Cinque Terre from end to end |
I am standing in the doorway of our pleasant little apartment on the high side of Vernazza looking down the steep cobbled steps of the laneway, framed by the pastel shaded walls of the houses. The water gushes down the cobbles to the main street beyond as thunder rolls across the dark grey skies and a stiff cool wind drives the raindrops across the slate-tiled rooves. Welcome to the Cinque Terre that is not described in tourist brochures. We had arrived the day before by train from Rome to the bleak forecast of a week of wet weather - several tracks including the main coastal walk, that is de rigeur for the visiting throng, had been cut by landslides. However, not all was bad - having escaped the masses seething around the train station and climbed up the steep cobbled steps to our accommodation at Rooms Elisabetta, we were delighted to discover that we had our small apartment and not just a bedroom. The views from our terrace over the harbour of Vernazza were superb and as we took them in, the afternoon sun began to emerge from the cloud. It was 4pm, but given the forecast, this was an opportunity not to be missed. We quickly put on our boots and set off on an impromptu walk! |
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Looking down over the port of Vernazza |
Terraced olives and vines above Vernazza |
Path between the olive terraces |
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Silhouette of maritime pine |
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The tranquil setting of Sanctuario Madonna di Soviori ... |
... with its pale pink cloisters |
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Un giorno molto bagnato
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When the boats are in the square of Vernazza the weather is very bad |
Vernazza at night - still beautiful in the wet |
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Section of coast track south of Vernazza blocked due to landslide risk |
An inland valley of the Cinque Terre |
Track through the terraces |
Country house near San Bernadino |
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The tree-clad hills of the Cinque Terre |
View across the valleys to the hill village of Volastra |
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Through the trees we could see the pastel-coloured houses of Volastra perched on its hilltop across two valleys, and below the impressively high viaduct across the Rio Maggiore - technology creeping in! The track brought us to a wide flat dirt road (used as a mountain bike track) that traversed the 400m contour, past two beautiful little waterfalls tumbling down toward Rio Maggiore. Pines were now taking over from the chestnuts of the rockier heights, as we left the road to pick up Sentiero 02 on its steep descent down a narrow, overgrown path, first through the pines, then down through the terraces of vines. Ahead the village of Manarola began to appear, framed on either side by terraced hillsides. Knees a little jellified by 600m of steep descent, we wandered into the village and down to the harbour for a late but well-appreciated lunch. |
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Route of the Via dell'Amore |
The rugged coastline near Riomaggiore |
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Portovenere Circuit (by boat and on foot) (13 km - 820m ascent - 820m descent)
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The rugged cinque Terre coast from the sea - Corniglia .... |
..... Manarola ..... |
..... and Riomaggiore |
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Rugged coastline south of Riomaggiore - the Muzzerone cliffs |
13th century church of San Pietro at the entrance to Portovenere |
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Skirting beneath the mountain top to the east, with views down through the trees over La Spezia, we eventually met a vehicle road that guided us gently down past a marble quarry to a low saddle. By now the sun had disappeared and the distant rumbling of thunder began to deliver on its promise, as a steady light rain began to fall. |
From shorts to .... |
... rain gear in five minutes |
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From the saddle, the track turned into the thick coastal scrub, climbing upwards on a narrow and winding path of rocks and slippery clay, before levelling out to traverse the wet brush beneath the rocky knob of Monte Castellana, looking straight down into the Mediterranean Sea, 300m below. As we traversed the steep slope, the views out to sea were spectacular even in the rain, with grey ominous clouds hanging low over an oily sea and the odd passing ship in the distance. Several times we stopped as groups of walkers coming from Riomaggiore filed past - we got the impression that most people did the track in opposite direction to us. The traverse brought us out to a road at Bocca del Cavallo and, having rounded the mountain, we found ourselves climbing through the pines of the ridgeline up to the quiet hamlet of Campiglia. |
Yes, that's the direction we're heading! |
In the thick brush below Monte Castellana |
The hill village of Campiglia |
Refurbished 14th century windmill |
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Sanctuario di Madonna di Monte Nero |
A curious light on the slopes of Cinque Terre |
Old stone road leading down from the sanctuary |
The sun returns -cliffs of Riomaggiore |
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Monterosso to Levanto (9 km - 460m ascent - 440m descent)
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Watching the weather from our terrace in Monterosso |
The beach at Fegina with Punta Mesco in the background |
Through the pines to Fegina |
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The five villages of the Cinque Terre in one photo (trust me!) |
The ruins of the hermitage of Sant'Antonio |
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Heading north from Punta Mesco |
Cliffs below Monte Ve |
Descent into a shady gully |
A peaceful path above the cliffs |
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High above the Mediterranean |
View north of the Ligurian coastline |
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A typical Ligurian church tower in Levanto |
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The beautiful setting of Levanto |
When we got off the train at Monterosso, the bodies beautiful were all out sunning themselves on the sands of Fegina Beach - what a turnaround since we arrived! It was a great way to finish our time in the Cinque Terre and, having sampled the fresh anchovies, squid ink taglieterri, pesto and other local dishes, we decide to buy some fresh local ham, pecoroni cheese, olives, a bunch of sweet cherry tomatoes, with chocolate and fresh strawberries for desert, accompanied of course by a cold Cinque Terre Bianco and farewell this great part of Italy, watching the sun fade on the pastel-coloured houses from our terrace. Arrivederci Cinque Terre!! |
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