Due to lodging being crowded (and expensive) for Easter, though, Carlee and I did not stay in one of those five towns. Instead, we chose to sleep at a campsite three miles' walk outside of Devia Marina, which is roughly 20 minutes by train from the first village. And yes, we stayed in a tent. And no, there was no electricity, no heating, no lights of any sort, and certainly no wifi in this tent. It was a tent (albeit with a wood-beam structure and a door that sort of locked). We arrived at our tent Saturday night, cold and frustrated by the three-mile walk to the campsite in the dark, and we just burst out laughing at the situation. Roughing it, we were.
Weather for Sunday and Monday promised rain and lightning showers, but something must have switched in our favor, because Easter Sunday turned out to be warm and sunny with brilliant blue skies. Carlee and I seized the day, arriving by train in Monterosso by 9:30am to start hiking. The great appeal of Cinque Terre is the ability to hike to and from all the villages, and we were determined to hit all five towns. Of course, there is a train that you can take between the villages as well, the rides lasting only four to six minutes from one station to another, but Carlee and I were both craving a good hike, and that is exactly what we got.
In Monterosso, we ate a quick breakfast and bought some snacks (apples and granola bars) before following the steady stream of fellow hikers out of the town and up into the terraced cliffs. Between Monterosso and Vernazza, the Blue trail took us about two hours to hike. It was relatively easy besides the fifteen minutes in the beginning of just climbing up stone stairs, and the views were completely worth it. "Never give up elevation!" became our catchphrase of the day, especially while climbing up.
We reached Vernazza a little before noon, and immediately searched for some lunch. We found this tiny little panini place called the Lunch Box where we could create our own paninis, and it was literally the best place ever. I had a special buttery corn bread sandwich toasted with fresh mozzerella, prosciutto ham, and mushrooms. Carlee and I followed this delicious meal by ordering fruit smoothies from the Lunch Box, and I was again very impressed by the food. We loved the little take-out restaurant so much that we ate there again on Monday (and the friendly chef gave us huge slabs of delicious Easter chocolate for free).
Setting off from Vernazza, we took the Blue trail once more--ignoring the sign that warned that the trail was closed--and headed off towards Corniglia. There were lots of other hikers on the trail, though, so it wasn't worrying. This trail took just under two hours to complete, but the views of Corniglia as we approached were absolutely stunning.
In Corniglia, we took a break and ate our apples by the ocean before heading off to the next trail. From Corniglia to Manarola, however, the Blue trail was closed, so we were forced to take the high trail, which meant heading up trail 7a (40 minutes straight uphill) then cross over to trail 6, then down 6d to Manarola. The first part was absolutely exhausting--it felt like we never stopped going up. By the time the trail leveled out (after 40 minutes of grueling climb) Carlee and I were both winded and sweating. We sat down on a rock to take a break. Then, a woman and her husband walk passed--but the woman was wearing a dress, sandals, and was six or seven months pregnant! And she didn't even look winded--it looked as if the trail was just another walk in the park for her! Carlee and I turned to each other after she passed and just exclaimed "We are so weak compared to her!"
It was actually a blessing in disguise to be up on the higher trail. Not only did we get more of a workout, but the views were also phenomenal. We passed vineyards and olive groves and lemon trees, all terraced on the cliffs below us. The trail tightly hugged a level of terracing, but it still felt as if we would fall right into the ocean hundreds of feet below us if we somehow wandered off the trail--it was that steep! It was amazing to be up there.
By the time we finally reached Manarola, though (another two hours or so of hiking between Corniglia and Manarola), our legs were shaking. We are both in relatively good shape, but going down stairs for 40 minutes--especially following more than 5 hours of hiking--just killed us. We were happy to sit in Manarola for a while, eating Nutella crepes, before taking the train to the Riomaggiore, the final town. Apparently the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore is the shortest--only a half hour's hike--but we just couldn't motivate ourselves to do it. It was really weird to arrive in the next village after only four minutes on a train.
It was in Riomaggiore that we ate Easter dinner by the sea. I had a very traditional Easter meal: homemade gnocchi with pesto. Carlee had pasta with clams. Then, after a quick stroll around the final town of Cinque Terre, we grabbed the train back to Devia Marina, walked three more miles in the darkness to our campsite, and immediately fell asleep.
Monday featured intermittent rain, so it was a good thing that we did the hike on Sunday. Carlee and I took the train back to Monterosso, the first town, and hung out there for a while. We took the ferry to Vernazza and ate at the Lunch Box, as I mentioned before, but ordered the fresh fruit with yogurt instead of the smoothie--absolutely delicious! As we walked around Vernazza, though, it started pouring, so we caught the train back to Monterosso and ordered tea in a cafe that sat right on the beach, watching as the rain beat against the turquoise ocean.
Our Monday in Cinque Terre was cut a little short, though, as we had to get to the train station by 3pm to catch the last train to Florence. You can probably guess what destination will be featured next!
In Monterosso, we ate a quick breakfast and bought some snacks (apples and granola bars) before following the steady stream of fellow hikers out of the town and up into the terraced cliffs. Between Monterosso and Vernazza, the Blue trail took us about two hours to hike. It was relatively easy besides the fifteen minutes in the beginning of just climbing up stone stairs, and the views were completely worth it. "Never give up elevation!" became our catchphrase of the day, especially while climbing up.
We reached Vernazza a little before noon, and immediately searched for some lunch. We found this tiny little panini place called the Lunch Box where we could create our own paninis, and it was literally the best place ever. I had a special buttery corn bread sandwich toasted with fresh mozzerella, prosciutto ham, and mushrooms. Carlee and I followed this delicious meal by ordering fruit smoothies from the Lunch Box, and I was again very impressed by the food. We loved the little take-out restaurant so much that we ate there again on Monday (and the friendly chef gave us huge slabs of delicious Easter chocolate for free).
Setting off from Vernazza, we took the Blue trail once more--ignoring the sign that warned that the trail was closed--and headed off towards Corniglia. There were lots of other hikers on the trail, though, so it wasn't worrying. This trail took just under two hours to complete, but the views of Corniglia as we approached were absolutely stunning.
In Corniglia, we took a break and ate our apples by the ocean before heading off to the next trail. From Corniglia to Manarola, however, the Blue trail was closed, so we were forced to take the high trail, which meant heading up trail 7a (40 minutes straight uphill) then cross over to trail 6, then down 6d to Manarola. The first part was absolutely exhausting--it felt like we never stopped going up. By the time the trail leveled out (after 40 minutes of grueling climb) Carlee and I were both winded and sweating. We sat down on a rock to take a break. Then, a woman and her husband walk passed--but the woman was wearing a dress, sandals, and was six or seven months pregnant! And she didn't even look winded--it looked as if the trail was just another walk in the park for her! Carlee and I turned to each other after she passed and just exclaimed "We are so weak compared to her!"
It was actually a blessing in disguise to be up on the higher trail. Not only did we get more of a workout, but the views were also phenomenal. We passed vineyards and olive groves and lemon trees, all terraced on the cliffs below us. The trail tightly hugged a level of terracing, but it still felt as if we would fall right into the ocean hundreds of feet below us if we somehow wandered off the trail--it was that steep! It was amazing to be up there.
By the time we finally reached Manarola, though (another two hours or so of hiking between Corniglia and Manarola), our legs were shaking. We are both in relatively good shape, but going down stairs for 40 minutes--especially following more than 5 hours of hiking--just killed us. We were happy to sit in Manarola for a while, eating Nutella crepes, before taking the train to the Riomaggiore, the final town. Apparently the trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore is the shortest--only a half hour's hike--but we just couldn't motivate ourselves to do it. It was really weird to arrive in the next village after only four minutes on a train.
It was in Riomaggiore that we ate Easter dinner by the sea. I had a very traditional Easter meal: homemade gnocchi with pesto. Carlee had pasta with clams. Then, after a quick stroll around the final town of Cinque Terre, we grabbed the train back to Devia Marina, walked three more miles in the darkness to our campsite, and immediately fell asleep.
Monday featured intermittent rain, so it was a good thing that we did the hike on Sunday. Carlee and I took the train back to Monterosso, the first town, and hung out there for a while. We took the ferry to Vernazza and ate at the Lunch Box, as I mentioned before, but ordered the fresh fruit with yogurt instead of the smoothie--absolutely delicious! As we walked around Vernazza, though, it started pouring, so we caught the train back to Monterosso and ordered tea in a cafe that sat right on the beach, watching as the rain beat against the turquoise ocean.
Our Monday in Cinque Terre was cut a little short, though, as we had to get to the train station by 3pm to catch the last train to Florence. You can probably guess what destination will be featured next!
No comments:
Post a Comment