Cinque Terre - Bed #5

The UNESCO heritage site of the Cinque Terre, which means 5 towns, is so unique and seems frozen in time. Pirate raids were a big problem hundreds of years ago, so wealthy families would build fortresses and towers for protection and then in turn offer protection to the peasants living nearby in exchange for goods and services. Little villages grew in the protection of these fortresses and because of the steep hills/mountains between them, each village remained in almost complete isolation from each other for hundreds of years. They each have their own dialect and traditions, although common to all of them is the tradition of wine-making. It is difficult or impossible to access the villages by car, so life is slower and quieter. Dozens of hiking trails link the towns, as does a train route.

We stayed just north of the Cinque Terre, in a town called Levanto. It was a more economical choice than the Cinque Terre, and it turned out to be so enjoyable that we extended our stay from 5 days to 10! It is a small town where everyone seems to know each other and where you can watch family life unfolding; teenagers flirting with each other at the park, grand parents enjoying their grandchildren, people shopping for their daily meals at shops where they are greeted by name and church bells marking every hour.

Our IKEA palace in Levanto. EVERYTHING was from IKEA, down to the bedding. The entire wall of our bedroom opened up so that I felt like I was reading outside, but in bed!!

Cinque Terre was a lesson in remaining open. Within minutes of arriving we were told that the main hiking trail along the coast that links all the towns was closed and that the trains weren't running because of a strike. Our hearts sank. That trail was supposed to be a highlight of the visit, and without the trains, the towns were going to be nearly inaccessible. So you let the news sink in and the feelings pass and then you say, "Now what." Thanks to the tourist information office, we discovered that Levanto (our home base for discoveringoffers a great bike path (former train tracks) to neighbouring towns, so on day one we rented bikes and had a blast biking along the sea and through many tunnels. It practically made us giddy to go so fast with so little effort as we hadn't riden bikes in so long. It was a great day and had the trains been running to Cinque Terre, we might have missed this experience. Openness - a discipline.

A stop along the bike path. Divine!

Then we decided to hike into the first town, Monterrosso, except that we took the wrong trail and ended up hiking for 6 hours, but we made it and treated ourselves to some gelati to celebrate. The next day we took a well deserved day off to rest. After that we explored the other Cinque Terre towns at our leisure, sometimes hiking and sometimes taking the train. It was probably our favourite destination so far of the whole trip. No churches, no museums, just trails and cute little towns, and a modern and comfortable apartment to return to every night. We frequented the local grocery store so often that we began to make friends with the butcher and the cheese lady. Once again we ate like royalty.

Monterrosso! We've hiked this far - now just to get down there.

Lunch at the mid-way point. We could see 3 out of the 5 Cinque Terre towns from this point.

Vernazza - our favourite town.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair!

Probably the best focaccia bread EVER!

These are the contraptions the farmers use to access their vineyards on the steep hills. We thought they should offer rides.

Farming in the hills of Cinque Terre, which explains the need for the little "monorails"

Corneglia, probably our least favourite of the 5, but it's cute from a distance.

Hiking up for a good view of Vernazza.