174. Cinqueterre

Where: Italy
When: May 15-18, 2015
With: Mom, Bobby & Ashley

After seeing the cities of Rome and Florence, we were all a bit museum-ed out. We were ready for some nature, ocean, and landscape. We were also approaching the climactic day of our trip, the main purpose of this vacation: Mom's 60th birthday. So luckily, the next stop on our trip was the area known as Cinqueterre. 

Cinqueterre in Italian means "five lands". This was the name given to the five villages that hide just miles from each other among the mountains and cliffs of the northwestern Italian coastline. Until only the last century, reaching these villages was near impossible. But that isolation has preserved a charm and made each one subtly unique today.  

Each village is now connected by a speedy little train that cuts through the mountains and by a coastal pathway along the high cliffs. Of course, this means that hoards of tourists have found the magic of these villages as they unload in droves from their cruise ships. However, they are still considered quaint by Italian standards and we were excited to see them.

It was a fairly easy train ride from Florence to Cinqueterre with a quick changeover in Pisa. It was an especially entertaining ride on the second leg as we were treated to our own little vestibule on the train.

I was slightly disappointed as we rode through the countryside as rain poured down and clouds covered most of what I imagined was beautiful scenery. This was also particularly disheartening as we headed to what was meant to be the warm, beachy leg of our trip. However, as we approached the coastline, we entered a long dark tunnel. When we emerged on the other side, the entire train gave an audible gasp at the sudden appearance of large, rocky mountains crashing into a blue sea. While it was still cloudy, quick flashes of this beautiful view injected everyone aboard with a new energy.

When the train finally pulled into Monterosso, the northernmost of the five towns, we could already see the masses of people wandering around. We joined with the herd and followed it through a tunnel in the mountain that led from the train station to the "old" part of town. And what a sight it was. Old Monterosso was beautiful. 

We headed to our hotel to drop off our bags and we're warmly greeted by our host with fresh-made lemonade and cookies. We were already appreciating the smaller town feel.

Monterosso is unique for having the main beaches of the Cinqueterre area and is closed in on all sides by high, vineyard-covered mountains. A piazza sits at the base of the town from which two main roads climb uphill with multiple alleyways criss-crossing between them. And that is pretty much all there was to our orientation to the town. Simple and amazing. 

The sea was angry that day, my friends, as we wandered out along the shoreline after eating lunch. Normally, a boat will take sightseers along the coastline to each of the five villages, but the crashing waves meant that no one was out on the water that day. The scene was no less beautiful though. 

Some family photos in the strong winds.

We headed out along the pier that juts out from the mountain that divides Monterosso in two. From this point, we could see north back to the "new" town and train station, in between ducking from the splash of the crashing waves. 

The view to the south was more interesting though, as this viewpoint is the only spot on land you can see all five "terres" at once. Closest to the left, behind the rock, is Vernazza; up on the hill in the middle is Corniglia; to the right of that (but a cloud shadow makes the colors hard to see) is Manarola; and at the end, with just a sliver of buildings showing, is Riomaggiore. Amazing how close they are to each other, and yet remained so isolated for so long.

Two windy trails lead up the north and south side of the Monterosso mountain, and with no museums or sites to run to, we decided to hike them. First, we started up the northern path, but only to find that it was closed off. It was still really pretty though, giving us views of an old church and the remains of a German World War II lookout point. 

We walked back towards the old town where the entrance to the southern pathway began. This one was luckily not closed and had lots of great sites along the way. The first was a statue of Saint Francis and his dog. I love how he looks to be showing his dog the coastline of Cinqueterre.

The five "lands". 

The trail was paved and only moderately inclined, so a lovely hike. It was beautiful to see all the vineyards surrounding us. 

At the top of the hike was a cemetery unlike any I've ever seen. Aside from the stunning views of ocean and vineyards, the cemetery was more like a mausoleum. Actual photos of the deceased were stamped on the front of each tomb making every one very personal and real. And despite the stark, white marble of the tombs, each and every one was adorned with brightly colored fresh flowers. Clearly a strong heritage of honoring the ancestors. It was beautiful.

On our way back down, we stopped inside this lovely little striped church. It was all wood and super peaceful inside, with the music of monks chanting and echoing off the walls.  

That night, we ate dinner with a view of the ocean and enjoyed a stroll through the streets, much quieter without the hordes of tourists around. 

The next day, the plan was to spend the day hiking the coastal trail that connects all five villages. We started out beautifully with these views back on Monterosso. 

However, another tourist coming off the trail warned us that it was packed. The wait to get a pass to hike was an hour long, and people were just standing around with nowhere to move. We decided that instead of starting out in the north-to-south direction, we would go to the train station, ride to the first village (Riomaggiore) and then hike south-to-north back to Monterosso. 

The train ride to Riomaggiore takes only 20 minutes from Monterosso. Funny, since the hike would take about 6 hours. The characteristic that defines Riomaggiore in the five towns is its "working" culture. This basically equates to "not as scenic and less touristy". While this may have been true by comparison, I still found it really beautiful. 

To start, they had lots of great murals on their town walls, commemorating the work that went into making this village. Fishing, winemaking and farming were represented as we climbed the everlasting switchbacks to the top of the town from the train station. 

At the top of the mountain that splits Riomaggiore in two, we could see the train station way down below, and the beautiful crashing waves behind it. From the other side, we could see Riomaggiore's harbor sticking out from the side of the village. 

Once we reached the top of the mountain, we had the full view of Riomaggiore, winding its way through the mountains. Riomaggiore was named for the "greater river" which cuts this valley in two. Now it looks like the houses themselves are the river. 

At that moment, the weather took a turn for the worst, and we had to duck into this little church to escape the downpour. It was quite a peaceful way to enjoy the scene. 

 Sadly the rain didn't stop, and the day took an unexpected detour. We headed straight for the train station to keep moving our way through the villages (unfortunately the hike between Riomaggiore and the next town of Manarola was closed). We waited for about 35 minutes (the trains are supposed to come fairly frequently) and when the train finally arrived, we fought off crowds to get on board and head to the next town. However, just as the doors shut, we learned we were on the express train...right back to Monterosso. With nothing to do but sit and journey back to where we'd just come from, we decided it was a sign to put on some dry clothes and grab lunch. 

After lunch, feeling a bit more rejuvenated, we went back to where it all started - the trailhead to hike from Monterosso south to Vernazza. 

While the sun was pretty hot in the sky, the trails had cleared out of tourists significantly, allowing us to move freely. Not that it was much help - much of the start of this 2 hour hike contained high steps straight on up the mountain. At least the vineyards around us were pretty to distract from the sweatiness. 

All moaning aside, the hike was stunning. With the sea to our right and the vineyards to our left, it was just breathtaking (or maybe that was all the stairs). For two hours we hiked along enjoying this scenery.  

The smells were also amazing. There was an extremely fragrant flower wafting over the trail the whole way. What it was, I do not know, but it told me that I was in some sort of paradise. 

A funny occurrence on the trail is passing all the tourists that are hiking the opposite way. There were many breathless discussions of how long everyone had come and how much further there was to go. The further along we went, the more disgruntled our passing friends appeared when we told them just how much longer it was. In fact, one Canadian man stated "You Americans, and your truthfulness. Can't you let me hike along in ignorant bliss?"

Eventually, though, we turned a corner, and poking out of the coastline was the village of Vernazza. Like a little gem. 

Mom was such a trooper. This was, after all, her last day in her 50s and she kept right on up with the rest of us. But I think the view of the town made her very happy anyway.

Once we knew the end was in sight (or maybe because now we were going downhill), everything seemed much easier. 

And at last, the vineyards gave way to buildings, and we were seamlessly walking the back alleyways of Vernazza.

 The town of Vernazza is usually heralded as the most picturesque of the five villages. With a big, open town square pouring into the harbor and ocean, I can concur it was gorgeous. 

It was pretty close to the end of the day, so we decided to head back only having seen 3 of the 5 "terres". Despite the two hours it took to get to Vernazza, it only took four minutes to get back by train. When we got home, we all showered and relaxed up on the roof of our hotel. We were slightly concerned mom wasn't going to make it to her 60th birthday. 

Luckily, she did, but next day, everyone was a little bit pooped from the hike the day before. So for Mom's birthday, she wanted a nice easy hike, a picnic, and a pretty view to enjoy it with. Now we should have realized, based on the mountains that surrounded us, that no "easy" hike would result in a nice view. But we trusted the guy at the front desk when he told us about a one-hour hike to a monastery that "wasn't too hard" and afforded great views. We looked so enthusiastic when we set off.

Long story short, after an hour of hiking straight uphill on even bigger steps than the day before, but with none of the views, we weren't even halfway to the top. So we had to pull over onto the side of a service road and picnic in the middle of nowhere. At least there was champagne and cheese. And pesto, amazing pesto.

After filling up and sitting in the shade a bit, we tried to continue on. But after another 45 minutes of hiking with no end in sight, we decided to call it. This was our lasting view before we headed back down the mountain. 

Mom was pretty much done with hiking at that point, so we spent the rest of the day relaxing. Ashley and I took a dip in the Adriatic Sea, and we drank wine on the rooftop. To end the night, we convinced Mom to do a little more climbing up to a great restaurant overlooking the water for a birthday dinner. 

A long day ended well with a great birthday dinner. 

 Love you, Mama! Happy 60th!

While I only got to visit three of the five Cinqueterre villages, I still thoroughly enjoyed this place. I would very happily go back to see the other two and spend more time in each. And that hike? I'm totally coming for you next time.