29. Cinque Terre

Today is the 1st of May and here in Italy it's the worker's holiday, which means no work for us too! Traditionally for Italians it's the first big outing of the year to the countryside... (even though we've been picnicing since February!)

Some friends have invited us out with them to Cinque Terre (or the Five Lands) on the Ligurian coast. Instructions are to bring our swimsuits and a strong pair of shoes, as there may be some walking...

It's an early start, 7.00am at Santa Maria Novella station for the two and a half hour train ride up the coast. The journey is pretty spectacular, through the white Carrara mountains.

Our itinery has already been meticulously planned by Andrea, veteran mountaineer and frequenter of this area. There are 12 of us, so quite a nice sized group and at 10.00am we all pile off the train at the most northerly town, Monterosso al mare in glorious sunshine. Some sustenance is required and so we all tuck into one of he local specialities, 'Farinata', a kind of chestnut flavoured flat bread. There is a great sandy beach here, but no time to stop! We begin climbing what seems to be a billion steps up a sheer cliff face, with hair raising views back towards Monterosso and onto our second town, Vernazza. Tiny coves hug the coast and we are walking amongst olive trees, vines and heaps of wild lilac coloured Irises. We reach Vernazza in about an hour and a half and, wow! What a view! It looks like Positano on the Amalfi coast.

We're beginning to break a sweat and just about ready for a swim. Some of us strip off and plunge into the crystal clear, cold sea!  Some 'Hawaian style' diving off 10m rocks 'up' the tension, but fortunately the sea is deep enough and I live to tell the tale. Lunch and a nice sunbathe and we're off to 'Terra' number 3, Corniglia. Again a breathtaking climb taken at Olympic speed in swelterng heat! Is there a prize for finishing 1st?  We want to stop and absorb al this beauty, but no, we are lagging behind and must keep up with the group. Corniglia is a gorgeous little fishing village, civilized people are enjoying a fish lunch at the many al-fresco restaurants...

Andrea takes us for some wine tasting. The local tipple is a dessert wine called ' Schiacchetra' similar to our Vin Santo, but 5 times the price.

Unfortunately the 3rd leg of this 'endurance test' is closed due to a landslide, so we take the train to the 4th town. Shame and I was looking forward to another hour and a half climb! Manarola is our 4th 'Terra' and it's here that Andrea treats us to his party piece, jumping from 20m rocks into what looks like certain death! Loads of people have gathered around to watch and cannot believe their eyes!
From Manarola we have the final walk, which is the shortest one and takes only half an hour. It's called 'La via dell'amore', the way of love... to the final town of Riomaggiore. By now it's getting quite late and we've had a long day, tiring, but very satisfying. We take the train back to Florence, arriving after midnight. The legs will ache, but what an incredible place!



(Original journal entry 1/5/02)