Cinque Terre day one

16/6/2011

Today we visited Monterosso’ Manarola, and Riomaggiore in 3 of the 5 villages that make up the Cinque Terre. Literally, translated as ‘the Five earths’, the Cinque Terre is five small, old coastal villages built into the cliffs along hillsides in the province of La Sepzia in the Liguria region of Italy. They are difficult to access by car, but you can hike between each town.
The Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage Sit and is very beautiful.
We choose the walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola as this one was the shortest at only 30mins. This path is called the Via Dell’Amore (“Lovers Walk”). The other picturesque trails wind along the shore, varying in nature and difficulty from an easy stroll to a rough and physically challenging hike and take about 5 hrs to do the lot in one hit.
The marinas at most of the towns have wonderful deep swimming holes that make a welcome reprieve for those doing the full hikes. We were not doing much hiking but as it was such a hot day we jumped in anyway.
We decided to have a late lunch and no tea. We found a lovely restaurant under a cover from the sun and overlooking the ocean. We ordered a bottle of local wine from the grape vines around the hills and a seafood risotto. We did not finish here until later in the afternoon as we soaked in the warmth of the day, the views, the lovely food, and people watched. It was all just peeeerfect.
When we did move on it was by train again to the village of Monterosso. (The train winds its way through tunnels to the different villages). We had a swim here and sat in the sun for a bit, then wondered around the streets before catching the train to Levanto and our B&B.
It had been a wonderful day and one we will really remember.
Tomorrow we do the other villages by the Ferry.