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Published: August 16th 2009
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Mum and Dad arrived to stay with us for 6 weeks in May and I spent the preceding month getting very excited about all the travel we could do. I had a long weekend toward the end of May and so we decided it was an ideal time to head up to the Cinque Terre (translation - the 5 lands). I had not heard of the Cinque Terre region prior to arriving but it is one of Italy's most beautiful coastal areas and I'm very keen to head back for another few days. It is situated on the West Coast and is just North of Pisa so up near the top of the 'boot'. It consists of 5 traditional Italian villages perched on a very steep coastline and is recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
We learned a little more about the Italian rail system on the ride up there. We had elected to save 40 euro each and taken the Intercity train... a very poor cousin of the Eurostar. After our train finally departed 20 minutes late - we then stopped randomly in the middle of the countryside and were advised there was a 20 minute delay. At
The Cinque Terre Coastline
Olive Groves, Vineyards and small harbours the end of the 20 minute delay we then had the same announcement again - and finally after an hour of un-airconditioned sweltering delay...we were underway again.
We stayed in a small apartment in the town of Riomaggiore which is the easternmost town of the group. It was a stunning village with fishing boats parked in the harbour and numerous cafes and bars with outside seating. We began our holiday with a glass of wine in one such bar which was precariously balanced on a cliff overlooking the water. The novelty of the town on a steep hillside did wear off slightly each night however as we tramped up the numerous sets of stairs from the main square to our accommodation!
The next day we elected to rise early and beat the crowds so were on the walking track by 7am. The walking track follows the coastline between the villages and is 12 km long. It parallels the rail line but there is no road along the coast at sea level so it is a very peaceful walk that gives the illusion of being well and truly outside civilisation. The advantage of the rail line is that it
allows you to walk in one direction as far as you can go and then jump on the train to come home. The disadvantage is that it means even the remotest towns are easily accessible by tourists coming for day trips so they can get quite busy as the day goes on.
The first town along the track was Manarola - another small fishing village which was only just waking up as we walked through. This was tremendously disappointing as we had been counting on it for a morning coffee but had to put in a couple more kilometers to the next town instead. After another hour walk which finished with 365 steps up to the village of Corniglia - we finally got our cup of coffee. I had introduced mum and dad to the 'cornetti' - Italy's standard breakfast..and fresh ones were just coming out of the oven. It is akin to a sweet crossaint and filled with a range of decadent fillings such as cream, chocolate or marmalade. We sat in a traditional Italian piazza and having walked for an hour and a half felt we thoroughly deserved our chocolate pastry for breakfast!
After Corniglia, the
Vernazza
The most beautiful village..but unfortunately also the one with the most tourists! walk started to get a bit tougher. We had to climb some steeper hills and the day was starting to heat up. The average temperature even in late May was already well into the high 20s and 30s so the hills became more daunting as the day went on. We were certainly glad we started early! We reached Vernazza which is the fourth town by lunch time and were not disappointed by the picturesque town we had heard so much about. Vernazza is built around a small harbour and has an impressive basilica next to the water, an old fort on the hill and crystal clear water. We found a seat at a restaurant in the front row at the ocean and the pizza and beer went down very well. We had initally intended to walk only half the track the first day but with only one leg remaining we decided we wanted to accomplish it that day and reward ourselves with a swim. The last leg was definitely the hardest - steep uphill for an hour and a path which was slightly overgrown in places. We were certainly happy to finally have Monterosso al Mare come into view around
the corner.
Monterosso is the biggest town in the Cinque Terre as it is built on a sloping plain rather than the steep hillsides the other towns contend with. It has a long beach and after a refreshing beer we all headed in for a swim. It is hard to describe how beautiful the water was - crystal clear light blue and very refreshing after a day long hike. The only downside was the rocky beach which was a bit hard on the feet - we are yet to visit a sandy beach in Italy!
The next day we all woke up a little sore and sorry from our walk the previous day. Dad and I elected to to do a shorter walk which headed directly up the mountain ridge behind Monterosso al Mare, paralleled the coastline along the ridge and then came back down at Vernazza visiting a Monastery on the way. Mum took the more sensible option and wandered the shops in Vernazza and waited for us to get back.
The first hour of the walk was straight uphill but enjoyable as it was early in the day and the trees provided shade all the
way. We reached the Sanctuary della Madonna di Saviore after an hour and it was in a beautiful setting with a shaded courtyard and great views back down over the Cinque Terre. After deciding we had earned a second breakfast - cornetti and coffee again...we headed along the ridge line in accordance with the map and instructions we had. This was where our walking plan came slightly unstuck. Italian hiking trails tend not to be as well marked as what you might get in Australia or the States. Despite our best map reading and instruction following attempts - we ended up losing the trail. Now this wasn't a huge issue as we could see the coastline below us and did have a major road going through the area but we valiantly continued on in the hope we would relocate the trail. After a bit of scrub bashing we found ourselves in a clearing covered by leaves and moss. As we continued to attempt to convince ourselves we were not lost and the trail must be just over the hill - I saw a large snake. This rapidly ended the bush bashing and we headed for the nearest major road which
we followed along the ridge line until we found a path heading down to Vernazza. Our pride was slightly repaired when we ran into two other groups of walkers who were having just as much trouble working out where the 'track' was. Unfortunately for mum - our bush bashing excursions meant we were over an hour longer than we thought we would be which left her sitting in the street at Vernazza wondering what had happened to us.
We were very sad to leave the Cinque Terre the following day. It is certainly my favourite place in Italy to date and one that I am keen to return to with Jamy who was unfortunately working that weekend. The train trip back was equally frustrating - it departed another half hour late and the carriage we were assigned to had no power so the doors to the cabins were locked shut. We stood in the hallway with the other passengers for the first 30 minutes until the poor conductor made her way around to all of us to reassign new seats. Cant wait to revisit the Cinque Terre but next time we we will definitely take the Eurostar!
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Amanda
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Cinque Terre
Hi Mel, great blog. Glad you are enjoying life in Italy. I loved the Cinque Terre when I was there in 2007... hope to go back back one day.