When a Stroll Becomes a Hike

Before I delve into our killer time in Cinque Terre, I must give a loud and totally unhinged, jump-up-jump-up-say-YEAH! Congrats to Mr. H.B. Clausen and Liz Laur. That’s right kids; they’re gettin’ hitched. We can’t wait until the party yo. Seriously, congrats you two!

“I proposed while she was befuzzled.” Brian

With the dark days of travel behind us (i.e. driving), we jumped on the train and headed northwest towards the coast. Cinque Terre (I love the fact that Wikipedia’s description includes: “Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development.”) is a group of five ancient towns, the first and last are only 12 km apart. Each town is literally on a cliff, perched over the sea and are all connected by an old, narrow trail. We bunked up at B&B L’Eremo sul Mare, a 20-minute walk up the trail from Vernazza. Seriously, you have to hike up to the place. We were both breathlessly begging for our backpacks at that point, instead of the luggage with wheels nonsense we had. To put it bluntly: We weren’t weelin’ shit that afternoon. All that said, the hike up was o-so-worth it. We were gleefully met by Heda, a sweet, boisterous woman that runs L’Eremo. The place had a large patio overlooking the sea and surrounded by trees. One thing is for sure; we severely lucked out on places to stay during our trek.

We met a younger couple from Australia on their honeymoon and had a good chat. We effortlessly bounced back down the hillside back to Vernazza. All the buildings were brightly painted and haphazardly stacked; yet somehow it felt intentional. The harbor was small and adorned with shops and small cafés. The first thing we noticed as we came into town was the young, beach-town vibe going on. Many people dawning bikinis and flipity-flops. We ate at a random pizzeria with a view and headed back early. Ended up cracking open a bottle and hanging out with the Aussy couple and an older Kiwi couple on the patio until after midnight. Had a fascinating, meandering conversation about travel (do you stick to the travel guide or just have at it?) then onto cultural differences and grazed some hot-button political issues. We love meeting other travelers.

The best way to describe the area is thru pictures. The land is stunning. The water is peaceful and a brilliant blue...it melts with the sky. Our first full day we hiked southwest toward the southern most village, Riomaggiore. The climb was challenging. It was sunny and hot with only an occasional breeze. The flow wasn’t too busy, so we were able to actually hike rather than shuffle (the trail is known to get wicked busy during the touristy times). The vistas were spectacular. I took way too many photos, proven by shrinking space on my hard drive. It took 90 minutes to reach the first village, Corniglia. Picture perfect with tiny, meandering pedestrian streets. We took some pics, bought some fruit and walked down, way down to a small cove. Our first Mediterranean dip. Scrambled up a rock and dove in. Just laid around for an hour or so.

From Corniglia, we went up. Nearly 600 meters up. We must have picked the right time of day (early afternoon and wicked hot), because we saw very few people. The vegetation changed quickly. We went in and out of lush forest, passing stretches of unbelievable, terraced vineyards…reachable only by foot and a steep cart-pulley system. The infrequent breeze was greatly appreciated. We stopped a lot, took copious amounts of pictures and just soaked it all up. By far the most enjoyable stretch of the whole trail.

The trek down to the next village, Manarola, was just as steep. Brutal on my old man knees. By then, it was late afternoon. Warm and pleasant. We strolled through town, checked out the village center swimming-hole (the village essentially encircled the rocks and swimming area) and found a cozy little paninoteca/bar/gelateria. It’s killing me that I can’t remember the name of the place…immediately at the end of the main street, just before the swimming hole on the left-hand side. They served up homemade sandwiches, ice cream and their very own white wine. We tried a chocolate sundae complete with fresh wafers. Delish.

Good and drowsy, we strolled the last 15 minutes to Riomaggiore, connected by a flat, scenic path called “Via Dell'Amore.” The train station in town houses a fascinating mural of local farmers and workers. Hopped the train home and strolled into an outdoor bar overlooking Vernazza halfway up the trail to our pad. The crew was half-blitzed and thumping a mix-tape rocking WAR and Blink-182. Hilarious. Bounced home and took advantage of the patio overlooking the sea. Read, caught up on work and enjoyed another moonlit night.

The next day we hiked northeast toward the last of the five villages, Monterosso with the intention of carving out some beach time. The trail was pretty smooth, but packed. Absolutely packed. We shuffled most of the time. Peered over the edge of some pretty unbelievable cliffs. Hard to imagine theses trails are still handling the foot traffic. With the overcast weather and the ultra touristy beaches looking not so enticing, we scrapped beach time and opted instead for a leisurely stroll through town. A lot going on in Monterosso. Tons of small shops, cafés and restaurants. We found a place serving up fresh focaccias, got a half bottle and enjoyed the afternoon. Took the train back to Vernazza early and hung out at the B&B until late evening.

We capped the 3-night stay with a refreshing, simple dinner at Incadase da Piva (thanks James!), bottle of tasty Chianti, fresh bread and pesto with delicious gnocchi and trenette pasta. Rich, almost pudding-like tiramisu to top it off. Super friendly service and a jovial gentleman (owner?) keeping close watch on the scene.

Bounced, strolled and found an edgy art gallery, Bottega d’Arte Cinqueterre, run by a peppy, charismatic guy named Antonio. Absolutely loved his work…savage, raw, funny and rich. He had a catty laugh and was genuinely charming. So much spunky, fresh artwork. Fell in love with an original that spanked us good and sassy-like…a raw, Ralph Steadmanesque rendering of Vernazza. Couldn’t resist and proceeded to buy it. One of those moments and interactions when you pinch yourself and ask “Did that really happen?” Phenomenal way to end our Cinque stay.

On to Isola del Giglio for our last full stop.

A presto!

Chad