The Cinque Terre

Jenny and I have been moving so quickly from place to place that we haven't had time to update the blog as frequently as we'd like. Well, today we arrived in London, and we have a week here. We decided to take it slow today, update the blog, and relax. With that said...

When Mike, my buddies and I journeyed through Europe four years ago, my fondest memory was hiking through the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. The Cinque Terre is an Italian national park that encompasses five (cinque) towns (or lands - terre) that were discovered in the early 1900s (?). The towns were originally linked only by small trails or boat, and couldn't be accessed by train or road. Today, they are accessible by trains and roads, although cars typically are not allowed in the towns themselves. Travelers typically hike the trails between 2 or 3 of the towns and then take a train to nearby La Spezia to stay the night. However, after my trip in 2005, I told myself that when I came to Europe with my wife, spending a night in one of the romantic villages would be a top priority.

Jenny and I caught the early train from Florence, and we rolled into Riomaggiore at 10:45. Our original plan was to hike the 8 mile trail from Monterosso, the northernmost of the five towns, to Riomaggiore, the southernmost town, with our 40 pound packs. However, just before the train doors closed in Riomaggiore Jenny suggested that we hop off the train and check in to our hotel before catching the next train to our starting point. Brilliant. We jumped out just as the doors closed behind us.

Finding our hotel was an experience in and of itself. It was everything I would have expected from a traditional Italian village. We walked to a local restaurant and asked for directions to La Baia di Rio, our hotel. The waitress thought for a moment and said, "That's Maristella's place." She then called Maristella and informed her that we were on our way. The waitress then gave us directions. As we approached the end of our directions, we asked another woman where Maristella lived. The woman walked us to a two floor, light-yellow plastered building, shouting Maristella's name from the open doorway. A woman in her sixties appeared in a floral mumu with pink slippers - Maristella. The two women spoke in Italian for about two minutes before saying, "Ciao." Maristella then urged us to come in. The place felt very much like a neighborhood.

Jenny and I left our bags at the hotel, making our hike infinitely more enjoyable. We then caught the next train to Monterosso to begin the hike.

The Cinque Terre is the home of pesto, and the terraced mountainsides between the towns are planted with basil, olives, and grapes for wine. Throngs of tourists aside, this is heaven on Earth. Jenny and I enjoyed swimming in the harbor of Vernazza, with colorful boats and islets. Unfortunately, I stepped on some kind of sea urchin as we climbed out of the water onto a small islet, leaving two dozen black spines poking out of my toes. No worries, we borrowed a pin from a souvenir shop and bought Jenny an ice cream cone as I performed surgery and she sunbathed.

There really isn't much else to say about the Cinque Terre. It's beautiful, there are quite a few tourists, and we had a great time.