On arrival in Genoa we took a bus from the airport to the main train station and then a train to Monterosso al Mare, the biggest and northern-most of the 5 coastal villages of the Cinque Terre (literally 'five lands'). About 90 minutes later we arrived in the very bustling Monterosso. The weather was perfect - just under 20 degrees and perfect blue skies (much nicer than the awful weather we had left in London) and it was packed with people enjoying their May Day holidays (in Italy and most of the surrounding countries).
After a quick walk to find some food (delicious focaccia) we took advantage of the courtesy taxi service to our B&B - Il Parco. It was only a 10 minute drive from the train station, but up a very steep hill so we were very glad of the service. We arrived and were greeted by the lovely Marta, our host, who checked us in and showed us our room. The amazing view from our window over the olive trees -
Il Parco from the front, our window and balcony obscured by the trees -
It was almost 5pm by this time, so after a quick rest and a shower, we headed back into town for dinner. Fortunately Marta and her husband were also heading in to town as we left so gave us a ride. We ate seafood (anchovies) and pasta with pesto (both local specialties) at a restaurant suggested by Marta (bizarrely next to an Australian couple from Glen Waverley) and then got a taxi back to Il Parco.
The most famous attraction of the Cinque Terre is the walk from village to village along the coast. The walk is 9km and takes around 5 hours. We knew a few people who had done it and had read a bit about it, but our details were vague at best. We decided to do the walk Friday as the weather was due to get warmer over the weekend and thought it would be better in (slightly) cooler conditions. After breakfast in the garden -
we headed down the hill to the train station to take the train from Monterosso to Riomaggiore, the southern-most town. We could have done this either way - started at Monterosso, then caught the train back from Riomaggiore, but for some reason we chose this way and in the end, it was probably the best decision.
The beach at Monterosso near the train station -
We got off the train at Riomaggiore with hundreds of other people, clearly all with the same idea. Riomaggiore is quite small so there wasn't much to see in the town, so we began our walk straight away. From Riomaggiore towards Manarola -
Nicky looking comfortable and confident as we head off -
This part of the walk was incredibly easy and short - only about 1km/20 minutes on wide, paved tracks. Nicky wondered what all the fuss was about. Walking towards Manarola -
Main street Manarola (notice the boats which lined the entire main street) -
'Beach' at Manarola -
Leaving Manarola -
The next part of the walk was about the same distance but slightly more challenging so took longer - about an hour. By the time we arrived at Corniglia we were at the bottom of the cliff however the town is positioned high up and there were two options to get there - a winding road, or some very steep stairs - and we decided to take the road. Slightly longer perhaps, but definitely more bearable. Entrance to a house in Corniglia -
Crops growing in the side of the mountain -
After a very refreshing lemon granita and then a great pasta for lunch on the terrace of a restaurant with awesome views, we left Corniglia and headed towards Vernazza. Corniglia from the north side -
As soon as we left Corniglia the degree of difficulty increased significantly. Whereas the walk previously had been mainly at one level, from this point the walk was up steep hills and down again. It was during this part of the walk we started understanding why many people on the trail were wearing hiking boots (instead of Converse), packs (instead of a messenger bag) and walking sticks (instead of...well nothing - the sticks might have been slightly over the top though).
Corniglia (and in the distance Manarola) -
About 4km and 2 hours later, we finally arrived in Vernazza (in the distance, Monterosso, and between them, the hills we would walk) -
Houses in Vernazza -
Harbour at Vernazza -
Leaving Vernazza -
Nick suggested that we catch the train back to Monterosso and come back and do the final section another day, but I knew we wouldn't do that so after some sorbet we pressed on. Walking from Vernazza to Monterosso -
This part of the walk was the most difficult of all - 3km (so less than the previous section), but around 2 hours given the difficulty. The paths varied from precariously narrow with sheer drops to the middle of olive groves and plenty of steep climbs and descents. Nick was optimistic that every peak or corner was the last and we would be on the home stretch, but he was mostly wrong...until finally, we were there! Rounding one of the last corners back to Monterosso -
Finally we were nearly home - but not before we had to climb the steep road back to Il Parco...we kept going, determined to finish and finally collapsed on our bed! It was definitely more of a challenge than we expected and probably not something we would normally do on our travels, but it was really fantastic and worthwhile. Not only were we proud of ourselves for actually doing it, the scenery was spectacular - especially the approach to the villages and how the towns are built in harmony with the landscape - very natural and organic.
For dinner we had arranged to have pizza at Il Parco - there's no restaurant, but a few nights a week Marta cooks homemade pizza for the guests and serves it in the garden by candlelight. The pizza was excellent - as good as any we have had in Italy and almost as good was the caramel panna cotta for desert. A great meal to end a long day.
The next morning we struggled to get out of bed - we were both aching from the walk and could barely move our legs! However, we made it down to breakfast and after some time chilling out on the balcony, decided to head into town to get lunch. After some more pizza (when in Italy...) we took a walk around the old town. A street -
A church -
Me and lemons, another specialty of the region -
The beach -
We then decided to get on a boat and take a trip from Monterosso, past the other four villages, to Porto Venere. It was one of the huge tourist boats with lots of seats up the top and we managed to get a great seat to enjoy the sunshine and view. Corniglia from the water -
Riomaggiore -
Houses along the harbour in Porto Venere -
Boats at Porto Venere
We got off the boat at Porto Venere but decided there wasn't much to see, so got back on the boat to go back to Monterosso. We got some supplies from the local supermarket and had a quiet dinner on the balcony.
On Sunday (still struggling to walk) we took the train to Manarola (the town with the boats in the main street) which had been my favourite on our walk. We got some lunch at a small taverna and had some fantastic pasta - I tried the gnocchi pesto which was delicious. After that, we got back on the train and headed towards La Spezia, but being a Sunday afternoon, nothing much was going on so we went back to Monterosso to enjoy another home made pizza and dessert at Il Parco.
The next morning we had breakfast and then took our courtesy car back to the train station. All going well we would have had plenty of time, however the trains in Italy definitely run to their own schedule. Something that is 5 minutes delayed quickly becomes 10 minutes delayed and then suddenly you are 30 minutes late. Once arriving back in Genoa we lined up (with lots of other people headed back to London) to take a taxi to the airport, and arrived at the airport with about 45 minutes (again!) before our flight. They were still checking people in although the check-in had closed, but Nick and I snuck under the ropes and tried to look casual at the end of the line. Fortunately we got through, and of course after making it through customs, our plane was delayed! But finally we made it back to London - even bringing some nice weather with us.
