Petersontravels

The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia (the “g” is silent) was slightly shorter than to Monterosso at 2.2 miles.  It’s also easier as far as total altitude gain, but it’s still got plenty of stairs on the way up!

We left at 0830 this morning to avoid the crowds and the heat.  While it was still a little warm by the end of the hike, we saw a small fraction of the number of people on the trail, so I highly suggest starting early.  There is a perfect overview of Vernazza only a few hundred meters from the start of the trail (with Monterosso way in the background).

More stairs!

At the half-way point you come across Il Gabbiano, where they are known for their fresh orange juice and lemon slushies, which really hit the spot on a hot day!

This is the view from just above Il Gabbiano.  There is a large patio area for you to enjoy your slushies (or food if you are hungry) before finishing the hike.  This is a great spot for a picnic if you want to pack your own food.

All the trails have these informative signs so you know exactly how far you’ve come, and how far you still need to go.

You get a nice view of San Bernardino above the trail.  Ahh, San Bernardino, such memories!  My knees will never forget it!

Nearing Corniglia.  This is the only village that’s not on the water, so the downhill hike into town is much easier since they are 100 meters above the ocean.  You walk on a trail right through the vineyards to get into the village.

We found an excellent little restaurant that has an ocean view on their patio.  They had a nice selection of local wines.

They also had a resident cat which found me immediately.  I never knew cats loved burrata cheese!  No, I didn’t use the fork again.

To get to the train station you need to hike down 33 flights of steps.  Looks like the Italian version of Lombard Street.  Glad we were going down!

To hike the trails between villages you need the Cinque Terre card.  You can also buy a card that includes unlimited train rides for the day.  We purchased these cards for two days since we were going to be using the trains so much.  We took a train to dinner in Monterosso, and these villages are so close the train takes about 4 minutes to get there.  One of the better restaurants in Monterosso is L’Ancora della Tortuga.  Here is the view from the tables.

The weather was perfect, and the waterfront views never get old.

 

One of the “must do” activities in the Cinque Terre is to hike from one village to another via the coastal trails.  Unfortunately there are currently only two of these trails open.  The other two are closed due to landslides.  Fortunately, Vernazza is between the two that are open.  Yet another reason to choose this village as home base.  Here is Vernazza at the start of the trail.

The hike to Monterosso is about 2.5 miles, and involves a lot of steps and some pretty narrow sections.  We departed around 1030, and in hindsight, we should have left much earlier.  Think of the Cinque Terre villages as small Disneyland’s, that are empty in the morning, but as soon as the gates open (in this case the trains and ferrys start arriving), the villages and trails quickly get overwhelmed.  The trail mostly follows the terraced walls of the hillside.

A view back towards Vernazza.  It took a lot of steps to get up this high.

The trail is well marked with white and red stripes throughout.

Here is one of the narrower sections.  It was so crowded you had to wait for large groups to pass before you could continue.  We encountered several groups of 20+ people.

As we neared Monterosso the trail consisted mostly of very steep steps (and out of breath people spreading covid left and right).  It might have just been my imagination, but the steps coming up from Monterosso seemed much steeper than the steps we took from Vernazza.

Nearing Monterosso.

One last narrow section amid the steps.

The beach of Monterosso.  This is the older section of the village.  The village is divided into two parts, with the newer part on the other side of the hill on the far side of the beach.  The train station is also on the newer side.

The end of the trail.

We did a wine tasting experience in this town with a company called Cinque Terre Riviera, but I wouldn’t recommend it.  After the tasting the day prior, it’s going to take a lot to impress us.  The company was also terrible about communication.  We only found out where to meet for the tasting the evening prior, and only because Ruth intervened for us.  What does it take to spend money with some people?

We are coming back here for dinner a couple of times, so I’ll cover more of Monterosso then.  In the meantime, this was a very bizzare entrance to a church we saw.

I’ve got the say this is the first skull and crossbones I’ve seen on the front of a church.  Must be a wild sermon on Sundays!