On the trail of Cinque Terre

(Click here to view my Cinque Terre photo set)

Cinque Terre is known as a heaven for avid hikers. The five villages of Cinque Terre are connected via well-marked hiking trails. The ‘shorter’ hiking trail from Riomaggiore until Monterosso is known as the Sentiero no.2 which is about 9km long. I know I wouldn’t be able to cover the whole trail in a day without wearing myself out, so I did the trekking in two days, which, in my opinion, is optimal, with enough time for you to walk leisurely around the villages.My second day of adventure in Cinque Terre started from Corniglia. It was a lovely day, blue-sky with soft patches of harmless, white clouds. I headed towards the vineyards in the direction of Vernazza. The morning sun was still hanging low in the sky when I started out my hike. The path led me through orchards and along vineyards. From afar, I caught a glimpse of the charming village of Corniglia, perched atop a cliff above the glistening waters.  Occasionally, I’d passed by a hiker or two, who greeted me with a cheerful buon giorno. The path was sometimes paved smooth while at times it was a little rocky. I was mostly alone throughout the hike. However the thought of losing my way didn’t occur to me at all.Steep slopes of wild bushes, vines, cacti, all thriving in this superb Mediterranean weather and an open sea spreading invitingly just below the slopes resided on one side. Rocky walls, terraced vineyards and olives orchards settled on the other side of the path. There were so much to behold, so rich a view made perfect by the blue sky and sunshine.The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza was well-marked and it took me about an hour and a half to reach Vernazza. I saw the tip of Vernazza jutting out magnificently as I descended towards the town. It was such a lovely sight to behold. Vernazza was already bustling with life as I strolled along its streets at around 10am. People were shopping for groceries and restaurateurs were already vying for their first customer of the day under colourful canopies outside their restaurants. I bought a postcard with exactly this view of Vernazza above, as seen on the way to Monterosso (but the picture above is taken my me ). My second leg of hiking to Monterosso continued and uphill I charged. This part of the hike was the most challenging as I couldn’t recall how many flights of stairs I’d climbed. The sun, at this hour, was already hot on my skin.The path from Vernazza to Monterosso became a little hostile and sometimes it was so narrow that it was only as wide as my feet placed side by side. It was quite tricky when there was opposing traffic from other hikers, with nothing for me to hold on to except leaning closely to the wall on one side and letting other passed me by.  Wild, thick shrubs and the unforgiving sea were just scant inches away from the path with no handrails in between.After about two hours of uphills and downhills, with T-shirt soaked wet with perspiration and I was all hot and toasty, I finally caught a peek of Monterosso, nestled comfortably behind some hills. It is also the only village amongst the five with a sandy beach. The water was a colour of bluish aquamarine and it was so clear. I immediately regretted that I didn’t brought along my swimming gear with me. There, I have an excuse to visit this wonderful place again .