Our plan today is to hike two of the trails connecting the five towns of Cinque Terre. It’s actually hard to believe that we are in the Italian Riviera. It sounds so exotic and romantic so let’s go for a hike. I am sure romance and hiking go together for everyone. In the morning, our first hike is from Vernazza back to Monterosso al Mare, the town in which we are staying. Then, later in the afternoon, we plan to hike Riomaggiore to Manarola, the shortest of the hikes at 0.86 miles. Because our weather app tells us the temperature is in the upper 70’s today, we decide to sleep in an extra 1/2 hour. The breakfast was very delightful: pastries (very chocolaty rich), cheese omelette (with bacon!). Easily the best breakfast, yet. However, it was slow. We just missed the first train, and therefore must wait another 40 minutes. That’s ok. It’s an upper 70’s day right? Waiting for the train, both Amber and I begin to feel uncomfortably hot. She checks the weather app again, and it still reads upper 70’s as the high. However, with the sun and humidity, it feels much, much warmer. I am already drenched from sweat.
As we get off the train, we discover that Vernazza is a beautiful town. I look forward later coming back and exploring. The first part of the hike is straight up. It’s beginning to seem as if all hikes begin straight up. Maybe we choose hikes poorly. According to the travel book our direction on the trail is the easier route. If this is the easier route, the ascent from the other direction must be atrocious. This is steep, with Amber’s favorite (sarcasm here), stairs carved out of the rocks. The trail is also crowded, but not as crowded as the Mist Trail in Yosemite. As we hike, we discover pretty quickly that the trail is worth it. The views of the coastline, the colorful towns, and the rich blue ocean are fantastic. After ascending to the first crest, the hike is much better. It is still up and down, but more gradual and more level. The entire trail from Vernazza to Monterosso took us 2 hours to hike 2.5 miles. As we descend back into Monterosso, I am thankful for the direction we hiked. This descent down would be incredibly difficult hiking up. Yes, we did go the relatively easier way.
We find a restaurant for lunch right in the middle of the old town square. Sadly, the food turned out average and the service slow. This does not matter much as I chug down a powerade and rest.
Later in the afternoon, after we took a break, Amber and I traveled by train to Riomaggiore. This section of the trail is called Lover’s Lane. It’s a more gentle stroll along the coast. Our plan was to hike this section from Riomaggiore to Manaralo later in the evening to avoid the heat. This would give us an opportunity to shop and explore Riomaggiore as each town has its own charm and character. So far, we have really enjoyed both Monterosso and Vernazza. However, our plan changed. Neither Amber nor I were too impressed with Riomaggiore. Therefore, after some gelato and a quick look at the marina, we begin our hike along “Lover’s Lane.” Back in 2012, a mudslide wiped out this shorter section. It was not reopened until 2024. Today, there is a 10 Euro price. I am sure this is to offset the construction cost. However, this trail is very nice. It’s more like a stroll than a hike. Plus, there was an extremely pleasant breeze off the ocean taking away the heat of the day. As a hike, this trail was not difficult at all. It was lovely with some great views of ocean waves crashing upon the rocky cliff. Easily a stroll you would enjoy with a loved one close.
After arriving in Manarola, Amber had read in the travel book about a restaurant, a bit higher up with great ocean views. Apparently, Amber did not think our hike was hard enough. I would guess we climbed the equivalent of 10 flights of stairs up the side of this town to get to the restaurant. Maybe she likes stairs after all. Yes, the views were very nice and the food was good. We send pictures of my shrimp to the boys because their eyes were staring back at me. Both boys were disgusted. Manarola is a cute town, with a bit less crowd. Therefore, we shop and explore before returning to our hotel. However, we decided to end our night a bit earlier, the air conditioning was calling. Plus, this allowed us to get some rest for the next morning hike!!!