On Friday I took a day trip to the region of Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre, or “The Five Lands”, is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park. This day trip was one full of hiking! There are numerous trails connecting the five villages and we chose to walk along the one boarding the coastline. The trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola is a short one, and took only about 25 minutes. Due to unsafe walking conditions the trail from Manarola to Corniglia was closed off so we hoped on the local train, which connects the two towns. Corniglia is perched high above the sea and is surrounded on three sides by many picturesque vineyards and terraces, while the fourth side hurtles steeply down to the waters below. The tiny village has houses stretching along the main road where you can see the colorful homes. Next we headed off towards the town of Vernazza. The town is home to a small harbor with fishing boats. Along the winding streets we found a small pizzeria to eat some delicious pesto pizza. After a casual lunch we set off back on the trail towards the last town, Monterosso al Mare. This particular hike was tough and required climbing stone stairs, walking along dirt paths, and along the edge of cliffs. The hike provided breathtaking views of the cliffs and water below. When the town came into sight, the beach at Monterosso ran along most of the coastline with the houses boarding up along next to it. We exited the path after about 2 hours of hiking. Exhaustion had set in so we stumbled towards the beach and proceeded to take a nap while lying on the sandy beach. It was a great day of hiking and taking in the beautiful views, I hope to come back and explore more of the 5 towns and the paths that connect them.
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