I woke up at 830 and realized I forgot to charge my camera! Big oops. That delayed my start time for longer than expected but it allowed me to take my time getting ready. I even managed to bump into a friend from university that I havne't seen in 4 years. The forecast called for rain throughout the day, but it had only rained early in the morning . By the time I had woken up it was only clouds and a bit cold. After I had finished my hike I found out that it had rained in the last village in the afternoon, but I never would have guessed it. Venice to the east (and also my next destination) was also hit hard by rain. This would be the first time but not the last time this vacation where I avoided the rain.
By 10AM I began my hike of Cinque Terra. It is a network of 5 villages located on the coast which are connected by train (and now train). The hike is magnificent and it has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. There is a main trail and several secondary trails that are longer and more difficult.
The first hike was a piece of cake. It was a stroll along a coastal boardwalk which only took 15 minutes and it was super crowded by groups of slow people. Once at the second village, the main trail was closed due to landslides so you either had to take the 2.5 hour alternate hike or catch the train to the next village. This is where the real hike bag. I started walking up the steep road until I got to the steps which continued for a long enough workout on the stairmaster. Along the way I met a nice couple from the states and decided to slow my pace beacuse I wasn't seeing too many people on the trail and I needed a photagrapher. Most of the people had opted to take the train instead of the alternate hike. The hike was totally worth it as it offered some great almost birds eye views of the two villages.
Manarola - the 2nd village
Corniglia - the 3rd village
Once I was close to the third village I made my first wrong turn. Somehow I ended up down at the train station instead of the village itself. Once I got back to the point where I had turned I was greeted by a sign that said 'CONGRAGULATIONS! you have climbed 382 steps, you are in Corniglia, the center of Cinque Terra. WELCOME'. FML. I grabbed a pizza for lunch then made my way down to the marina hoping that there would be a good view - there wasn't. I wouldn't have walked up one step for the view - I did MANY more! The hikes to village 4 and 5 I did alone and was able to go at my stupidly fast pace. These walks carried the same theme - great views and tons of stairs.
Vernazza - the 4th village
I hike the 5 villages but my day wasn't done there. Beyond the last village was a cliff peak that I was told had an amazing view. After hiking for the better part of 7 hours it was anotehr very intense 30 minute stairmaster with the speed on fast. The view was totally worth it but by the time I had gotten back to the hostel I had hiked for the better part of 9 hours! That is what happens when I only give myself one day to see Cinque Terra. Most people I met on the way were spending 2 or 3 days there, not one. My legs felt like Jell-O and I was off to catch my night train-train-bus-train-train to Venice. A train-train-bus-train-train is the series of vehicles I took to eventually end up in Venice 11 hours later at 9AM. Fun fact about the train station in Florence - it is closed between the hours of 3-4AM. I was surprsied to find out that it didn't operate 24 hours a day as it was a major hub in the country.
The things I will do for a picture... Monterosso -the 5th village and San Antonio, the mountain I climbed to the left of the village.
The view from San Antonio and the view of the entire hike!
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