Today was a hard day in the best of ways. We started this hike knowing that it was listed as challenging (by most people, some thought it was a walk in the park). I pushed myself and my creaky old knees as far as they could go, we were both shaky at the end. There were many ups and downs, some paths that were only wide enough for one hiker to pass and views that were unbelievable. But, one plunge into the waters of the most beautifully turquoise Ligurian Sea and within minutes we were good to go.
We took the train into Vernazza to start the hike from town. We felt like we were in the Amazing Race Italy looking for the little sign that pointed us in the right direction and then followed the stairs (above) up and up and up and up and up. We heard on the trail that that first set of stairs was just over 550 steps and that sounded about right. Once we got to the end of the stairs it was a lot of stone pathways, more stairs, some dirt trail, more stairs, some wall-hugging one way paths and more stairs. Twice on the trail, once at the beginning and once near the end we passed the most beautiful music and I don't know about anyone else, but it sure took my mind off of my legs for a few minutes.
Much of our time was spent waiting to the side to let the line of people coming from the other direction pass by as there was a fair amount of trail only wide enough for one person. Almost everyone was civil and friendly as we took turns waiting. Some of the views were amazing and some I missed as I bent over to catch my breath :) This was one look-back that I am glad I didn't miss. This photo is of the town of Vernazza, where we started from about two thirds of the way to the top.
For me, if I had known how challenging the hike was I probably would have thought about it a bit more but I am glad for my quick decision making now that it is over. As we got close to the other end of the trail the beachfront of Monterosso came into view. We had heard about the beach and had been pre-warned to take our bathing suits with us but we forgot them. As this beautiful sight came into view we knew we were swimming in our clothes and that's what we did. The water soothed our weary bones and gave us an excuse to lie on the beach for a while as we dried out.
We had a gelato and made our way home on the train. We definitely had a nap before heading out for dinner and a walk (yes, another walk) around the hilly town of Riamaggiore. It was a beautiful sunset that we caught from up by the Riamaggiore castle. All in all, another amazing day in the Cinque Terre.
Buonasera!
Just...WOW! Astounding reward for your effort.
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