From Venice my roommate Bridget and I literally crossed the country; we went from Venice on the Adriatic Sea to the town of Levanto on the Mediterranean Sea. I loved my time in Venice and wished I could have explored and soaked up more of the surroundings but I was truly looking forward to getting away from some of the crowds. The Cinque Terre is a series of five villages connected by a 9 km, slightly less than 6 miles, foot path that follows the coast over slightly rugged hilly terrain. It is a major tourist attraction but is more popular in the spring and summer when the weather is a bit more dependable. Over a thousand years villagers have terraced much of the land along the hilly cliffs between the villages and created vineyards and walled fruit tree gardens, a truly unimaginable feat when you realize the tools and means of transportation these people had at their disposal. The Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight because of the unique blend of natural and human interaction over the centuries.

After great weather in Venice it only seems fair that we ran into some rain along the coast. Our first day we braved the weather and headed to the local tourist office where we learned that the Cinque Terre was closed because of the weather, the danger of rock slides, and high water. We decided to go to the last village, Riomaggiore, by train and at least have a look around if we were unable to walk the trail. The rain started misting, then sprinkling, then pelting, then literally cascading down the streets in sheets; I cannot remember a time when I was last this wet. Me who loves castles so much could not even feign interest when we found a neat old one perched on a cliff. We headed back to or hostel where we prayed for a change in the weather and covered every inch of our bed frames and window sills with drying clothes.

The next day dawned dry if not clear and I must say what a difference dry clothes do for my attitude. We learned that the trains along the coast were all delayed because of high wind so we waited in the train station with all of the other perspective hikers before catching a train to Monterroso al Mare, the first stop on the trail from Levanto. It turned out that the Cinque Terre was closed again but the park rangers were off duty and there were not any fences so we braved it. We did not have blue skies but it was not raining either. We managed to link up with two girls who just graduated from college and ran track all four years. They were literally running up the flights of stairs that traverse the hillsides and singing the whole way; on the bright side it gives me a goal to work towards.

We walked from Monterroso al Mare to Vernazza and had lunch; I had arugula, tomato, and salty mozzarella topped focaccia followed by potato, speck, and rosemary focaccia. I earned it. Vernazza to Corniglia was the steepest part of the trail but was worth it once I got to the top and saw the view, breathtaking to say the least. Here are the pictures. In Corniglia we sat down at a gelateria where I had three scoops; pistachio which I never understood but now that I have I am a convert, candied fruit, and amarena, I love gelato. In every town we stopped in we walked around, looked at the stores, sampled the local delicacies, and watched the waves. The waves this day were not your average little splash on the shore but waves on steroids. They were hitting the wave brakes, rocks, buildings, boardwalks, or whatever was in the way with such force it was awe inspiring. It made me think about the days not too long ago when navigation was up to a person’s knowledge of the sea and weather. No one was out looking or could come help if a boat got into trouble. Salt covered everything, the railings along the stairs, my face, the buildings, the cars, it blew in the air. The storm may not have continued to rage on the land but the ocean was unrelenting in its attack on the shore.

Corniglia to Manarola was a mellow except for the fact that we finally ran into some fences. We decided that since we had come so far we might as well keep going and managed to scamper over, under, or around the barbwire and padlocks. Oddly enough this portion of the trail was the least steep and really well maintained, who knows what the park rangers were worried about. Sadly there was a locked gate at the end of this trail but again we managed to shimmy under or over it, it was worth it. The path from Manarola to Riomaggiore was artfully blocked and beyond our capabilities as fence climbers, apparently they had witnessed too many people scoff at their last attempts at barricades. Although I did not walk the entire trail I am in no way disappointed, I would go back in a heartbeat and I cannot recommend it enough rain or shine but hope for sun and be prepared to climb some fences.

Ciao ciao