Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
Tuesday April 4, 2017
What a beautiful place this is. You've seen pictures of Cinque Terre on the Internet but to see all five villages in real life is truly something. The way the light of the sunset illuminates the pastel coloured houses rising up from the cliffs, the glistening blue sea and greenery on the hills, the spots of yellow lemons and orange flowers dotted around the towns - there is so much beauty here.
My first two days here were quiet, just walking around Riomaggiore and exploring the various panoramic views. I desperately needed to do laundry and I was also quite tired from everything, and since it was overcast and raining at various points during the day, Sunday was a good day to chill and do nothing. I gathered a lot of information about Vell d'Amore, the coastal walk from one end of Cinque Terre to the other, in preparation for my hike the next day.
It turns out the first half of Vell d'Amore is closed due to landslides, so the alternate route takes you from Riomaggiore up the hill and down to Manarola. It's basically an hour of stairs and extremely exhausting. From Manarola to Corneglia is similar, except I used OpenStreetMaps to take a "shortcut" that ended up being a very sketchy path through thick bush and vineyards.
I was hoping to visit Guvano Beach, famous for its seclusion and beauty, and also for being a nudist beach, but the path again was closed due to landslides. I continued to Vernazza, where I chilled down by the waterside for a while, soaking my aching legs in the very cold Mediterranean water.
The final stretch to Monterosso took a while, and was moderately hard in places, but I was so happy to reach the gate house and the lady there welcomed me warmly. I was desperate for some sugary water, and downed a can of lemonade by the beachside. I took the ferry back to Riomaggiore, seeing all five towns from the sea as the boat sped by, and after taking a break at the hostel, I went down to the waterfront to watch the sunset.
What a glorious sunset it was. The sky had been crystal clear all day, and the colours of the rainbow filled the horizon as the sun disappeared. Behind me, the orange and red light blended with the colours of the houses. I sat with a Canadian couple who I later went for drinks with, and we exchanged contact details hoping to meet again in the future. I think yesterday was my favourite day so far in my time in Italy.
Posted by Jeremy at 7:23am on Tuesday April 4, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 