The exploration continues

That afternoon, I boarded another train to a spot that has captured my interest for many, many years – the Cinque Terre. Two hours later, as I had stared in awe at the Mediterranean landscape passing my window, I arrived at my home for the next three days – Vernazza. Vernazza is one of the smaller villages in the Cinque Terre – unique lands adjoined by miles and miles of trails – some along the water and some reaching into the mountainsides that surround the towns. The towns are also linked by frequent trains and a ferry system that allows for easy passage from one town to the next in the matter of minutes – fighting the crowds onto the trains was another story. In fact, the biggest downside of the area was simply the crowds – I had heard it described as a Disneyland of sorts. As someone who was coming off of 5 weeks in the countryside, it was indeed a bit of a shock. Queues to get on trains, trains that were standing room only; queues at the pizzeria and the gelatterias and waits of 20 minutes for a proper restaurant. The crowds only forced me to find my only way of retreating – to explore off the beaten track; to turn left while everyone else turned right. This always leads to some interesting and unexpected adventures.

Night one, I checked into my hotel, grabbed a book and a towel and headed for the beach. Little did I know that the beach would actually be a boat landing with a small strip of sand and boulders and bulkheads everywhere. No matter, I was there for the water, not the beach. I wanted to feel the spray of the sea and here the crashing of the waves; I found a cozy nook on a pile of rocks and read and people watched for hours. It never hurts when you have a good book that is capturing your interest (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest). The town appeared to be full of Italians and at the end of the day, I watched locals bringing in their boats and others heading off for sunset cruises. Dinner was a quick bite at a pizzeria which had a framed letter on the wall from the owners of Perche No – an Italian restaurant next to Greenlake – just a mile or so from my house. What a small world; the restaurant had been recommended by the owners at my hotel. Back to my room for a leisurely shower and sleep in a real bed – the first comfortable bed I had had in 5 weeks.

In the morning, I headed to the hotel for their breakfast buffet – a beautiful spread of pastries, cheeses, salamis, granola, fresh fruit yogurt and the most amazing cappuccinos – topped with a thick foamed milk and a beautiful array of flowers – see the picture on their web page as I am still lacking an upload cable. And then I was off for the day – I bought a 2 day Cinque Terre pass – entitling me to free access to the trains, the trails and to buses that covered the outlying areas. I grabbed a train to Corniglia – the next town south and set off to see what I could find. Corniglia is the only of the 5 villages that is set off the sea – a staircase of 365 steps takes you to the village from the train station (or a quick bus). It’s a quaint little town with narrow passages and of course an array of gift shops, cafes and pizzerias. After a bit of wandering, I saw a sign to “al mare” and decided I wanted to see the sea – I had hoped that it might lead to a trail that would take me to another village or the train station. Instead, I descended down several hundred stairs to a dead-end at the sea – another boat launch with rock formations. I laid out the towel and decided to enjoy a more quiet sea spot with my feet dangling into the waves and my book on my lap. As I climbed the stairs back to the village, I remembered my commitment for this to be my quiet day and descended more stairs once again to return to the train station. Soon, I was in Manarola – the smallest of the 5 towns. I grabbed a beautiful slice of pizza with onions, olives and anchovies (the local specialty) and headed for the beach to enjoy lunch. On exploring the town, I decided to grab a bus to see what I thought was an old olive press. Instead, I watched as we drove past a sign identifying the press and continued up into the hillsides. As we pulled to a stop, I had no idea what was there – only spying an old church. I asked the bus driver when the next bus came and what there was to see, as it seemed to be pretty sleepy. She encouraged me to check out the trail leading back to Corniglia – I was in flip flops with no sun screen and wearing a sleeveless dress with leggings and thought maybe it was not the best plan, but decided I might as well give it a try as the next bus was not for almost two hours. Little did I know that I would be walking through about 45 minutes of Cliffside trails through a wine cooperative – vineyard upon vineyard with narrow trails with and dry rocky land – beautiful vistas of the Manarola and the sea; slip sliding in my flip flops and sun bearing down on my skin. Thankfully, I had a water bottle with me and was able to stay hydrated. I then walked about 45 minutes through forested land – up and down, sometimes scrambling down stairs and climbing up slopes. Finally, I could see me end point in sight – Corniglia – another 30 minutes descending stairs under the blazing heat of the midday. I returned to the town, found the first water spigot (a typical site in these ancient towns from the days when the homes were not plumbed and people had to go to a central point to collect water) available and doused myself in the refreshing flow of water. A few minutes later, I bought a beautifully cold bottle of water and drank it down before heading back down the stairs to once again take a train.

Next stop – Riomaggiore. The southern most of the 5 towns and one of my favorites. This one is bigger than the other towns that I had visited thus far and was full of life without being overly touristy – crowded but still retaining its charm and uniqueness. I arrived as the day was getting late and wandered about in my usual non-agenda seeking fashion. As the night started to fall, I found a small pizzeria that served pasta and decided to try out a beautiful salad made with boiled potatoes, octopus, mussels, green olives, parsley and lots of olive oil. I had a slice of focaccia with anchovies to top it off. The seaside was making my tummy very happy. I noticed a bus stop and decided to explore and realized that a bus was coming soon – learning from my mistakes, I thought I would just hop on to take a round trip tour. As I boarded the bus, it was just me and another older Italian woman. Soon the bus began filling with people who clearly knew each other – I could only guess that there were people who were finishing work for the day and heading back home. Everyone seemed to know each other and in typical Italian fashion, the talking was loud and jovial. Soon the bus departed, and we climbed the hillside – beautiful views of the sea and the village below. People got off as the bus precariously wound through narrow roads. As we reached the final stop and all of the other passengers departed, the driver explained that he wasn’t returning to the town and could drop me at the parking lot at the top of the hill. 15 minutes later, I had walked back down the hill to the train station and was soon traveling back to Vernazza for the night.