Working up an appetite in Cinque Terre

It was my idea to come to Cinque Terre, or five lands--five little villages in a row along the Ligurian coast, with a popular 5-hour beachside cliff trail that connects them all. I was worried I wouldn't make it though because I have an unreal fear of heights. I was picturing my Inca Trail hike to Macchu Piccu where I had to crawl along some parts that were so narrow that I was scared walking vertically would topple me down the abyss; but the heights turned out to be the least of my worries. The trails are extremely safe with guardrails everywhere that you could potentially fall.

Almost to Vernazza

I got hit with really, awful, painful cramps about 1/2 km out of the first village of Monterosso. Poor Josep, just like on our first hike together to Mt. Whitney, he had to carry my backpack along with his own already heavy load of backpack and canon camera bag. I really wanted to enjoy the magnificent views and beautiful weather, but I was more concentrated on my nausea and my need to sit down every five meters so I wouldn't pass out.

Cinque Terre Trails

The trail is very narrow, especially that first part, and full of tourists, so my having to sit down and block the way was inconvenient for all. I heard some Austrailians joke - "Hey Joe, you'll have to kick these tourists down for violating code here", probably thinking we were Spaniards, French, or Italians here on the All Saints' Day long 4-day weekend. I wanted to say something back in English to let him know I understood his rude comment, but I didn't have the energy to lift my head up.

After a couple of hours and thousands of steps of misery, the trail flattened out for a while, then took a downward turn to the next town of Corniglia. It was so picturesque with its typical central plaza, church, and tiny pink yellow and blue houses bunched up on the outpost of rock jutting above the sea. I was finally starting to feel better and enjoy my surroundings.

Comfortable trails

We stopped to rest and ordered a couple slices of pesto pizza and coke, pesto originating from this region known as Liguria. Josep Maria suggests we can take the train back from here, but I'm stubborn and want to continue on. I feel much better this second leg and can now fully enjoy the beauty of this UNESCO world heritage site, dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, with its earliest settlers from the 10th.

The reward from a full day of walking is the last village and also the one we'll sleep in-- Riomaggiore. I'm tired of bread products-- I'm half filipina and need my ration of rice now and then. We go the the Ristorante Laterna that my Rough Guide recommends and I order an amazing Risotto con Frutta di Mare-- mussels, langostinos, and shrimp in an al dente rice with boiled tomato and herbs. Josep has the gnocchi with Ragu sauce. How can food, and especially the coffee, taste so good here in Italy? I never drink coffee at home, but in Italy I order it every other day. I could just sum it up and say It's something in the water, but I don't think that's it. My guidebook says Italians believe in the right to a good meal and have a sort of counter-McDonalds slow cooking revolution. Whatever it is, someone needs to study the chemical composition of the coffee here and copy it in the States.

Italian Cats

We're on our way now to Bologna at last. The names of the towns we'll pass through are making me hungry -- Parma *parmesan cheese*, Modena *balsamic vinegar*, Bologna *spaghetti bolognese*...

Manarola - the fourth village

Room in Riomaggiore

Room with a view in Riomaggiore 2

The Serras are everywhere

Via Dell'Amore

Via dell'Amore between Manarola and Riomaggiore