5 Lands in 5 Hours

     Our Cinque Terre adventure all started in our little Florence apartment when we booked the LAST available room in the city two days before we left. Our 5 AM wake up call started our trip to the beautiful Cinque Terre. We arrived in La Spezia (a city outside of C.T. where we were staying). After recruiting a taxi driver, he drove us to our "hotel". We exchanged nervous glances as the taxi climbed further and further up a mountain, along with the growing meter. Once we reached the top of the mountain and the meter reached 30 Euros....we came to a stop. He dropped us off at the end of a rock stair case and left. There we were, alone, with luggage at a shanty on a mountain without another soul in sight. After looking all over for any sign of a front door or check in area, we found a little locked door with a handwritten sign and a telephone number. Kasey called the number to discover that the "hotel"/shanty owner did not speak a word of English. The only thing we could understand was "open at 3 PM"....it was 10 AM! (We know that most check ins aren't until 3, but we assumed that there would be someone working to at least hold our luggage, or tell us how to get off the forsaken mountain.) Were we stuck on the top on this mountain in an sorority girl horror movie for the next five hours??

We were able to get a number for a taxi from the tourists office (the number in which the wonderful Rick Steves provided). After calling 3 cabs, one finally agreed to come get us. Another 30 Euros later we were back at the train station we had started at...We decided that our best bet was to check our luggage at the train station and go explore. Once we stepped of the train in Monterosso and saw clear blue water, rainbow beach umbrellas, and rolling mountains we knew that we had to stay there. And after doing the math, we would have spent over 200 Euros on taxi rides alone up and down the mountain to get to our old hotel.

     We refueled on some HUGE calzones by the beach. Then we went door to door with our most desperate faces looking for any open rooms. We found one hotel that had an opening for a room Friday and then we would have to switch for Saturday, but we were so desperate we took it!

Since the travel agency we booked the old hotel in barely spoke English, it took us an hour on the phone with them to explain that we wanted to cancel the horrible hotel they had put us in.

But by 4:00 we had finally had our affairs in order. We went back to La Spezia train station, collected our luggage and then back to Monterosso, our new home! Tears of joy streamed down our faces upon arrival in our new room.....literally!!

Now we can begin our adventure! We set out for a romantic sunset dinner in Vernazza, the next town over. It is a quaint beautiful place, with colorful houses and a little harbor filled with fishing boats.

We climbed up a ginormous flight of rocky steps to reach our destination: Ristorante Al Castello. Once we got to the top, the view was all worth it. Nestled in the side of the cliff, the restaurant looked out onto the Mediterranean where the sun was setting over the mountains of Monterosso. We shared a bottle of vino and Spaghetti on the Rocks (muscles, clams, shrimp) yum!

After dinner and the sunset, we headed down to a rock in the harbor that jut out into the ocean. The waves lapped at the bottom, just shy of our feet as we shared yet another bottle of wine. While relaxing, we made friends with an engaged couple that sat near us (Dan and Kalina). As we drank wine and shared stories, a HUGE RAT scampered across our legs! We spilled our wine and jumped up screaming! It was a traumatic event. After cleaning our wine off Kalina's legs we resumed our conversations. We talked for so long that we missed our 11:15 train back to Monterosso.

We had two hours until the next train at 1:15....and there was only one thing to do. So we got another bottle of wine and traded college stories with Dan and Kalina (who went to Mizzou). They kindly offered for us to stay in their apartment with them, but after all the hard work it took to find our hotel, we were damn sure sleeping in it. So we said our good-byes, finished the wine and headed towards the train station. Once we got back, we had officially been awake for 22 hours. So we hit the bed and passed out.

Saturday was the day of the hike!! Let’s just say it was breathtaking---literally and figuratively. We woke up the next morning feeling a little under the weather from our night before. But we mustered up our energy and set out for a LONG day of hiking—5 and a half hours to be exact! Now, as you all know, we aren’t exactly out climbing mountains every day, so this hike was INTENSE!!! We started off in Riomaggiore along the Lover’s Walk, Via Dell’Amore. This path dates back to WW2 when the Italian soldiers would live in Manarola and their wives in Riomaggiore. They would meet in the middle along this path. The walk is decorated with sweet notes and locks from previous lovers passing through.

Once we reached Manarola the real workout set in. Luckily, the sunshine had’t come out yet, and we hiked the 45 minute trail to the next town of Corniglia barely breaking a sweat. Corniglia is located deep within the mountain so to get from here to town #4, Vernazza, we had to hike up A LOT of terrain and twisting paths. On our way to Vernazza we encountered some of the most breathtaking views! Check it out!

After hiking 90 minutes to Vernazza we were in desperate need of food and a chair! So we took a pizza break to enjoy Vernazza’s beautiful harbor! According to our pal Rick, the last leg of the hike was the hardest and most dangerous----just our luck. We were both exhausted, but determined to reach Monterosso! Here are some views looking down on Vernazza. 

We set out from Vernazza to Monterosso to find ourselves hiking higher and higher into the mountain. 

 

What.....no heels allowed?

Our home base.....so far away!

Before we knew it we were being passed by a couple in their 60s—talk about a struggle. The paths were extremely narrow, but after another 90 minutes of heat and sweat, we finally reached Monterosso! Victory at last!!

To celebrate our hiking adventures we decided to treat ourselves to a bottle of wine and a delicious meal by the beach with two of our friends from Florence, Vanessa and Brittany! 

We found a quaint restaurant on the water and ordered the House Specialty, “Anfora Belvedere”, costing us a whopping 45 Euro! (Don’t worry mom, split between 3 people it wasn’t too pricy!) The House Specialty came out in a huge earthen pot covered by tinfoil. When our waiter uncovered the pot, tons of seafood came pouring out—a WHOLE octopus, lobster, squid, mussels, shrimp, and monkfish! Needless to say it was intimidating, but delicious! Nom nom nom…..

 

Sunday morning we woke up and checked out of our hotel. Brittany, Vanessa, and Nicole and Kasey took a train to Vernazza where we laid on their little beach. We also went cliff jumping off a big rock we found!

 Later we decided to rent kayaks. And trust us, kayaking in the ocean is tough! We were sore halfway through our hour rental, paddling against the rough waves. We found some peaceful waters in little caves that we explored while in the kayak.

The view of Vernazza from the water was beautiful and so neat to see it from a different perspective. We could even see the high up mountain trails that we had hiked the day before. We returned our kayaks and ran into our API friends who were just getting back from their hike! We all went back to Monterosso to rest on the beach until it was time to leave paradise. Of course, as our luck would have it our (Nicole and Kasey) train was delayed an hour. Once we finally left Cinque Terre, we arrived in Pisa and switched trains to Florence…it was so packed from train delays that everyone was sitting on top of each other…and we got stuck with the smelly people next to us L Despite holding our breath the whole way, we made it home and crashed into our beds after and long, but very exciting weekend. All in all, Cinque Terre is an amazing place, filled with beauty and adventure and amazing seafood. Anyone who has the chance must go!