La famiglia goes hiking on Cinque Terre

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No lying in today! We awoke expecting brilliant sunshine but were instead greeted by an overcast sky as we prepared for the long awaited trek along the Cinque Terre trail. This weather would later turn out to be advantageous as we avoided heatstroke, dehydration and sunburn (almost).
The grand plan involved catching the free shuttle to the nearest train station, then purchasing all necessary tickets to get us to Monterosso, the starting point for our walk. A word to the wise – avoid using the toilets at this train station if at all possible. No need to elaborate!
We began the walk in high spirits along the easy level promenade, admiring the precision of the deck chair arrangement on the carefully groomed beach. Our pleasure was quickly subdued as we commenced the real trail up from the sea, gasping for breath and perspiring freely while we tackled flight after flight of rough hewn stone steps with pluck and determination. After two strenuous hours we reached the second village, Vernazza. It was time for a break, some food and lashings of lemonade.
Onwards and upwards we went en route to village number three, Corniglia. This part of the trek lasted one and a half hours, with the same challenges, but the views – stunning. At Corniglia, a small beer was in order as we would not need to walk to Manarola (number four village), the track being closed. How pleasant it was to consider our achievement so far, while we sat and watched life go on around us, and then caught a train for the four minute journey to Manarola.
The final part of the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore involved a short and sedate promenade along a well-paved path nicknamed Via dell’Amore. Many parts of the path are ‘decorated’ with padlocks, perhaps signifying undying love, as well as plentiful graffiti giving the same message.
After all our exertion we enjoyed a relaxing train journey back to our starting point where a quiet night is in order. More adventures tomorrow.

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