Cinque Terre, Italy

---

Just last weekend I was finally able to view one of the most colorful places in the world; Cinque Terre, Italy. As a side note, I think it's pretty rad that the place I currently live (not when I'm on exchange) also makes the list; St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Cinque Terre was absolutely breath taking, regardless of my journey taking place in the off season. I admired pictures of this region for quite some time and that was at the very top of my list to visit during my semester abroad. I am so thankful I was actually able to go, but that journey was honestly just a tease.

We flew to Milan the night of Thursday November 8th and stayed there for the evening. We only had enough time to sleep and head out to Lavento where we stayed the next day. It was a 3 hour train ride and was the first village just outside Cinque Terre. Upon arrival we heard about the crazy labyrinth that lay within the forests. Unfortunately that didn't fit into our itinerary but I will most DEFINITELY come back to this! Instead we just adventured around the town and walked the old railway tunnel that lead to Bonassola.

The next night we stayed in Monarolla and went from town to town inside Cinque Terre. We had all intentions of hiking the mountain trek trails but once we went to purchase our Cinque Terre pass we were informed they were closed for the season. This somewhat made out decisions easier as the weather for the day was supposed to be very rainy and we didn't have all that much time in the area. Instead we just train hopped between the villages and explored among them. We ended up missing out on Corniglia due to limited daylight. At this point it was getting dark around 5pm and we just didn't have the time.

We also found out once we arrived that the Via dell'Amore was closed due to a landslide in late February. There is currently an investigation being conducted as four people were injured in the slide. Overall it sounds as though there were a lot of disappointments but the place was so magical that I enjoyed every minute of it despite the closures. Because of this tease of a trip I have decided I will for sure make a trip back during the peak season and found out what I would like to see when I come back. I realized I didn't know all that much about the area and will do a lot more research next time and plan a longer stay. This is definitely a region people should check out, especially if you're a hiker and love the outdoors!

---