Italy 2006 - Cinque Terre
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Riomaggiore was an amazing town.  There aren't two square feet that are flat.  Just walking from the train station to our hotel was a major climb.  Of course our room was on the fourth floor.  I guess they figured we needed the exercise.  Because of the park regulations, no new hotels can be built.  So the only hotels in the town are old houses which have been converted.  So the town still looks much as it did a hundred years ago, and the hotels are quite interesting.  After checking in, I went for a walk and found a walkway that curved around the hillside and gave a great view of the beginning of our hike for the next day - the real Cinque Terre.

Before dinner we had a wine tasting with Giorgio - the owner of the hotel.  We tried various wines, had snacks, and learned a lot about the history of Riomaggiore from Giorgio.  We also had the chance to meet his two sons.  After that, we had an open night for dinner which gave us a chance to sample restaurants in Riomaggiore.

Hike #4 The Cinque Terre
This is it - the hike we came on this trip to do.  In one day we hike all five villages of the Cinque Terre.  Our perfect weather faded a little on this day.  It was overcast.  No real threat of rain, but the views and especially the pictures weren't quite as spectacular.  It did keep it cooler though which was good, as this was probably the hardest hike.  We started out by hiking down to the train station.  From there we started the walk along a level section of trail carved right out of the cliffs above the sea.  Quite spectacular, and not recommended for anyone with a fear of heights.  There is a section that is known as the local lovers lane, and several of the couples took pictures on the "couple's bench".  After less than an hour of easy, level hiking (unusual) we reached the second of the five lands, Manarola
.
After the first village I was thinking the hike was pretty easy.  We continued along a level traverse along the cliffs.  Then we saw the next village, waaaaay up above.  We started to climb a series of switchbacking stairs up to the village of Corniglia.  It reminded me of Walter's Wiggles in Zion National Park.  A steep climb brought us to the town.  The streets there were just narrow sidewalks.  There was only one road that you could drive a car on.  We stopped at a cafe for a snack - more energy for hiking. Or at least that's a good excuse.  I had a great bruschectta and was ready to go again.

From Corniglia the trail climbed very steeply.  Just our luck.  At this point we were hiking with a student group who raced up past us, then would stop to rest (while we passed them) then race ahead and pass us again.  They were a pain in the butt.  Special mention goes to the two kids sharing the same iPod so they had to hike together connected by a wire, which was a real nuisance when they passed on the trail.  But I was good - I resisted the urge to pitch them over the cliff when they passed me.  I bet we passed each other back and forth at least six times.  But we old codgers beat them to the end of the trail by quite a bit with our slow-but-steady walking.

After a big climb over a ridge and back down again, we reached the village of Vernazza.  We took a long break here for shopping and lunch.  I even bought a t-shirt here, my only purchase of the trip.  Then Sandy and I had good pasta and some wine and were ready for the last, longest stretch of the trail.  Of course, we started to climb right out of town and climbed way up a ridge.  Then we traversed for a long ways before starting a steep descent to Monterosso.  By late afternoon we were in town and had some free time before we caught the ferry back to Riomaggiore.  Riding the ferry gave a different perspective of the section of coast we had just spent the whole day hiking.  You would have to be pretty tough to hike all the way back to the starting point.
 

Italy 2006 photo pages
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Riomaggiore at sunset.
The walkway far above the ocean in Riomaggiore.  This was at the end of the street from our hotel.
Turning the corner and looking toward the part of town above the train station.  Nothing is flat in Riomaggiore!

Meeting Giorgio outside the hotel.  He explained a lot of the history of the town.
The lobby of our hotel.  A little different than the Hilton!		  
The "side street" behind our hotel.

Giorgio prepared a wine tasting for the group.
The ceiling of the room dates from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The group gathers outside the hotel for the Cinque Terre hike.  Here even the main street is steps.

Walking through Riomaggiore towards the train station to start our hike.
The beautiful mural outside the train station
The route started by cutting right across the cliffs at the start of the hike.

A distant view of the trail just as it leaves Riomaggiore.
It's only a short level hike to Manarola, the second of the Cinque Terre.
Crossing a bridge where the trail is always washed out.

I'm not leaning on the sign to catch my breath - it's just for the picture.
A lot of work went into this trail.
So much for the easy part of the hike.  That's Corniglia way up there.

Not like the trail is steep.  It's just about a million steps switchbacking up to town.
A small shrine is thoughtfully provided on the way so that hikers can pray that they are almost to the top of the stairs.
Almost there.

Exploring the narrow streets in Corniglia.
We stop for a snack  More energy for the trail.
Sandy has finished her snack and is trying to decide if she can get away with snatching my bruschetta while I'm taking pictures.

Heading out of town. The streets were just barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast.
Imagine that.  More steps climbing out of town.
The trail winds along steep slopes with quite a dropoff.

We've gained a lot of elevation (again) coming out of Corniglia.
You can see the trail contouring along the slope.  Way off in the distance you can finally see Monterosso.  Behind and to the left is the saddle we came over the day before.
Approaching Vernazza.  Time to give back all that hard won elevation.

Sandy and Steve approaching Vernazza.
A house and garden just outside of Vernazza.
The last segment of the trail was quite lush.

This section of the trail went through a narrow gully.  It was so overgrown it felt like hiking through a tunnel.
Coming down the home stretch to Monterosso.
Almost there.  The final section of trail is carved right out of the cliff side above the sea.

Sandy and Mary Ann on the ferry back from Monterosso to Riomaggiore.
Getting off the ferry.		  

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