Lugano Switzerland to Cinque Terre, Italy

With gorgeous Vernazza to our backs and our thirst quenched with fresh frozen lemonade we began kicking up dust again. With only Monterosso and Vernazza as our reference we commented how nice it would be to return someday and spend more time in each village, that's a clear sign that we were enjoying our time herel Along the way I heard a young voice from behind say "he's a PIRATE!" I looked back and noticed a younger 30 something and a 5 year old walking behind us, I realized I had a sticker on my water bottle that had skull and cross bones with Paradise, St John USVI on it, I looked at the youngster and growled Aarrrgh, we laughed! What the heck here's a couple more photos from Vernazza to tie you over while we knock out another kilometer or so............









We could see the mountain top village of Corniglia during most of our hike down from the Bar Gabbiano, yes thankfully this portion of the trail was mostly level and downhill. The sights of the flourishing vineyards and the deep blue waters never grew old. We would stop occasionally on the narrow path to allow other hikers heading for Monterosso to pass, I would make their day by saying it was all downhill from the bar for them, oops except for the long uphill part! The large olive groves really amazed us, especially my wife. Not sure of the olive harvest season, but there were large mesh sheets under all of the trees, some neatly rolled and tied and others blanketing the entire olive forest floor, cool! At one bend in the trail we found two young men harvesting small black olives, one was high in the tree shaking branches while the other gently wacked the branches with a 12 foot pole! My wife asked if she could help pick up the little gems that escaped the mesh blanket and they smiled and said sure! After she worked the fields a while we said ciao, and they responded with grazie mother! She enjoyed that, nibbling at a couple of the bitter olives she palmed! As we covered ground we noticed the distinct difference between this village and the others, it is set beautifully on a hilltop and does not have coastal access, surrounded by high cliffs on three sides, however there was a side trail that led down to a nice looking rocky beach, too far for us to try this day, of course we said, next time!!













The trail head exited at a roadway lined with cars, it was Sunday and everyone was in church. Once in town we noticed that the cobble stone alleys were a bit tighter than what we had seen thus far. We walked curiously around and found the town piazza punctuated by the always present house of worship, the Oratorio di Santa Caterina (ca 18th century, looks much older!) Unfortunately we did not happen upon the Church of San Pietro (ca. 13th century, now that's old!), NEXT TIME! All of the churches we visited on this trip were absolutely beautiful and extremely welcoming. We walked around the small quaint village and poked our heads into various shops, tempted to buy things, but then again I'd have to carry it!





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We were becoming mindful of the time knowing we had 2 more villages to visit, the sun was now at our back, so off we went to find our trail.....uh no trail....STAIRS! HUNDREDS OF THEM!! I have seen different numbers in print, but I believe the 33 flights and 377 steps sounds pretty accurate! Unfortunately, the trail between Corniglia and the last two villages is closed this time of year for maintenance projects, so we were forced to ride the train....thank you Jesus!

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After the 15 minute stairmaster workout we were soon on a very short train ride to the village of Manarola. We were getting pretty good with negotiating the narrow streets of these unfamiliar towns when we entered, these small villages are hard to get lost in. The streets of this tiny fishing village are unique because they are lined with dozens and dozens of small colorful wooden fishing boats. We were still very high up on the Manarola hillside and I couldn't imagine how they coordinated getting these boats to the water. Once at the charming port we noticed a small crane that raises and lowers many of these boats each day, cool. I would have loved to had seen it in action, NEXT TIME!

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The village had a fair amount of people milling around this day, but it was not what I would call crowded. Many people were enjoying the warm Sunday afternoon by sunning themselves on the rocks that line the small port. Everyone with a nice bottle of wine it seemed. We found a very nice spot to sit for a while and people watch, then another tourist offered to take our photo, thank you so much! I can't really describe in words what it felt like to be here, but it was....perhaps exactly what I had hoped we would experience? I mean... it was everything I was hoping for! It was a beautiful day, in a beautiful village and I am lost for words.

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We had been hiking for hours and we knew we had to eat something. We walked back to the center of the port, thinking don't settle on the first touristy looking restaurant, but Ristorante Marina Piccola smack dab in the center called our name! The waitress, who could have been the sister of Giada De Laurnentiis (of Food Network fame), greeted us nicely and seated us front row center to enjoy one of the best sunset dinners we have ever experienced. I can't remember what we ate, but we enjoyed the most wonderful food in the most laid back environment that is so common here, dining here is a slow wonderful experience, that really is the way dining should be ,right!. We started with a half bottle of Chianti and then ordered a second! We watched older people romantically walking hand in hand and watched youngsters run the piazza as the sun set low on the horizon. It was the perfect hike, to the perfect little fishing village, to the perfect restaurant, to experience the absolute perfect sunset that we have seen in a long long time.

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Time had really flow by, it was dark, so we said ciao to Giada's sister and quickly moved through the golden lit street to the train station at the top of Manarola. The train rides between the villages are very timely and extremely quick. We soon arrived to the fifth village of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiora! WE MADE IT! This was an outstanding village, however my only negative is that we didn't see the village in the day light, NEXT TIME! Our daughter had spent a day here on her trip and shared amazing photos which encouraged us to visit the region. Even in the darkness we saw the draw of this quaint sea port. Like the other villages the incredibly warn cobblestoned streets and narrow alleys are ancient and outstanding, even at night! We felt completely safe navigating the dimly lit corridors and walking the quiet pedestrian free waterfront. We shopped and I bought my only shirt of the trip here, then GILATO! We found a local pub with wifi and chilled out for a while. I sent photos home from our day with immediate responses of "I hate you guys!" We toured as much as we could see in town then made our way back to Monterossa. On our train ride back we sat next to the father and son and had another laugh, Aaarrrrrrgh! OUTSTANDING DAY!

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To be continued, ciao!

Beerman,

My mom is very sick in the hospital in Duke. I have been with her most of the time. Your reports bring back some very happy memories of my trip.

The one regret (maybe not) was there was a small landslide the week before I got there and for safety reason the trail was closed. So... I never got to make the hike you guys were able to enjoy. Maybe Next Time! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Keep the stories and pics coming.

Hey Tom, sorry to hear about your mom, hope all is well. Next time you visit the Cinque you should try the hike. We want to do it again with the portion we missed, I believe it is more coastal from photos we've seen. As you have said, it is an incredible place! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />