Cinque Terre & the Mediterranean Sun

Cinque Terre = 5 towns nestled away on the mediterranean coast of Italy. Gorgeous regardless of the season. Definitely worth going to.

From Camucia this meant 3-4 trains, and about 4 hours of travelling. Since we wanted to make the most of every day we planned to wake up early Friday morning and catch an 8am train. Torn between walking down to the train station and catching a last minute bus, we waited long enough to see if the bus was even coming. Buses in Italy seem to be rather unreliable and unpredictable. When it became apparent that the bus was either excessively late or not coming at all, we glanced at our watches and turned to RUN down the hill to Camucia. I am so not a runner. But, we needed to catch that 8am train, so I ran anyways. My muscles had warned me of the consequences last weekend when we walked up and down that very hill. Clearly I hadn't learned my lesson.

We still missed the train. By two minutes.

The next adventure was catching the last train to Monterosso, the northern-most town of Cinque Terre. The fine print that we hadn't read upon purchasing our ticket, was that this train was an inter-city train. NOT a regional train. The difference, you may ask? Intercity trains are faster and more expensive. Oops. We ended up paying the supplement on-board... at least we were not fined.

One of the biggest attractions of Cinque Terre is the walking paths between each town. These walking paths were the reason we planned to spend two days in Cinque Terre. What we did not know is that there had been landslides, and most of the paths were closed. The only other way between each town was by train. Trains that only took 3-7 minutes each. Darn.

The sight of the beautiful blue Mediterranean made it all worth it. Oh the crisp smell of saltwater, the warm unrelenting sun...

Highlights of each town:

Monterosso

A beautiful, wide, sandy beach. I can see this being one of the biggest tourist attractions in the heat of summer.

Vernazza

This is where we had booked a room to stay the night. Had we done the walking path, it would have taken us 2 hours to get here from Monterosso. Instead we spent those hours sitting on rocks near the water, watching the sun set into the Mediterranean.

Other highlights of Vernazza: Wine and cheese appetizers in our cute little apartment and a typical Cinque Terre seafood dinner.

Corniglia

Waking up the next morning, my muscles quickly reminded me that I am so not a runner. Good thing those walking paths were closed and we had no choice but to take the train... oh darn. Corniglia is the least coastal in the sense that it is nestled highest into the cliffs. Easy to access by the cliffside stairs though, I might add. Stairs are not so much fun when you're already sore. Biggest highlight of Corniglia was the seafood pasta we ate for lunch. Penne with Crab Meat. YUM! We also spent about 40 minutes basking in the sun while we waited for the next train. The heat was unbelievable considering it is only February.

Manarola

Manarola had the cutest little cove, with the most inviting turquoise water. Oh how I wished it was summer and that I had my swimsuit. As hot as it was this weekend, it wasn't swimming hot yet. Just below the surface of the water we could see sea urchins on the rocks! I've always wanted a sea urchin as a pet!

Riomaggiore

The last of the five towns, and the only town accessible to us by a walking path. Via Dell'Amore. Only twenty minutes, and by far the easiest walk (as we've been told). Called the "Lover's Path", along the walk there were many spots covered in locks. Not locks as in blocked off paths, but locks as in the symbol of everlasting love. Quite common in Italy, romantic locations are often covered in locks from couples who have visited and "locked in their love." The other highlight of Riomaggiore was the beach. Not a wide sandy beach like Monterosso, but a rocky beach. Regardless, we had time to take off our shoes and socks and feel the crisp water on our feet.