May, 2022
Charming Cinque Terre
We stayed in Monterosso, the first or the last village, depending on your perspective. This one is known for its big beach and, unlike most medieval villages, has a very modern symbol. At the end of the beach is this modern statue of the Giant (representing Neptune) holding up the terrace of a private villa. I guess if you have a statue this big, there are only so many locations in your home where you can install it.
The terrain along the trails is so varied, from roots and rocks to narrow paths hugging the cliffs and routes brushing up against grape vines.
The stunningly beautiful Vernazza, nestled on a curved outcrop reaching into the water. It’s impossible to hike these trails in the recommended time because there are so many views that just take your breath away.
This is why I don’t take the selfies
Goodbye Vernazza.
How’s that for a picnic spot!
Hilltop Corniglia in the distance, the only village not accessible by boat. As a result, this is not a fishing village but rather a farming one.
We noticed lots of skinny bamboo growing all over the place. We wondered why they would let such an invasive species be so prolific. We figured it out — they use it in the vineyards!
Pretty painted door in Corniglia
Oh, there’s the bar!
Sitting 100 m above the water, the way to access the train is down the Lardarina, a series of switchback flights of 382 steps, not what you're looking forward to after a hike. There’s a cheater bus available for the young woman we saw who, on arrival, got halfway along the platform to the steps and said there was no way she was climbing those!
Some of the hiking trails have been closed since 2010 (Manarola to Corniglia) and 2012 (Riomaggiore to Manarola) due to landslides. A bit mind-boggling to know that 12 years later they are still closed. With such an enormous reliance on tourism you would think that repairs would have been prioritized. Well, they were supposed to re-open in 2015 but further landslides thwarted those efforts. Centuries-old terracing (some of which started in 900 AD) is crumbling, largely because interest in farming is waning and many terraces having been abandoned, so the necessary upkeep of them is shrinking. This is not easy work. We saw people working along the paths breaking stone and rebuilding walls, massive bags of stone by their sides. The only way to get to these walls is hiking so it begs the question: how do these bags of stone get up there? Helicopters! The helicopters go back and forth picking up and dropping off the loads of stone. Traditionally no cement is used. It’s a masterful placement of large and small rocks that create the terraces and prevent erosion. All this is on the backs of the grape growers who are called Heroic Winemakers. And the wine is very good!
We started hiking on day two from the last village, Riomaggiore, to Manarola. Since the main (and easy) oceanside route has been closed for 10 years, we hiked up and over.
Goodbye Riomaggiore.
The clock tower in the 13th century castle in Riomaggiore keeps accurate time!
Ascent. While Cinque Terre is like doing the Grouse Grind every day, the key difference is no burger and fries at the top with a gondola ride down, but delicious lunch in the next village and aperitivo in a charming piazza at the end of the day. Hmmm. Maybe Grouse needs to work on its menu…
That’s Manarola in the distance.
I sent Adam on to hike the upper route from Manarola to Corniglia through Volastra as I didn’t think my ankle could handle it. I used my mermaid skills to lure a ferry to take me back to Monterosso.
The golden light on Manarola at sunset
And the golden light on us!
We were walking down the street in Manarola looking for lunch and spotted these umbrellas up high. Let’s go there. La Regina di Manarola. It was fantastic. Great vibe, great decor, great food. You’ll notice a bit of a sunset in the background…we went back the next day for dinner!
Cliffside hike to Levanto.
Sheer drop below my feet. Nice view though. Adam stayed several metres away from the edge.
Descent towards Levanto. Glad to have all my protective paraphernalia as one misstep could send my recovery weeks backwards.
The town of Levanto. Looks lovely, doesn’t it. Beautiful stone buildings, stone pillars and caps around the windows. Ha! It’s all fake. So many buildings done in trompe l’oeil. It’s like walking through a movie set. This is one town north of Monterosso which is the last “official” village of the five in Cinque Terre. Levanto has been left out but seems to be tarting itself up in an effort to be part of the group. But Sei Terre just doesn’t have the same ring. I think it will always be Cinque Terre and Levanto will play second fiddle.
These little dressed-up working “motorcycles” are called Ape. As Duolingo has taught us, ape means bee. Odd name I thought, until I heard one go by. It sounds just like a buzzing bee!