Cinque Terre!

Cinque Terre, or Five Lands, has been on my Must Do list since I first heard of Rick Steves.  I didn't know until now that it is also the birthplace of pesto!  Unbelievable!  I'm quite surprised I had the strength to leave!

The VIEW from our rental

We stayed in Riomaggiore, the southern most of the five towns.  As you progress along the coast northward, you find Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.  The towns are connected by rail, boat and foot paths, but no roads.  All five have a slightly different feel to them.

Riomaggiore is an old fishing village.  Since the hills in the region drop straight down to the water, there is no room for a beach or a marina, so they drag the boats up on to the streets in the evenings on wheeled trolleys.  Today the boats are used for leisure and no doubt, all the residents are either retired or in the tourist industry.

I can't help but want to enlarge every picture!  These  are the views from our first lunch and glass of champagne.  I don't even really drink champagne, but I was inspired.  You can see here the very level and easy "Via dell' Amore" that you can stroll from Riomaggiore to Manarola.

Here's to Italy!
(and Jeanne and Bert)

You can chose to hike to all five towns, which Jeff did.  I have a fear of heights so decided to take the boats which move in a circuit up and down the coast.  The day worked out perfectly since usually Jeff and I arrived at almost exactly the same time.

This is the boat picking up at Riomaggiore and below, a picture of our side of town.  We stayed in the pink building, forth from the left on the second floor.

Jeff and I walked together from Riomaggiore to Manarola since it appeared to be wheelchair accessible, so I thought I could make it :)  We saw people 'deep sea fishing' and got some amazing views of the town as we approached. 

                                                                                                   
Manarola seems to drape over the cliff on all sides.  You can see the vineyards in the shot below.  They make and sell plenty of local wines that are quite good here.  I walked this far with Jeff and then doubled back to catch the boat and meet him in town number 4.

  Corniglia was actually town number 3 and this was the toughest hike since Corniglia is the only one of the Cinque Terre that is not accessible by water.  This town is in the hills amidst the wine and pesto making.

There was a big flood only a couple of years ago that caused a lot of erosion and damage to the trails. Now you can no longer skirt by Corniglia but you must climb up and back down again to continue to Vernazza.

Rick Steves refers to Vernazza as 'the Cover Girl' and it is the most touristy.  As judged by the yachts in their deep water rest stops to the right of this view, it is the most resort-like so far.  It is certainly bigger and has more restaurants and shopping opportunities as well, but I preferred the ambiance of our little town.

This was our lunch perch and the view below.

Fresh fish, anyone?

The last town, Monterosso al Mare, is a beach resort.  It is the largest of the five, has plenty of hotels and nightlife, but not what we were looking for on this trip.  We caught up with each other there and caught some rays before heading back to Riomaggiore.  Here are some more great scenes from Riomaggiore: happy cats with full bellies, beautiful sunsets, churches and lovely wedding reception locations :)  

Cinque Terre is Jeff's favorite destination thus far and I think I have to agree!  It is a very beautiful place.  Perhaps the best part about it is that there is nothing that you 'should' do.  You can spend your day hiking or sun bathing and swimming.  You can spend your evenings eating and drinking great Italian specialties alfresco while watching the sun set.  The next day, you start over.  Paradise!