Italy and not make Cinque Terre a stop. It is a place for everyone – for those who want to sit back, relax and take in the surroundings and for those who want to get some exercise and hike their way to the views. I also liked the fact that they do not allow any cars into the villages themselves; if you drive in, they make you park outside the village and make you pay a hefty sum for parking. The only cars you are bound to see are small mini trucks and mini cars owned by vendors dropping off goods to the local restaurants and convenient stores. In addition to all of the above, the fact that we were able to stay here for four days and not break our budget is an added bonus. We thought that everything in Cinque Terre would be overpriced since they are somewhat isolated and could pretty much afford to hike up their prices if they wanted to, leaving the tourists to fork out the dough. Thankfully we were wrong. The price of everything was very reasonable – from the fantastic seafood dinners, to the local produce in the markets and the accommodation, the price was right!
Our four days here were fantastically spent, so much so, that I can still hear the ocean, see images of the beautiful villages, feel the pain in my legs, smell the non polluted air and taste the prawns, fish and clams that made our stay here so wonderful.
Ravy the sore Roamer
5 comments:
Wow, Cinque Terre looks AMAZING! I gotta go there one day! I'm a little confused on the near death experience? Did you just fall on your bum, like flat down? Because when I first read near-death I thought you meant that you were falling off the side of the mountain. See that Ravy would be near-death. PRICELESS! Then I think I have had a couple near death experiences too.
I sure have something to look forward to when you guys eventually buy a home together. Drinking wine out of cut up water bottles and having my food cut up on pizza boxes. Sweet! I can't wait till the two fo you get home.
Miss you guys and find me a nice Italian guy since your not bringing me home a Portuguese. On second thought when you bring home a nice guy and I'll pass him on to my friend's girfriend and then I can date my guy :)
I thought I drop a line and say hi and hope everything is well.
Cinque Terra looks like an awesome place to visit. the colourful houses and buildings ontop of huge rock ledges look so surreal!
What a beautiful area... and the food looks amazing! Italy is definitely the place to go.
Like Nat said, what is this "near death" experience you mentioned Rav?
So nice to see you guys soaking up every moment. Miss you two!
Hey girlies,
Great to hear from you as always!!
My near death experience is the part I wrote about during our 2nd hike in the fog and rain. When I fell and used the power of my upper arms. I was pretty much hanging off the side of the mountain and had no idea what was below me or how far it was to the bottom!! NEAR DEATH I tell ya!!
All is fine though...
Miss you two loads..
You both owe me an email by the way..
Luv ya,
Ravy
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