Cinque Terre

Wow, Europe is a cool place to live. Last Saturday we jumped (or should I say elbowed?) onto an Easy Jet flight to Pisa Italy. One and a half hours later, we had crossed the Alps and landed in the bustle of Pisa. The sun and warm breeze were a welcome change from Berlin as we waited at the station for our train to Levanto.

The trains in Italy are ridiculously cheap and they look it. The nearly two hour train ride cost only five euros each, but the train made the infamous Stansted Express seem luxurious in comparison. As the train rumbled northwest toward the Ligurian coast, we gazed out the window at farm fields, and mountains famed for their marble (we passed through Carrara, the source of the marble used to build the Parthanon).

We have not had one family vacation so far without some kind of snag… this was no exception. According to Rick Steves’ Italy (Appendix, page 839) “If you forget to stamp your ticket, go right away to the train conductor…. Or you’ll pay a fine.”

Hmmm that would explain why the guy was so upset when he checked our unstamped tickets. Thank goodness we only know four words of Italian, otherwise he would have told us to pay. As it was, our total linguistic ignorance completely dumbfounded him and he turned in a huff and walked away. Ignorance is bliss!

Levanto is a small city on the Med just north of Cinque Terre National Park. It has a lovely little downtown, great restaurants and a beautiful beach. Also, because it’s outside of the official park, accommodation is a lot cheaper there. Even so, we opted to stay in the youth hostel as apartments were still more expensive than those we found in Rome, Prague and Austria.

Sunday morning we headed out after a simple breakfast and soon were hiking south up the steep hillside and past the ruins of Levanto’s 12th century castle. Back then, Italy was divided into principalities. At the time, Pisa was a booming center of trade between Europe and the Middle East, and the towns along the Tuscan coast were under Pisa’s control. Despite that, they were constantly threatened by pirates and Viking raids. Hence the need for the castle, and the surprising number of red heads today. ;-)

The first impression I had as we hiked was of the texture. Everything is made from stone and stucco. There is an amazing sense that man and nature are one there. It is almost as though the houses grew out of the hillside. The warm earthy colors, draping flower covered vines, and natural, architecture just blend in. At the top of the steep climb, we turned and looked down at Levanto, the castle, and the sparkling light blue water of the sea. Our jaws dropped.

The hike south to Monterosso was strenuous and inspiring. We walked along the cliffs looking down at the see below and through olive groves and terraced vineyards. At one point we saw a small fishing boat, bright blue oars flashing in the sun as the fisherman slowly rowed along the shore. After 2 ½ hours of tough hiking, we decended into Monterosso al Mare.

Monterosso is the northern most village and the largest of the five in Cinque Terre. It has a new town and an old town connected by a tunnel through the hill that separates the two. Speaking of tunnels, the rail road here was built in the early twentieth century and more of it is in tunnels than in the open. Prior to that, people had to hike between the towns on the same paths we used. A road between the towns was not built until the 1980’s. Following a lunch with “the best focaccia in Cinque Terre”, we continued our hike south to the next village, Vernazza.

Talk about rigorous! This hike began with a steep ascent up 550 stone stairs. Once we reached the pinnacle, we stayed more or less at the same altitude and wound our way to the hilltop overlooking Vernazza. Vernazza is classic Cinque Terre. The tiny village clings to the sides of a narrow ravine. The houses appear to be stacked on top of each other. At the outlet of the ravine, the village opens a bit to the sea, with a tiny rock enclosed harbor and little colorful boats lined up like sunbathers on a beach. Vernazza has a timeless appearance. We decended into the village down a steep narrow stairway. Our legs were so tired, they were shaking. A leisurely gelato later, we were invigorated enough to explore the village a bit. Then we hobbled onto the train, and in ten minutes we were back in Levanto.

The next two days we continued our exploration of Cinque Terre. It was a fantatastic experience. Hiking, swimming, great food, and nice wine, what more could we ask for?