Our next destination was Cinque Terre national park. A destination tip-off received from an American we'd met on the train way back in Slovenia. This was quite a hike along a coastal path winding through five rustic villages to soak up the Italian way of life in between walking stretches of one to two hours each. It also had the benefit of being close to Tuscany, our planned destination for afterwards.
Most of the day was spent on trains getting there though and so when we arrived in Riomaggiore it was already getting late. The hike to the accommodation was an activity in itself as we followed our host through a maze of narrow streets climbing increasingly steeper slopes, our backpacks feeling heavy. The effort was worth it though as our rooms turned out to be perched right at the top of the steep hill-side on which Riomaggiore is built and we had a beautiful view of the sun setting out to sea from our room and terrace.
We wandered down for dinner and afterwards got a sneak peak of the first section of walk. This section was suited to night walking as it was well paved and gently lit with small footlights. We ended the evening sitting in a cool bar situated right on the cliff-top looking back into town and enjoyed the atmosphere.
The second day started with a quick train journey to Monterosso, the 1st of five towns in the Cinque Terre. This one has the most sun-worshippers and the closest thing to a beach, albeit a pebble beach. The previous night's walk had given us the very smart idea that we would avoid walking during the hottest part of the day by not starting the walk until 3 or 4pm. We figured the walk would take five hours and that walking until sunset which was around 8pm would give the best views also. And if it got dark before we finished the last stretch was lit.
So we settled in for a leisurely lunch over-looking the beach. The sun was baking those who chose not to seek shelter but we were happy in the shade fuelling up for the walk ahead with wine and gelato. It was still hot when we started out at about 3:30 and it wasn't long before we were meeting plenty of red-faced, sweat-drenched hikers coming the other direction. They were coming to the end of their day of hiking but we felt we had made the right decision. Even at five by the time we had reached the second village, Vernazza, the heat of the sun was still oppressive.
The walk itself is pleasant enough with some short climbs and descents, passing through plenty of shaded, forest and more open parts where locals have planted fruit, vegetables and grape vines. The villages in between Monterosso and Riomaggiore are smaller, with narrow streets built on steep hillsides and not a lot going on to distract the snoozing cats and dogs. Manarola was the most picture-postcard pretty with multi-coloured buildings looking like they are stacked one on top of the other. We couldn't help but remember some of the coastal hikes we had done in South Africa and felt it harder to appreciate this one. I guess we just prefer the spectacular scenery and wild landscapes of Africa more than a trail used by locals to get from A to B prior to the railway.
The final stretch of the walk into Riomaggiore and repeated from the previous night is called the Via Dell Amore. Here we found thousands of padlocks locked to fences representing the hopes of lovers who passed through and followed what seems to be an Italian tradition, the lock representing their love. We timed the walk well, finishing just as the sun was setting.
We must not have had enough of walking this day because we walked the half an hour back to Manarola for a late dinner and had farewell drinks in the same bar as the previous night. We decided there and then that Tuscany would have to wait until we were in a better position to organise a trip that would do the region justice (and at a cooler time of the year too) and resolved to head North to Turin and on to the Alps again.
