Part Thirteen: Cinque Terre!

Greetings, greetings, greetings! Here is the last of my successive posts. If you have read straight through, I truly commend you. If not, I am glad you have returned to check in again. If you have gotten to this one without reading Parts Eleven and Twelve, I hope that you will scroll on up and check them out! This whole blogging thing is still so fun! I guess I should confess the reason I have not updated. To be perfectly honest, it has to do with the availability of internet and the price. For some reason, Italy is not into the wireless thing. Some cities offered it in the piazzas but that was only in places where it was raining and blogging in the rain spells disaster. They do have a fair amount of computers where you can pay, but the price is insane! It would end up costing me about $5 for each of these posts and well that is too much. So, I decided to write them on the train (I'm on my way to Rome now!) and when I get into a wireless area I will post them all up for your reading pleasure!

Enough, enough. No more excuses or boring details. On to Cinque Terre! Now, it is going to be hard not to write a purely glowing, paradise type view of this absolutely incredible place. In fact, maybe that is just what I will do. If you are not familiar with this piece of Italian paradise, it is a group of five fishing villages along the Mediterranean coast south of Genoa. The area is comprised of vineyards, olive trees, and groves of lemon trees on the side of steep hills that slope straight down to the water. In the interest of preservation, it has been turned into a National Park and named a UNESCO world heritage site. For this reason, trails abound along the hills and every year, people flock to bask in the sun and swim in the Mediterranean. I have heard that in the summer it gets quite over run with people but since I was there just at the beginning of the season it didn't seem so bad.

I had become a little overwhelmed by the big cities, and on a tip from a friend and glowing reviews from guidebooks, I decided to head out for three days of hiking and a little different of an experience. So, Friday morning, I hopped a train from Parma and rolled into Riomaggiore, where I would be staying, around 10 am. I was so excited to burst out into endless sunshine and could not wait to get out into it after nearly 3 straight days of rain and gray skies.

So, for practical purposes, the towns are as follows: the southernmost is Riomaggiore, where I stayed, and then going north there is Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. When I got off the train I was literally sandwiched between the jutting rocks, steps from the ocean. The sea breeze was s refreshing and I welcomed the sun with a glowing smile and an amazing, renewed sense of energy. I had to go through a tunnel to the other half of the tiny town to find my hostel. The whole place has an atmosphere of relaxation which was proven by the fact that I arrived at the hostel office half an hour after their opening hour but they had not yet actually opened. Now big deal. I walked around and sat near the ocean a bit.

The landscape is amazing. I will do a little summary to help with the picture. Each town is comprised of apartment buildings, stacked up on top of each other along cliffs going straight down into the ocean. In each town, there is a little marina area and usually a rocky little beach. Steps go down to little fishing spots and docks and the beautiful turquoise Mediterranean crashes right into the jagged rock faces.

After I stood in awe of the landscape for a bit, I headed back just in time to meet the hostel receptionist strolling into the office. I checked in and had a lovely conversation with her about traveling and traveling alone and stuff. This place was different than the traditional hostel. Because the towns are so small and there are so many different little apartments, the "hostel" is really an office that has different flats and rents them out as separate dorm rooms. The one I stayed in was awesome. There was a big kitchen, two rooms on the ends with two beds each, a giant center room with about 6 beds, two bathrooms, and a terrace looking out over the town and a bit of the Sea. I could not ask for anything more for 15 euros a night. It was great.

As nice as it was, I had little time for lingering inside and headed out to see the park. As, I was starting around noonish, I decided on a shorter hike. I grabbed myself some focaccia to eat along the trail and headed out. A bit more orientation: There is one path that is all cobbled and goes along the ocean between all 5 towns. This path costs 5 euros a day to use. As sort of a blessing it was closed due to landslides from those earlier miserable rain. It is considered the easiest and while quite beautiful, the real hiking is on the hills above. I bought a pass to go on the first part, the only open part, because I wanted to see it. That portion happens to be the part known as the Via del Amore, street of love or something like that, and has the famous tunnel of love where lovers from years past have written their initials and dates and stuff. Though, one did say "Katie wishes she was here!" which didn't seem so loving but oh well.

The walk was quite nice and soon enough I was in Manarola. I explored the town a bit, saw the ocean and the little port. The buildings are so fun. I loved the pastel oranges and yellows and blues that they were painted. The I headed up to get on an actual trail. That day I decided to sort of go along the middle path, halfway up the hills, over to the next town, Corniglia. The path was absolutely amazing. It wound up through little clusters of houses and a few churches but mostly went through vineyards and bits of light forest. All along the way, I had an amazing view of the ocean and the groves and the towns. It is actually really hard to explain the beauty of the place. For me, it encompassed my favorite parts of natural landscape: the ocean, the forest, and mountains. To have them all in one was just fantastic.

After an hour and a half or so I sat down amongst the vines and hung my legs over a ledge to enjoy some delicious focaccia Pomodoro. I was just so glad to be around nature and to be in the sun, exerting myself physically. Let me tell you, these mountains aren't high, only about 2100 feet, but the trails are no joke. They can be quite steep and even after lots of walking around Europe my legs were feeling it.

My lunch was delicious and soon enough I was headed down through the woods, along little streams towards Corniglia. I got to the top of the town and walked down along the a seawall along the ocean. Not too much later, I turned around and headed along the same path back towards Riomaggiore. It is amazing how much there is to see even walking along the same path. On the way back, workers had emerged amongst the vines. Many of them were quite old, with gray hair shining in the sun. It seemed that the work was divided amongst the sexes. The old women were in charge of tying up vines. To do so, they used younger, bendable saplings. The men were in charge of the trimming and stringing of nets to catch fallen grapes. As I strolled by, a little exhausted, I was in awe of the ability of these people to scaled the sides of mountains. It was amazing to think of the history and the tradition in the processes.

I strolled back into Riomaggiore in time to walk along the cliffs and watch the sunset. It was really peaceful and nice to just relax, away from the bright lights and big cities. There were a fair amount of tourists milling about but they seemed to stay concentrated in certain areas. Most seemed to just take the train between towns. When I was on the trail I think I only passed about 5 people and I felt worlds away.

After the sun set, I headed to the hostel to take a break and shower and regroup. I did some sink-laundry, very necessary after a few days of soggy socks, showered, and headed out to find some dinner. I had myself a good calzone and then went down in the dark to sit on the rocky beach. I worked my way along a narrow rock path into a little secluded cove where I sat down on a boulder that somehow had an indent that I fit into perfectly. The waves crashed up on the rocks and made this really interesting sucking noise as it the tide pulled it back out through the spaces between the stones.

I sat for a while and looked up at the clear, starry sky. I realized then that I had been traveling for two months and hadn't once really looked up at the stars. I was the only person in that cove and the stars, sea breeze, and waves made for an absolutely idyllic, peaceful night. I sat for a while and then headed off to bed to rest my sore legs and prepare to get up early to see the trails.

The next day, I decided that I would take the ridge trail all along the tops of the hills. I had myself some breakfast of fruit, granola, and yogurt that I had bought in the store. Side note, the yogurt in Europe is SO good. With my energy supply renewed, I trekked up the hill to trail number 1, which runs the length of the peaks. The hike up to the ridge was pretty steep but it was so nice to be out in the sun. It was quite a warm day and there was not a cloud in the sky.

At one point, I encountered what I thought was a quite funny sign. Apparently, wild boar hunting is a thing in these hills. I had to go through a gate that said "Beware! Wild boar area! Always close this gate so boars cannot go into the towns!" except that the gate only had a little wire fence that sagged to the ground connected to it. I guess they weren't that concerned or maybe boars refuse to be accepted into a town without a grand, gate entrance. Oh well, I didn't get to see any boars but that is probably a good thing.

After about an hour or so I reached the ridge and headed out along it. The view from the top was amazing and all along I weaved back and forth between one side facing the ocean and the other looking inland towards a big range of snow covered peaks. The breeze was beautiful and the air was so fresh. A lot of the trail was in the woods which wasn't quite as interesting as the trails I would hike through vineyards but it was nice to be in the peaceful woods. I had another great lunch of focaccia, this time onion, and it was pure bliss up there on the ridge.

I hiked for about 4 hours before I reached a sanctuary and church above the final town, Monterosso. The view was amazing. The church itself was really cool with lots of painted frescoes inside. I sat for a bit rehydrating myself and admiring the view. I then took a steep path down through flower laden paths which had an amazing perfume and made me think of spring so much. I guess it basically was spring, with temperature in the high 50s and low 60s. The walk took me down through lots of lemon trees and down steep paths right into Monterosso. Like Riomaggiore, Monterosso is split in two by a ridge line come down into the town. It has the largest beach of any of the towns and it was really nice. I walked along in the water, managed to get the bottoms of my pants soaked, and then strolled through a tunnel to the other half of the town.

There, I walked on the beach some more an got some delicious gelato. There was no better way to enjoy the beach and the sun that with a little ice cream cone. In the center of the second part of town, there was a large dirt soccer field and two teams were playing quite a vigorous game that seemed to be bordering a little on the violent side. The field joins the list of most beautiful places to play soccer I have seen, in with the ranks of the field above the Alhambra in Granada. It was fun to watch for a bit and I was quite content with my beautiful day of hiking and view seeking.

A major benefit to the towns is the train connecting them. This allows for continuos hiking without having to worry about hiking back at the end of the day. It was getting late so I just hopped on the train, it only cost about 1.50 euro, and headed back to Riomaggiore. I was delighted to find some new people in my flat and made myself a dinner of salami (what is that junk we eat in the states? this stuff was amazing!) and fresh tomatoes and ciabatta bread. I had a fun night getting to know my hostel mates. There was one guy from Ireland and three girls from Canada. It is amazing how many people are traveling because of the economic downturn. These were all people who decided to live of saving for a bit and just go travel for a while. I've met so many people doing the same thing and I really admire it. Of course, it is a lot easier when you don't have kids or a lot of bills or spouses. But good for them!

We had a hilarious time watching this old TV that broadcast Walker Texas Ranger dubbed in Italian and a german version of American Idol called Deutchland Superstar. We had to hit the TV about every five minutes to get the picture back and eventually all we had was sound but we had a great time joking about it and laughing at the horrible, and I mean horrible, German singers.

I retired early again, as I was exhausted, even more sore, and wanted to be rested up for my final day of hiking. I slept well, physical exhaustion is good for that, and awoke early. I had breakfast on our little terrace which was so nice. You may recall my love for eating outside from Spain blog posts.

For my last day, I decided to take the train up to Corniglia and then hike the midway trails there. i hadn't really explored that town and was yet to see Vernazza, the next one up. Now, I will start by saying that these park people could really use a lesson in trail marking. They had a ton of blazes where the trail is obvious, and none where it is more confusing. I had a bit of trouble finding the trails I wanted that day. I started out by walking through the town and then headed along the water a bit. Even though the path along the water was said to be closed, you could walk on parts of it to get to other trails. I got a bit turned around and headed back out. I thought I found the trail but it was a dead end. I decided to walk along the road and catch it where it crossed.

The walk along the road was incredible. I had a perfect view down slides into the water and could see along the towns in both directions. The sun was shining and there were flowers everywhere and oh man I cannot even describe to you how great it was. I thought I caught the path but soon enough I was amongst Private Property signs. I thought I found it again but I ended up on a wide hill of rock slides. I heard a ringing and turned my head to see a flock of goats. They were working their way up this steep face to the church above. I figured I must have gotten it wrong again and walked along the road some more. Until I ended wound around and ended up at that church I just mentioned. There, I was greeted by the friendly goats who were crossing just by the sign for the trail. Apparently, the trail I was looking for was this one that the goats were on! I have no idea how I could have figured that out but oh well. I guess it was better that I didn't walk behind a line of 12 goats for a while.

There, I was able to pick up the rest of the trail which turned out to be amazing and quite arduous, and also, poorly marked. It sort of wound through all these gorges and past little waterfalls, mostly in a thick forest. Every once in a while I would burst out to see down into Vernazza and along the vineyards. At one point, I got a little lost and stumbled upon a family eating lunch on their beautiful terrace. I felt a little bad but they were really nice and pointed me back towards the trail.

I kept on hiking along. There were probably four areas with streams so the trail would wind in towards the stream, back out of the valley, back into the next stream and so on. For about the last hour of my hike I was out of the woods and walked along a cobbled path past a church and along little monuments down into beautiful Vernazza. I think Vernazza may have been my favorite town. It was sort of secluded and then the paths wound around the buildings out into the water. There were lots of people hanging out, catching the sun and enjoying the weather.

I lingered for the bit, got myself some more gelato (the stuff is addictive!) and then hiked back up to take what is supposed to be, and turned out to be, the most picaresque of the paths, between Vernazza and Monterosso. For the most part, the side of the hill was wide open covered with little shrubs and the view was incredible. The sun was shining in a more golden hue as it was closer to the end of the day and it was perfect. I was the only person on the trail and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was able to see nearly all the towns, save for Riomaggiore which is a little more secluded, and the hill sloped straight down into the water.

The trail emptied out near the previously mentioned sanctuary above Monterosso. I was tempted to hike out along the ridge above Monterosso but it was getting late and I stuck to that golden rule that I was told about skiing - "Whenever you tell yourself just one more run, go inside." I decided to take half the rule, and walked down along the road to catch a glimpse of the towns beyond the Cinque Terre, on the other side of the ridge. I was glad I did as the view was quite spectacular. I continued on down the road and walked along in a great end of the day situation: Above the hills, the moon was rising along the edges of the sunset that was happening along the ocean. I could not ask for more. The moon was beautiful, as was the wonderful pink hue of the sky. Paradise, indeed, I must say.

I caught a train, glad that I didn't take the ridge because it was then clear that I would have been stuck on the ridge in the dark. When I got back, I was ravenously hungry haven't not eaten since lunch and exerted myself quite a bit. I sat down at a restaurant to reflect on the past three days which had been nothing short of incredible. I enjoyed a pesto (the region is known for it) and mozzarella pizza with a bottle of the delightfully crisp Cinque Terre, local white wine. It was great to drink a wine from the vines I'd spent the weekend hiking amongst.

As I ate my pizza, I witnessed a quintessential American tourist family. Now, I am going to try my hardest not to sound like some sort of snob here. If I do, I really apologize as that is not how I want so sound. I was sitting very close to them and dining alone so it was nearly impossible not to listen to their conversation.

So now, I will set the scene. This family of four spent a while deliberating and arguing about what to order, what to split, whether or not they could get pizzas half one thing and half another. They finally decided and the mother tried to place the order only to be interrupted by the must-take-control father.

After they finally got their food order in, it was time for wine. The father decided this was his department as well. I was glad to hear that he was going to order a bottle of the local wine. Local is always a smart choice. The five towns are all so close together yet they each offer a wine bearing their name. The father asked what the difference was and the waiter replied, "For you, there is no difference." Of course, he did not mean to offend but the father was a little offended and asked, "Oh, well can you tell the difference?" The waiter was flustered and said that really there was no difference and it was the same variety of grape. The father inquired about the type of grape, trying to show some sort of expertise. Finally, he placed his order.

A few minutes later, the waiter came over and uncorked the bottle and poured the tasting glass to old wine expert dad. As the wine flowed into the glass, the father looked up in a state of confusion.

"Oh," he said timidly, "I thought I was getting a red wine." Ok, ok, I am sure that I am starting to sound like a jerk here but it was too funny! After all that debating and the slight offense that the waiter may have thought he didn't know what he was talking about, old dad didn't know the difference between red and white. Not to mention, Cinque Terre is known for its white wine. They are very proud of it and it is talked about in all the brochures and maps and everything. I had to hold back my laughter. Despite his mistake, Dad went on and turned his critical attitude to the reds list and had further debate over what he should get. It was unbelievable! He made him return the bottle and everything. I think the bus boy food runner person caught me smiling and gave me quite the grin.

Anyway, enough of that. I finished off my meal with a delicious Tiramisu and a small glass of the local Limoncello dessert liqueur. It was a great pairing and the perfect way to end my wonderful three days in the amazing Cinque Terre. It was the perfect break from the cities and though my legs are a bit sore and I am a little worried something has gone wrong with my hip, it was perfect. I met some really fun people in the hostel and trails, sights, food, and pretty much everything about the region was absolutely fantastic. I went to bed filled with food and happiness and so glad with my time there. Truly, one of the most beautiful places I've been and so relaxed. Loved it.

So now I am off to Rome! There I will meet my good friend from high school Eric who is there on vacation with his friends. He studied there two years ago and has all sorts of plans of what we will be seeing and eating and doing. Four nights and then its off to Buenos Aires! It has all gone so fast. Yesterday was the two month anniversary of my leaving and I cannot believe it. Everything has been amazing and I do not doubt that Rome and South America will continue my streak of seeing incredible places.

Thats all for now! Check back soon! Thanks for reading. Hope everyone is well.