Riomaggiore

Now that I can relax about having a place to sleep in Cinque Terre, I can write about it. It is an area on the Italian Riviera made up of "5 Lands" or towns. It is famous for its natural beauty, not for having movie stars. The 5 towns are part of a national park with two hiking trails. One is high up above the towns and sea and the other follows the cliffs near the coast and stops at each of the towns. Todd and I plan to hike the entire 10km lower trail. Deb and Allen plan to hike the first 1km trail, "La Via dell'Amore." I guess they will be too busy smooching to finish the whole trail.

We will also be getting our exercise in every square inch of Riomaggiore, town #1, our base town. Don't the buildings looks so picturesque, built stacked on top of each other? But that means, dear reader, that everywhere you walk is up or down. And I think our apartment is on the 3rd/4th floor. Plus, you have to park outside of town and schlep bags.

The area is the birthplace of pesto and has many wineries. In the top of the picture you can see hand built, centuries old stone retaining walls that hold the vineyards from falling into the sea. Town #5, Monterosso al Mare, is the closest thing to a beach resort town. They truck in sand and have the best nightlife scene. #4, Vernazza, is the jewel of the Cinque Terre with a natural harbor. #3, Corniglia, is quiet, not directly on the coast and has a tiny population of 240. You can walk steep steps down to a nude beach outside of town. Thank goodness. I just don't have room to pack a swimming suit! #2, Manarola is also tiny, picturesque and has the best sea views. #1, Riomaggiore, is known for cheap beds. Ha. It is the "most substantial non-resort" town.

What else can you do here besides hike, cliff dive and sip wine on terraces? When you buy the park entrance/train pass, you get free entrance to the anchovy factory. YEAH!

My goals for Cinque Terre are to complete the hike without mugging any Germans for their Alpenstock walking sticks, touching saltwater in as many countries as possible before going to an American coast (Ligurian/Mediterranean Sea this time) and eating something that used to live in the water. Fish does not please my palate. Perhaps if it was caught minutes before . . .

And now for the final musing on Cinque Terre: Having a car there is a nuisance and a benefit. I read Todd a quote from Rick Steve's Italy: "The drive down to Vernazza is scenic, narrow and scary." His eyes lit up. I can picture it now: Todd taking curves at 80 mph making "vroom, vroom" sounds, Allen yelling "faster, faster", Deb sitting in the back seat gasping in horror, and me giggling. I think of Todd's driving as an opportunity for me to get to heaven sooner.