Cinque Terre
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| Vernazza, one of the Cinque Terre villages |
As mentioned in the last post, we were fortunate to have been offered an apartment in Levanto, a 5-minute train trip away from the Cinque Terre villages (literally translates as the Five Lands), when all around the region places were full for the summer. On our arrival into town, Paola the hotel owner, left her busy little hotel behind, hopped on to her scooter and zipped away leaving us to follow her to her rental apartment. This apartment is where she used to live when newly married pre-children, she explained to us as she showed us around but now it’s rented out to tourists. Paola’s parents live in the apartment next door and we were introduced to the kindly mama.
The place was perfect for our 5 day stay, although in the end we wished we could have stayed longer, but it was fully booked. A one-bedroom flat with separate kitchen, lounge room and bathroom (by the by, what’s with all the bidets in Italy and who uses them these days?) on the 4th floor of an apartment block in the centre of town that overlooked gardens below and a 3-minute walk to the beach – fantastic! It felt as though we were going to be living like locals.
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| A light Levanto lunch |
Levanto is a much larger town than any of the five Cinque Terre villages, and proved to be a great base. It’s attractive in its own right with colourful painted facades in trompe l’oeil (the painting technique that makes something look three-dimensional). Levanto has a long gravel and black sandy beach where, although constantly crowded, we still managed to find space to spread out two beach towels side-by-side – that’s a big accomplishment on a tightly packed Italian beach. For some meals, we dined on fresh figs, sweet golden peaches, Italian cheeses, prosciutto and Toscano ham with bread whilst sitting on our balcony after a swim. What a life!
Stepping outside the apartment, we were metres away from shops, restaurants, gelaterias, bars, cafes and pizzerias with the train station a 10-15 minute walk away. The Cinque Terre villages – Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – don’t allow access into their centres by car, so being close to the train station was handy.
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| Street in Levanto at siesta time, with the Appenines in the background |
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| Max in his Italian straw hat on Levanto's waterfront |
We were looking forward to cereal for breakfast which we hadn’t eaten in quite a while, and so we went grocery shopping. Cereal is not a customary part of the Italian breakfast regime, but I was missing it after the same choices that we’d had for weeks on end in Greece and Italy - bread, jam, coffee, occasionally cheese and cold cuts. In Italy, Italian croissants (always filled with custard – puke! - please leave the croissants to the French) or pastries (always filled with custard, not again!). Unlike Max, I couldn’t face slices of nitrate for breakfast – let’s leave that for lunch.
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| Corniglia's colourful homes sit high on the cliff Below, vines and fruit trees on terraces around Corniglia |
On our first morning we discovered there were no bowls for cereal in the apartment. I knocked on mama’s and papa’s next door apartment. He arrived in his summer pyjamas (oops, at 8.30 am I’d woken him up) and he began rifling through the kitchen cupboards and drawers. Holding the cereal box in one hand and making a bowl shape with my other whilst imitating eating he starts to narrow down the choices – spoon, side plate, stainless steel cooking pot. Gosh, I must be shocking at charades – failed Non-Verbal Communication 101.
Max says “for soup”. Papa holds out a china cup on a saucer. Hmm, I’m thinking that should fit about 2 tablespoons of cereal flakes and 6 sultanas. “Ohh, no”, I say, shaking my head, “that’s a coffee cup”. “N-o-o-o, this is not for coffee”, he says reaching up to the overhead cabinet and bringing down a tiny espresso cup “ …THIS is a coffee cup”. Okay, we’re in Italy, I should have figured. Anyway, mama went shopping that day and there sitting on the kitchen table on our return that evening were 4 Goldilocks-sized patterned bowls –bigger than a teacup and smaller than a saucepan – that were just right.
We were here to visit the colourful little UNESCO-heritage Cinque Terre villages so we decided to see them first by ferryboat before tackling the coastal Blue Trail (the ‘Sentiero Azzuro’) that connects all five villages. In this way we got a good clear view of all of them from the water and would better appreciate the sights before commencing the hot sweaty job of hiking.
The pretty villages cascade down the rocks to the water’s edge or otherwise sit clinging like barnacles to cliff faces, with the Ligurian Appenines curtaining the surrounding background. Parts of hillslopes are farmed terraces and a railway track that passes through mountain tunnels links all the coastal towns and villages.
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| Manarola spills down to the rocky water's edge |
The weather was extremely hot and humid and we wished we’d taken our bathers (swimming costumes for non-Sandgropers) with us on the boat trip. The brilliant blue of the waters taunted us all day long as we hopped on and off the ferry from one port to the next. Beaches are not as we Aussies would define them. In Manarola, swimmers jump into the sea from huge granite boulders around the bays and were using the rocks and boat ramp for sunbathing. In Vernazza and Riomaggiore a tiny patch of sand at each inlet is the spot for swimmers. Monterosso’s long sandy beachfront was lined with perfect formations of patterned beach umbrellas to one side and a free-for-all crowded strip on the other. But, hey, when the sun’s beating down so hot, who cares as long as you can reach the water.
Tans, tattoos and torsos were in abundance. There were plenty of Euro-poses for photos – it’s a lift and a roll of the shoulder, toss of the hair and sideways sultry look at the camera. I’m still working on mine, it’s taking a bit of practise and I’ve yet to perfect it.  |
| Swimmers take the plunge |
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| Sentinels of umbrellas in military formations |
We enjoyed a delightful seafood lunch at Manarola, found the-Best-Lemon-Granita-Ever in Monterosso made with real lemons from the local orchards, and came home with bottles of limoncino liqueur and pesto, specialties made in the area. The villages are brightly painted and so picturesque, but expect to walk up and down many steps that connect different street levels.
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| Tiny backstreets linked by stairs |
When you’ve seen it all at ground level there’s nowhere else but up after that. So then, after paying our National Park fee it was time to tackle The Hike which we planned to do over 2 days. We would walk from Riomaggiore to Vernazza and then pace it out by completing the final and most difficult leg, Vernazza to Monterosso, the following day so that we wouldn’ t drop dead from heat exhaustion and muscle aches.
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| Spectacular coastline from Via dell'Amore |
The one-kilometre trail connecting Manarola and Corniglia was closed because of a landslide earlier in the year so that meant waiting to catch a train onwards and then an over-crowded bus ride up the steep slope to this colourful hamlet. Corniglia has tall, painted building squished together on tiny hillside streets and micro-sized piazzas. It doesn’t have direct access to the sea by boat as it sits high above the water but its outskirts can be reached by road.
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| Hiking past olive and fig trees |
Hiking from Corniglia to Vernazza, the longest section by distance, took 1 ½ hours to walk the 4 kilometres following the scenic coastline. The narrow trail undulated up, down and around hill sides past grapevines, olive and fruit trees. Yachts could be seen sailing by in the cool waters far below. The humidity and heat were building up as we headed into midday. Vernazza was a very beautiful sight to behold as we approached over the ridge and down the stone steps. Its church bell tower and stone castle towers overlooking the harbour come into view as you near the village.
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| Hiking trail between Vernazza and Monterosso |
A lunch break of pesto pizza on the steps along the main street with other tourists was a welcome and cool respite, and then came time to challenge ourselves. Could we continue knowing that the next section would be difficult and it was afternoon when the sun was at its peak? We asked each other if we were up to it. Both of us felt that we still had plenty of fuel in the tank. As we tend to subtly spur each other on, I don’t think either of us would have given in and admitted that we wouldn’t do it, whether we could or not. Anyway, completing the whole trail in one day would give us extra swimming and relaxation time we reasoned. Good-o, then off we go!
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| The rough track narrows |
It was hot sweaty work, although not as strenuous as we’d expected it to be. Along the way, I was captivated by the numerous and unusual delicate spider webs that stretched like the finest of fine organza miniature trapeze artist nets across wild untamed shrubs. We passed fig and cypress trees, tangled bushes of wild berries and terraces of untended orchards. Apart from buzzing bees, no animal or insect life was visible under the blue cloudless sky but cicadas could be heard loud and clear.
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| Look how high we've climbed! Vernazza in the distance as we look behind us |
We passed hikers coming from the opposite direction (much harder hike this way as it’s more uphill) who looked quite professional with their walking poles whilst others wore only bathers. Some women walked in high heel shoes (? ? confounded by that!), others inappropriately dressed for the heat in synthetic long sleeved tops in the sweat-inducing humidity and yet others wore tiny tops and no hat under the blistering sun.
In the last half kilometre that steeply descended closer towards Monterosso, Max’s knees gave him a hard time and mine were beginning to complain. We slackened the pace considerably as Max tackled the downhill steps slowly and painfully. Once we reached flat ground his knees thankfully settled back to normal. A salt-encrusted layer of Ligurian dust coated us as we re-hydrated at the end of the trail and we celebrated the finish with one more of Monterosso’s icy cold lemon granitas.
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| Monterosso beach |
We thought we’d pull up really sore the next day but surprisingly both of us were in fine form with no aches or pains, apart from a headache on my part. Mission accomplished as well as a tick next to “hike the Cinque Terre” on our mental wishlist of world wonders to see and do. We’ve sunned, swam, hiked and sampled the Cinque Terre delights. Toscano salami and proscuitto with a great tasting Toscano pecorino cheese have been our favourite staples, but no vino. Our bodies needed hydrating after the litres they’d lost up in the Cinque Terre mountains. Both of us would have loved to have explored more hiking trails around this area, many that stretch up through vineyards and to inland villages. As we say to each other, gotta leave something for next time, which is another way of comforting ourselves with the belief that we will return.
Hi, I'm Eva - world traveller, cultural explorer and experience seeker. Together with my husband Max, we've been globetrotting for over 20 years.
I love that last photo of the boats
ReplyDeleteThanks, Terry. This scene with its colour and lines was begging to be captured on film (oh sorry, I mean digital image).
ReplyDelete