Sunday & Monday 11 & 12 July 2010
An uneventful train journey from Venezia to Monterosso saw us arrive mid afternoon, once again to quite warm and humid conditions on the seaside.
The trip was notable however because the last 15 kilometers or so was inside one long tunnel, broken into daylight only by the five railway stations at Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. Each station stop provided a magnificent view of the sea and gaily painted houses. I should also mention that the train we were on, which we changed to at La Spezia, was not air conditioned and was rather like a sauna.
Our hotel was a little strange and was not really a hotel at all - much more like a roo to hire. It contained a bed with bedside dressers, a wardrobe and a bathroom. No TV and no fridge. This provided us with somewhat of a problem, because there was nowhere to keep the wine and beer cool, so we just had to drink it before it became too warm to drink....
The other surprise that greeted us when we arrived at Monterosso was the enormous crowds - it appears to be a popular seaside destination for Italians - just like Venezia, there were thousands of people there - many of them lying on deckchairs under umbrellas on the private beaches that occupy about 80% of the shoreline in the town - there was omly one small public beach. The beach was also mainly pebbles and stones, not sand, although there was sans at the top of the beach.
Monday saw the walk along the Cinque Terra and this was one hell of an experience.
We set off at around 9 am to very qiuckly find out that the leg from Monterosso to Vernazza was very hard work indeed - a very steep climb up meny, many rough steps. We certainly paused on many occasions to catch the incredible views - and our breath. But it was well worth the experience and the best bit was that we (quite unintentionally and unknowingly)started with the most difficult sections and finished with the easiest at the end of the walk. It is a 9 kilometer walk that takes around 5 hours to complete, not including a stop for lunch, which I would reconmend.
Despite the extreme humidity, this was a walk that was as good as I was expecting and one that people should add to their 'to do before I die' list - just don't do it in July, August or early to mid September. The other 9 months would probably be a better choice. Melanie, Chelsea and Andrew will understand this as I think they also did the walk in summer.
The views are breathtaking and the towns are painted in the most remarkable colours that photos just do not do justice to. You have to see it for yourself to appreciate it...
