Relaxing in CInque Terre
Trip Start
May 14, 2009
1
19
25
Trip End
Jun 12, 2009
Riomaggiore,
Italian Riviera,
Italy
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
June 2nd- We woke up around 10:00 with the intentions of going on the hike early but the weather was in the high 80's so we decided to hit the beach and go on the hike later in the day. We took the short 10 minute train ride from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. Monterosso was the least attractive of the towns, but was the most urbanized, with numerous shops, internet cafes and Laundromats. The beach stretched for a few miles and was part sand, part pebble and part rocky. We managed to get a spot on the pebble part of the beach and spent most of the afternoon lounging on the beach. The cliffs surrounded much of the beach making the scenery unique, there were large craggy boulders that sat in the sea and made a nice place to climb and have some privacy from the crowded beach. The beach is a nice break from a fast paced trip, as well as a nice break on your pocket. After spending much of the morning on the beach we decided to embark on our hike. Cinque Terre is technically a National Park and to hike on the trail it will cost you 5 euros. The hike from Monterosso, the first town to Vernazza took about 2 hours, the beginning was difficult going uphill for about the first half an hour along a narrow path that you couldn't stand side by side on, if someone else was coming the other way it made for a difficult time letting them pass. The trail winded along, with cliffs pouring into the Sea and Vineyards and Olive tress lining the pathway. Approaching Vernazza, it offered awesome views of the town sticking out into the Sea with its brightly colored houses and large yellow church.
Cinque Terre
The town had a small sand beach and a large harbor that was filled with swimmers. Vernazza's population is just 1000, we took some time in this town to fill up our water bottles and get some gelato before deciding that we would finish hiking the trails tomorrow since it was so hot today. We headed back to our hostel to make dinner of local specialties, Pasta with pesto sauce, Foccacia bread and some Chianti. Dinner cost us just about 12 Euros, cheaper than eating at most Mc Donald's in Europe. The next morning we were lured to Monterosso again because of its irresistible beach and spent much of the morning and afternoon swimming in the Sea and lounging on the beach. We made dinner in the hostel again before heading back to finish the hike. We started this time going from Riomaggiore to Maranola, it was the shortest of the hikes called, it is knicknamed Via dell'Amore(the street of love) because of the love scenes grafittied on the wall. The hike takes just 30 minutes and is straight and level. Maranola the second smallest 5 towns with just a population of 900, but its rocky inlets and small colorful town makes in one of the most photogenic of the towns and it is just as common to sea a fisherman varnishing his boat as it is to see a tourist wandering the streets, there was a sense of old world charm. The hike from Maranola to Corniglia took about 45 minutes and ended with a climb of 365 steps to reach the city center. Cornigila, population 500, the smallest of the 5 towns, a town has no beach and no harbor and not many amenities for tourists other than a few restaurants. It was the most unimpressive of the towns lacking much of the charm of the other towns. Cinque Terra was a chance to step away from everyday travel, it was a break from subways and waking up early to catch the trains, it was one of the first times on the trip when I actually had the time or the energy to just stop and look around and wonder how different the regions of Italy are. The lemon trees and cactuses made you feel like you were in South America rather than Italy, the towns were just like some painting that you didn't have to go to a museum to find. Cinque Terre is truly one of Italy's treasures that is still being discovered by tourism, and I hope it stays that way and remains preserved the way it is so I can go back someday and hike the trails from town to town and relax in the Italian Riveria. 
