Cinque Terre!

Cinque Terre is pretty much paradise! I arrived in Manarola, one of the five towns, on Saturday evening. My hostel was located on the top of a very steep hill, so people laughed at me as I struggled up it with my rolling suitcase trying to pull me back down. I eventually made it to what was a very nice hostel but by far the strictest one I have ever stayed in. They had an extensive list of rules and a very strict lockout time and curfew, but besides that, it was quite friendly and homey. It was definitely not a youth hostel, as there were people of all ages staying there. After dropping off my stuff, I went for what the receptionist said would be a nice walk through the vineyards above our hostel. I’m not sure where I went wrong but it ended up being a very difficult climb with no clear path and no one around. Eventually, I gave up and found some way down, going through fences and climbing down ladders. After a brief stop at the hostel, I went out to explore the town I was staying in. It was very cute with tons of different colored houses on different levels. I walked to the other end of the tiny town to see the ocean crashing against the rocks. It was fun watching some boys jumping off these dangerous looking rocks while everyone screamed until we knew they were safe. I ate a solo dinner of focaccia pizza, but as I was walking back to my hostel, I ran into two ladies from New Zealand who invited me out for a drink with them. We went to a restaurant and I tried the famous white dessert wine from Cinque Terre. It was quite yummy and served with biscotti so I wasn’t complaining. The ladies had been in the hostel for a few days so they informed me of the various hostel rules and the church bells that would chime loudly at 7 am. Oh, great! We went back to the hostel and went to sleep fairly early because I had a big day of hiking ahead of me.

Luckily, my handy earplugs helped me sleep through the church bells and I got up around 8:00 am. It was Easter and I was afraid things would be closed, so I had breakfast at the hostel. I spotted two girls and asked if I could join them, which turned out to be a great decision because it meant I wouldn’t be alone for the next two whole days. They were two sisters, Mia and Georgia, from Australia who were traveling around Italy with their mom for six weeks. We had a nice breakfast together and I asked if I could join them for the steep part of the hike from our town to the next. I ended up never really separating from them and we had a lovely two days together. The normal path between Manarola and Corniglia was closed, so we had to take an alternate route, which apparently was the difficult hiking path but I didn’t know this when I agreed to do it. We went pretty much straight up a mountain for a few kilometers, and it was quite a workout. I was so glad I was not alone for this hike, especially going downhill. I’m not sure what I was thinking about hiking alone. I’m sure I would have freaked out because there was almost no one else on this path because it was the difficult one. We passed some gorgeous views of the water and our town, but I spent most of the hike looking at my feet and trying to not fall to my death, which was a real possibility. After about two hours of hiking and luckily finding a perfectly sized walking stick out of the mud, we arrived in Corniglia. It was another cute town, the only one of the five that is on a hill and not along the coast. We walked around the shops and got some food for a picnic overlooking the water. We definitely deserved a rest.

After the requisite gelato serving (I’m convinced it is part of the food pyramid in Italy), we continued on to the next town, Vernazza. This hike was not as difficult as the first one, but it was no walk in the park. This path was much more crowded but had equally amazing views. My left leg got quite tired by the end because my right knee is too weak to step down on uneven surfaces. It seemed like forever, but we eventually got to a bar overlooking the water where I had a much needed Coca-Cola Light. It was only a short walk after that to the town. Unfortunately, I lost my beloved walking stick as it fell to its demise after I rested it against a fence. It is slightly ironic that it fell because it prevented me from doing so many times. We walked around the town, which is probably my favorite, for a bit and sat on a concrete pier overlooking the water. It was time for a shower, so we took the train back to our town. I frantically scrubbed my mud-covered limbs in my allotted 5-minute shower. Then I relaxed for a bit and figured out my plans for heading to Bologna the next day. I decided to take a later train than planned because I loved Cinque Terre so much. I met up with the Australian family for an incredible “Easter dinner” in the town. We feasted on local cuisine. We started off with bruschetta with anchovies and fresh anchovies in lemon juice. Both were amazing and very much unlike canned anchovies. For my main dish, I had spaghetti with seafood. And for dessert, we shared a lemon meringue pie and a delicious pudding. I was so grateful to be sharing a meal with these girls and the food was incredible.

That night, I had multiple pre-sleep dreams about slipping off mountains. At one point, I had actually slipped and these were very similar to that feeling. I woke up around 8:00 again and got ready to check out. I had breakfast at the hostel again and, although I didn’t think I had met too many people there, I was chatting with everyone and saying goodbye to a bunch of people. Hostels really are my social niche. I met up with my “adoptive family” and we headed out on the train to Monterosso, the least adorable but most beachy of the five towns. We found a spot on the sand and relaxed for a few hours. I took a dip in the freezing cold ocean water, but I didn’t last very long. The hostel wouldn’t let me keep my towel for the day so I dried off with a little hand towel and the sun. After we’d had enough sun, we went to Riomaggiore, the remaining town. It was very quaint and had nice shops and a lovely marina. The mom loved shopping so we went into just about every store. We ate some focaccia pizza on a bench and wandered around for a while. Then we did the famous Via dell’Amore back to Manarola. This is the easiest of the walks, all on paved ground. It winds around the mountainside and overlooks the beautiful water. It was incredibly calm and relaxing with many great views and picture spots. We were joking about how we needed to find an Italian guy to walk along it with us, but that dream did not come true. Luckily, though, I did not have to do it alone. We arrived back at our town after the short stroll and enjoyed some of the best gelato I have had so far in Italy. I said a sad goodbye to the incredible family that had taken me in over the past two days and got some sustenance for the train ride. I retrieved my stuff from the hostel, said goodbye to the ocean, and headed to the train station. I am now on my way to Bologna, which I will explore tomorrow. I think I could have stayed a few more days…or years…in Cinque Terre and been quite content. I only have one day left in Italy, which is sad, but I am realizing how much I love Sevilla and all my friends there. I am excited to share stories from this vacation week and enjoy one last month in the city of sunshine.