Cinque Terre

After spending a week weaving through the sea of tourists in Venice, Florence and Rome, the peaceful, remote cities in the Cinque Terre National Park were exactly what we needed.
Cinque Terre is situated about four hours by train north of Rome on Italy’s western coast.
The five towns that make up Cinque Terre — Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterrosso — sit right along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea among the most dramatic coastline Sam and I have ever seen.
Huge mountains and rock cliffs ascend from the shores and the Mediterranean’s blue, crystal clear water.
The towns are connected by a trail that is 9 kilometers (about 5 miles) long and takes roughly five hours to walk.
Cinque Terre is a tourist destination, so we didn’t have the area all to ourselves.
But we did get a reprieve from big city life for a while, especially on the trail.
For our first full day, we decided to get up early and walk the trail.
Because we were staying in Riomaggiore, the southern-most village, we had an easy walk to the next town over, Manarola.
The stretch between the two towns is called the Via dell’Amore, or the lover’s walk, because of its breathtaking views.
As far as Sam and I are concerned, it’s aptly named.
The views are spectacular and you never get tired of looking out over that blue, blue water.
The road to Corniglia was a pretty easy walk, until you get to the 385 steps that lead up to the city.
Corniglia is the only town in Cinque Terre not located directly on the beach. Instead, it’s perched on nearby mountains overlooking the sea.
Little did Sam and I know that those 385 steps would be a piece of cake compared to the rest of the trail.
We stopped briefly in Corniglia to snap some photos and then headed for Vernazza, four kilometers away.
Until the arrival of the train in the early 20th century, Vernazza and Corniglia were only connected by paths, so the trail we took to the fourth town was the most remote of our entire journey.
We walked away from the water and ascended into the mountainous forests, where residents have long built terraces to grow grapes that eventually become white wine.
The views of the sea from high above in the mountains weren’t the only things that stimulated our senses.
It smelled absolutely wonderful on that mountain path.
Wild olive trees could be found everywhere, as well as wild lavender and rosemary.
We were dripping with sweat when we made it to Vernazza, so we found a nice, big rock in the town’s tiny harbor and went for a swim.
The water was refreshing cold after an hour and a half on the trail.
After lying out in the sun and having a simple pizza lunch, we hit the trail again for our final destination, Monterrosso.
This last stretch of trail was only three kilometers, but it was definitely the most challenging.
You must make a long, slow climb away from Vernazza up several hundred steps and then make an equally steep descent before coming to Monterrosso.
Monterrosso has the most “resort-like” feel and the best beaches of the five towns.
After the long trek there, Sam and I found a spot on the beach and jumped into the cold water. The beaches here are not your typical white sand, but instead consist of many smooth, grey stones. And damn do they get hot.
Instead of taking a train back to Riomaggiore that evening, we decided to board a ferry that would have us back in our home village in 40 minutes. But not before enjoying some gelato. It was a fitting way to end the day. Sam and I could feel the cool sea air on our faces while looking at people on the path we had traversed earlier that day.
Because my birthday fell on the day after our trek, we decided to sleep in and spend a leisurely day on the beach. (We also decided that would be our activity for the day because we were pretty tired and sore from our hike.)
That night, we dined on typical Cinque Terre dishes.
Sam had spaghetti pomodora with prawns while I had fish cooked in a spicy, red sauce with potatoes.
It was a little odd dismantling the fish and prawns, which both came whole, but both dishes were delicious.
What an excellent birthday. In fact, what a great relaxing few days away from the city.