Cinque Terre - Part 2

In one day (Oct 9), we visited all five of the towns of Cinque Terre. We woke up in Monterosso (the northernmost Cinque) and went south from there. Each of the Cinque has its own character and personality. Monterosso is the largest of them and is also the flattest. It has an “old town,” a “new town,” and a large beach. 

Our first stop was Vernazza, a 3.5 km hike from Monterosso. The trail to Vernazza was tough but beautiful. Along the way, we passed various vineyards and citrus orchards. Here are the views as we approached the town:

Vernazza is quite a jewel, with a small amphitheater-shaped harbor that includes a beautiful medieval church:

We had “second breakfast” in Vernazza at a lovely café, where Jeff had an interesting encounter while paying the bill. The owner asked where he was from, and when he replied the US, the owner guessed Seattle! What are the chances?!? When Jeff confirmed but stated that we now live in Spain, and specifically San Sebastian, the owner replied that his wife was from the area!! It is a very small world!

Vernazza had a Roman installation and the remains of the watchtower and castello are still visible. Here is the view (looking north towards Monterosso) as we walked out of town and headed south to Corniglia:

Corniglia sits 100 meters above the sea and is the only town that cannot be accessed by boat. It is the smallest of the Cinque. The 4 km trail from Vernazza provides stunning views of Corniglia as you approach it:

Although you can technically walk between all the villages, the main trails between Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore have been closed for some time due to storm damage. And, although we were initially disappointed that we would not be able to walk the entire trail, by the time we reached Corniglia, the terrain had taken its toll and we were happy that we would be taking the train between the next two Cinque.  We celebrated this fact with a lovely lunch:

To leave Corniglia, we headed to the train station, which is some 400 steps down to the shoreline. This is why it’s better to leave Corniglia by train as opposed to arrive that way. Our next stop, Manarola, sits among terraced vineyards and has a tiny port. While we didn’t walk there, we were able to walk the perimeter of the town among the vineyards. In my opinion, Manarola is the prettiest of the Cinque – perhaps you’ll agree:

At this point, we were starting to tire, but we had one more stop – Riomaggiore – before we would take the train back to Monterosso. We pushed through and while Riomaggiore is charming, we had pretty much reached our saturation level. I almost forgot to take a photo, but I did snap one:

We returned by train to Monterosso to shower and had a lovely dinner. The restaurants in Monterosso were quite good and we shared stories and great conversation with several lovely American couples of all ages during our stay. Nearly all the restaurants have outdoor seating and there is something about dining al fresco that sparks conversation among tables. The wine probably helps too!

Our fourth and final day in Cinque Terre we relaxed, ate amazing pizza, went to the beach, and had one final fantastic fresh fish dinner. There is nothing like a swim in the Ligurian sea to cure what ails you after so much hiking! We were sad to leave such an outstanding destination. But off we went to Bologna for 2 nights before heading to our final stop of this 3-week trip . . . Prague.

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff