Pétanque & Pastis

Corniglia to Manarola to Riomaggiore to Portovenere

We covered a lot of territory on our last full day in Cinque Terre.  We started the morning by taking the train to Corniglia, where we disembarked, wandered over to the footpath, and then headed over to our next destination - the village of Manarola, an easy hike which took only about a half an hour.

Manarola

From Manarola we took the 15-minute stroll along the picturesque Via dell’Amore which led us to Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five villages, and to the end of our Cinque Terre Village Hike, but not the end of our village exploration...

Via dell’Amore

Riomaggiore

The first time we came to Cinque Terre was in March of 2004, which was a pretty good time to come, with less people crossing our paths on the hiking trails.  However, at that time of year there was no ferry service to the other villages, only train service.  Apparently, the ferries don’t start operating until after Easter.   So, this time we took advantage of the ferry service from Riomaggiore to the beautiful portside village of Portovenere, which was, along with Cinque Terre, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1997.  It was a dramatic entrance from the sea, with the gothic-Genovese Church of San Pietro sitting atop the rocky promontory in the early-Roman Piazza Spallanzani.

Portovenere

Portovenere Harbor

And the drama continued as we turned the corner into the harbor to be dazzled by all the colorful buildings huddled together with the Church of San Lorenzo peeking out, all crowned by the 16^th-century Doria Castle.  Of course, our first order of business just off the boat was to find a place for lunch, and, once again, we found a great place along the harbor where we feasted on yet another assortment of delicious frutti di mare before heading out to explore our beautiful surroundings.

Portovenere – Piazza Spallanzani

Il Castello Doria

Grotta dell’Arpaia a.k.a. Byron’s Grotto

The 30-minute ferry ride got us back to our home base of Vernazza by 6:00pm, which gave us plenty of time before dinner to relax and get packed for our return trip to Antibes tomorrow.  Dave’s brother, Mike, has a flight to catch on Sunday which will get him back home to California, where he can rest up from his very busy and active vacation.

Vernazza

Vernazza to Monterosso to Vernazza

It was on Day 2 of our Cinque Terre adventure that we completed the longest of the hikes between the 5 villages.  We started from Vernazza at around 10:00 in the morning, and headed toward Monterosso al Mare, encountering a burly grape vendor along the way.  Of course, we couldn’t resist purchasing a cluster of sweet and juicy grapes for about 1€, which kept us energized for the remainder of the hike.  We arrived into Monterosso after about an hour and a half, and stopped for something refreshing to drink.  Afterwards, we meandered through the farmer’s market, ogling all the beautiful, colorful produce.  Our plan had been to take the train back to Vernazza, but after partaking in a copious, ambrosial array of delectable seafood delights for lunch, all washed down with a cool, crisp, fruity Cinque Terre wine, we were re-energized and decided to hike back to our home base in Vernazza.

Grape Vendor on the Trail to Monterosso al Mare

Hiking Trail between Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare 

Italian Produce in Monterosso al Mare

Beach in Monterosso al Mare

Monterosso al Mare Tunnel

Hiking in Cinque Terre

We returned home to Antibes from our Burgundy barge trip on Monday, we washed clothes and repacked on Tuesday, and then we headed back to the train station on Wednesday en route to our next adventure - Cinque Terre, on the Ligurian Coast of Italy.  The Cinque Terre, or “Five Lands”, are made up of the charming fishing villages of (from north to south) Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, & Riomaggiore, all clinging to the rocky cliffs above the resplendent Ligurian Sea, and all linked together by hiking trails and by a local train, and, this time of year, most are also linked by ferries.

Vernazza from the Trail to Corniglia

We didn’t waste any time hitting the trails. After we got settled into our hotel in the beautiful village of Vernazza, we headed to the train station to buy our Carta Cinque Terre.  The card gives you access to all the maintained hiking trails and to the local train which stops in all the towns between Levanto and La Spezia.  The funds you pay for the card go to finance the restoration and conservation of the Cinque Terre National Park, which in 1997 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Corniglia from the Direction of Vernazza

It took us less than 90 minutes, hiking past olive groves and terraced vineyards along the high, rocky, narrow trail from Vernazza, to reach Corniglia to the south.  Because it sits so high, 100 meters above the sea, Corniglia is the only one of the five villages without direct access to the sea, and, therefore, has no ferry service.  We found a café with a lovely vine-covered terrace facing the sea, where we took a break and partook in some tasty antipasti of olives, cippolini,  & bruschetta, all washed down with some cold, crisp white Cinque Terre wine, while we watched the sun begin its slow descent into the Ligurian Sea.  We still had plenty of sunlight as we headed down from this perched village via a staircase of over 370 steps toward the train station where we hopped onto the train back to our home base of Vernazza.  By hiking southward from Vernazza to Corniglia, we avoided climbing these 370 steps that you encounter hiking northward from Manarola to Corniglia.

A Corniglia Sunset over the Ligurian Sea