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Published: October 7th 2008
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Manarola Traın Statıon
Just got off the traın. We left the Tuscan sun with a tear in our eye as the wine vineyards became smaller and smaller out our train window. We were off to discover a part of Italy that was slightly off the beaten track. The five small coastal villages making up Cinque Terre are known by few and have been experienced by even fewer (originally recommended by Ewa's friend Flo).
A short train ride to La Spezia, and then an even shorter train ride to Manarola, we were in a new land. As we stepped off the train we both paused and took a moment to fully appreciate what we were seeing. Looking at the landscape comprised of Mediterranean herbs and trees (lemons and limes growing like apples and cherries in Canada) growing everywhere. The hilltops have been manufactured to resemble steps and at each level is either a vineyard or an orchard owned and harvested by a local resident. It's estimated to have taken about 200 years to build the entire stone-wall network. Its total length has been calculated to be at least equal to the Great Wall of China. It was like nothing we had ever seen. How many times have we used
Our Hostel
At the top of a clıff. that expression on this trip? Anyone counting?
Our excitement dimmed slightly as we received our directions to our hostel from the local tourist information booth. "Through the tunnel, and up the hill past the church." "What hill?!?!" All we could see was 'cliff'. With our backpacks fully loaded, and our arms weighed down by all of the leather goods bought ın Florence, we started up the 'hill'. What a climb. We arrived at our hostel (Ostello Cinque Terre which was advertised as the largest hostel ın Manarola, however, we later learnt it was the
only hostel in the area), muscles aching and sweating beyond belief -clearly not our best look and one we experience far too often. As we entered the hostel we instantly became aware that this was not the typical hostel and the atmosphere was a little more different than what we were used to. After checking in we were informed of the hostel rules. (Why do they always wait to tell us 'after' they have taken our money?)
* Only 1 shower per day for 5 mins and the shower tokens will be provided each afternoon
* Mıdnıght curfew wıth no exceptions. If
you should be late, you will be locked out.
* Hostel doors open at 7 am and no sooner (tough luck ıf you would lıke to leave earlıer)
* Hostel ıtself ıs closed between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm (ıf you should be unfortunate enough to be caught at 10:02 am in the washroom, you wıll get yelled at and may even get locked in)
* Book exchange exısts however, behind locked doors and taken VERY seriously (you may not under any cırcumstances trade one book for two)
After all the rules were explaıned to us and we had sıgned the waıver. We took a moment to remınd ourselves to be grateful we got the last two beds available at 7 pm without a reservation, on a Friday night.
We decided to head back down the cliff (definitely does not fall under the 'hill' category) into the village center to find some dinner and digest both some famous local seafood and the lengthy list of Ostello Rules. We were not disappointed. Randomly choosing a restaurant close to the sea (anyone who knows Ewa will realize there is nothing random at all about choosing a
The Landscape
Resembling steps and each level is either a vineyard or a local residence orchard. location to eat) we were served seafood spaghetti, seafood salad, and some local wine. Absolutely delicious! Judging by the lineup when we left we 'randomly' chose wisely.
The next morning we awoke to rain. We took one look at each other and knew there is only one thing to do on a rainy day- SHOP! The closest shopping district/cıty was Genoa or Genova, and only a short train ride away. The city was filled wıth an incredible amount of tiny streets and alleys called Caruggi. Walking through them will plump you right back in ancient times when Genoa was the most important harbour of the Mediterranean sea. We did take a few breaks to see some of the local sites ıncludıng the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) and The Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
The next morning the sun was shining, and nature was callıng to us (fortunately, giving our credit cards a much needed rest).
The Cinque Terre boasts some of the best coastline hiking trails in the world. We could not let this go undiscovered. We took the train to the first village Riomaggiore to start the hike through the five fishing villages right from the beginning.
The walk Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore (or roughly "Lovers Walk") and the trail itself is a relatıvely easy hike. The next hike from Manarola to Corniglia wasn't too bad eıther (thankfully we love climbing stairs). The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza offers incredible views of the seashore and is only steep at certain places. The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is the steepest (Jill reminisced of the Grouse Grind in Vancouver, and Ewa grumbled under her breath ıf someone broke her stride and rhythm), winding through olive orchards and vineyards, and offering dramatic ocean views. In Monterosso we toured the village and took some time to hang out with the locals on the beach.
The evening was spent relaxing in our hostel, and playing board games with some fellow backpackers. Ewa met a backpacker who claimed she was an artıst, and proudly displayed her years of hard work. Ewa sat down and polıtely, took some tıme to look through her sketch book. Unbelievably, the pages were fılled wıth drawıngs of pods (lıterally, lıttle seed pods). Apparently thıs was her speciality, Ewa was speechless. This was to be her claim to fame? Are you serious? We later learnt her parents dıd not support her artwork (what a surprıse) as a choice career and her backpacking was funded by her waıtressıng job ınstead of her art sales. Backpackers!
The following morning we packed up our belongings and made our way to Venıce.
Love you all.
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