Day 18 – Cinque Terre (part 1)

This morning Tavis and I slept in until 7:30! We decided to sneak out and buy groceries so we could eat before beginning our hike. We walked up to the amazing pizza place that we ate at last night and Tavis had his coffee. Then we walked up to the local grocery store. It didn’t open until 8:00 so we had about 10 minutes to explore the area. We walked up the hill and found an enormous plant that looked like aloe vera but it was bigger than me! We decided to wait at the store for it to open and we ended up buying grapes, yogurt, milk, and a yummy cereal that looked like it had substance. When we got back to the apartment we woke up the kids and everyone ate. We then packed our bathing suits and began our hike down to the train station.

We got a little lost on our way but thanks to the locals we found our way. We were told to purchase our Cinque Terre cards at a tobacci store but when we arrived there was a note on the door saying we had to get them at the train station. We walked to the local train station and the train was pulling up so we decided to jump on and purchase the day pass online. Tavis had trouble with the checkout so we decided to purchase the tickets at the main train station. We met a guy from Boston who is on a tour and studying in Italy for 4 months. He was with his tour guide. When we reached La Spezia Centrale we found the ticket office and decided to buy 2 day passes so we wouldn’t have to worry about it tomorrow.

When we went to catch our train to the Cinque Terre it was packed! I don’t mean all of the seats were taken, I mean we had to squeeze just to fit in the door. I was surprised they didn’t have people pushers standing by. We happened to choose the same car that our Boston friend was on! He told us he could make room for us up top if we could squeeze through the crowd by the door. Of course Ari and Ayva managed to make their way through but Addison and I took a bit more time and Tavis was stuck by the door. By the time I reached Ari, he had already taken a seat from one of the girls in the group and was telling her and her friends all about his trip so far. That boy never has trouble making friends! They got off at the stop before us but we did manage to cross paths again.

The train ride was actually quite beautiful once we made it through the tunnels and wound our way along the coast. The water was the same colour as the lakes in Switzerland. As we stopped at each town, the crowd began to thin and eventually we all had seats together.

Monterosso (The furthest of the villages)

When we arrived in Monterosso almost everyone got off the train. We hung around a bit to let the masses clear. Then we made our way down to the village and toward the boardwalk. There was a huge beach that spanned the entire length of the bay. It was lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas. This is apparently the nicest beach but 90% of it requires a fee to use. We walked along the beach a bit then took a short detour through the village. We then decided to begin our hike to Vernazza. We didn’t really research this hike too much beyond the fact that we could walk the trail… Maybe we should have done a bit more research before this point. Although beautiful, it was basically straight up the mountain along the oceanside.

The views were stunning! However, I also took note of the very narrow path, uneven stairs, and nothing stopping a person from falling down the cliff. It was unlike anything you would find in Canada… and we even paid to walk this trail! The kids did an amazing job despite the insanely steep incline, treacherous heat, and apparent lack of water. We had 4 large water bottles, a huge tea (for me), and an extra 2 litres of water as backup. About an hour and a half into our hike we had to divvy up the extra water. Ayva was having difficulty breathing and everyone’s legs were shaking. But we powered through. We kept a steady pace and when we passed the Boston group going the other way (mostly downhill for them) they were impressed with our timing. We passed quite a few families along the way.

Vernazza (village 4 of 5)

When the village of Vernazza was in site we all felt a bit relieved. We slowly made our way down to the sea and the first thing we saw at the bottom was the most amazing water fountain ever! Actually it was a dumpy like faucet that looked quite sketchy but when a few people informed us it was drinking water (we needed a second opinion) we were beyond excited to see it. However, we didn’t have time to fill the water bottles yet because the sea was calling our name. Before we had a chance to find out if it was safe to swim, Ari and Ayva were already jumping off the dock swimming with a few others who had the same idea. We all took a turn swimming, being careful to get out every time a ferry pulled up. After 30 minutes we all felt rejuvenated… except Addison who did not want to get his bathing suit on behind a towel in the middle of a crowded boardwalk. We showered off with the free hose that was just off the beach. We then filled our water bottles and purchased some focaccia pizza slices that we ate on some stairs just off the main street.

With our bellies full, we made our way up the street and through some winding alleys to the train station where we decided to continue our voyage to the next village. While waiting for the train I decided to do a little more reading about the Cinque Terre. Apparently the hike we just did was of course the most difficult and we did it backwards! And we weren’t supposed to be jumping off the dock at the marina. Oops! However, I did read about a less busy beach in Corniglia that we could check out if we wanted.

Corniglia (Village 3 of 5)

It was a short train ride to Corniglia. But it didn’t take long to see why it was less populated. We looked straight up the hill to the village that sat at the peak. In order to get to the beach we had to hike al the way up, then walk through the village, and down the other side all the way to the water. The path was long and winding with lots of steps. We had to take a bit of a breather about 3/4 the way up. Just when you think you are at the top you have another few flights to go. Eventually we did make it to the top, across the street, and up another hill along a path that took us to the church. Just outside the church was another water fountain. We again took a break to guzzle our water and fill up the bottles. We then toured the church which was not as prominent as the past ones we’ve seen, but still more impressive than anything at home.

The streets of Corniglia and just narrow little alleys between old buildings and seemed not to have any symmetry at all. The rows of building wound up and down the hillside. We got a bit lost along our journey but eventually saw signs that pointed to the marina. We got our first glimpse of the beach from a wrong turn and it looked so beautiful we all agreed it was worth the trek down and back up. We eventually fumbled our way down past the caution sign and made our way along hot rocks and slippery areas where had to go through the water to get the shade for Tavis. Ari decided just to swim so the rest of us were stuck carrying the bags. It was such a beautiful spot that we stayed for several hours. Ari built his own rock towers next to ones that were already built. He and Ayva explored a few caves and found a few large crabs. Finally just before 5:00 we decided it was time to make our way home.

We carefully made our way through the shallow water along the slippery rocks, over the hot rocks, around the topless women, past the caution sign, and back to the marina where there was a shower for us to rinse our feet (We were almost dry at this point). We then hiked all the way up the mountain, made a few wrong turns through the village, and eventually made our way back down the other side to the train station. We took the train back to La Spezia and a bus to the apartment. We had a little trouble finding the right bus because some drivers are very rude.

We made it home before 6:00 and everyone had a shower. We then through in a load of laundry in the tiniest washing machine I’ve ever seen. We had to do 2 loads for our bathing suits and towels. Then we caught a bus down into La Spezia. The bus was actually a fancy 15 passenger van! When we got down town in was 8:00 and we discovered the busses stop running at 9:00. We walked along the water and down main street. We couldn’t find any restaurants under 20 euros/person so we got on a bus and went directly home just in time to order pizza at our favourite bakery down the street. For 12 euros we had a huge meat pizza, small margarita pizza, 8 buns, and a huge pie of something they called “La Spezia Special”. Tavis tipped her 2 euros and she refused so he had to just leave it on the counter. What a nice place!

Now everyone is in bed, our clothes are drying on a rack and I am going to bed too. A long day but what a great one. Tomorrow we we check out the other two villages and this time we are going to do the easy hike down from Manarola to Corniglia. Tomorrow night we go to Rome.