Cinque Terre: three days in the five lands

Hike from Monterosso to Vernazza

Vernazza

Monterosso

Ciao! I'm writing to you on a train to Rome! I can't believe it has only been a little over a week and we have already been to three different countries. We just left Cinque Terre, which was probably the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Cinque Terre translates to five lands in Italian. It has this name because Cinque Terre is a national forest that has five small towns throughout it. We stayed in the only hostel we could find with availability out of all of the towns, Riomaggiore. Our hostel was far from ideal. Online reviews called it "cozy," but in reality is was a rundown two bedroom apartment with ten beds crammed into it. Even though the hostel was awful, it only gave us more incentive to get out and explore the Italian Riviera.

Since we arrived in the late morning, we had plenty of time to start our adventure the first day. We took a train to the farthest town out, Monterosso, and decided to take the hike all the way to the next town, Vernazza. Monterosso was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the view from the hike. The hike started with seemingly never ending stone stairs that climbed up the side of the mountain. Whenever we passed hikers coming down the trail we had to find little cubbies on the side of the path because the stairs were too narrow for more than one person at a time. Luckily, it was a little overcast that day (still very warm though) so the hike wasn't too exhausting.

Once the stairs came to an end and we hit the regular trail, the view was unbelievable. Aside from being surrounded by tiny local vineyards, naturally growing flowers, bamboo, and a variety of trees, we had a full view of the town below. From the mountain we could see all the way from the colorful little shops and homes below to the green mountains across from us. In addition, we could see the gentle waves lapping up into the coves and all the way to shore. I wish there was a better way to describe how breathtaking the view was, but I think it is somewhere you have to visit to understand.

Eventually, the hike led us down into Vernazza, which was smaller than Monterosso. There we relaxed with some gelato, wandered the side streets, and eventually had a delicious pizza dinner. Danny tried an Italian beer and I had a local wine, Cinque Terre D.O.C. We then stumbled upon a little cove where I collected beach glass and then we sat on the rocks and watched the sea. We ended the evening over even more vino at Giammi Caffe`, which was near our hostel.

The next day was spent further exploring Monterosso. We bought a few postcards, had lunch, and laid out on the beach. There was a group of rocks that wasn't too far from shore that Danny and I swam out to. It was an unforgettable moment, sitting on the rocks in the middle of the Mediterranean, looking out towards the mountains and Monterosso. After we got back to Riomaggiore, we walked around the Marina, shared another half liter of wine and bruschetta at Giammi Caffe`, and then made our own dinner in our hostel. Early this morning we caught the train out of Cinque Terre and now we are only minutes from Rome!