A break from cities: Cinque Terre

I'm lucky that I know myself at least well enough to plan time away from cities on my trip to Italy. It would be so easy to go between one beautiful city and the next the whole time, but there is so much to see in the countryside in Italy, and I tire of cities quickly. For my first-timers trip I decided on the classic Cinque Terre, although if I understand correctly this place became popular only after Rick Steves raved about it in one of his travel guides. Sort of like what John Denver did for Aspen, CO. Because I was there outside of peak season, there weren't so many tourists and I had much of the place to myself.

My host Martha met me at the train station in Riomaggiore (I chose this town partly because it contains my name!). I didn't have an opportunity to notice how spectacular the view from the station is when I first arrived because we headed straight for the tunnel to get to town. But I saw it the next day, the blue water sparkles in the sun and invites you in...too bad November is rough surf season!

My first night I walked up to the lookout area of Riomaggiore where I watched the sunset. It was me and two local women, and the birds in the tree above my head kept dropping seeds on me. After the sun set, I walked down through the steep winding alleys of the town, amazed that people actually live in this place. The moon was out and the waves were crashing, which made for an enjoyable walk. I wanted to have dinner in the restaurant (the only one open in town), but it didn't open until 7:30pm (off season). Instead I ordered a gin and tonic at the bar and filled up on the snacks that they give you...the made for a relaxed if not healthy dinner!

View of Riomaggiore from the breakwater.

Riomaggiore at night.

Mediterranean plants are obviously common here, and make a  nice foreground in photos.

View north from Riomaggiore.

My second day in town I took the local train to the northernmost village of Monterosso to start the hike on the foot trails that run between villages. Unfortunately the two trails between Riomaggiore-Manarola and Manarola-Corniglia were closed because of landslides that happened a couple years ago. Being perched on the sides of mountains I'm surprised (and glad) landslides don't happen more often. I did see the effects of one during the day's hike (see photo below).

When I hopped off the train and got directions to the trailhead, I ran into two American women who said "Do you speak English?" I replied with "I speak only English." They were looking to find the trail as well, and we ended up spending the rest of the day together. Both of them were traveling solo through Italy, in their 50s, and recently divorced. We had interesting conversations about life and what's important. Their advice for me, and they emphasized it multiple times, was to understand that it's  never too late to change your mind and switch directions. They wished they had realized that in their 20s when they were first married and starting families. I appreciated having hiking buddies and also picking their brains about life and traveling was fun. They thought I was ahead of the curve, given that I was already traveling alone and doing what I wanted to do. It can be liberating not having to cater to anyone else's needs!

Riomaggiore at sunset

These blue waters must be amazing in the summer months.

Our destination, although it took us more than an hour...too pretty to rush!

The view south from the trail.

Another benefit of having buddies!

Vernazza, where we stopped for a delicious late lunch and watched the sunset.

This house was ripped in two by a landslide. I don't know
how long ago it happened, but the trail had been repaired
for visitors. Perhaps the owners left it this way as a reminder
to visitors?

We were with a lot of other hikers and locals that were enjoying the spectacular sunset.

Vernazza from the breakwater.

It started to get chilly once the sun set, so we headed to Chris and Steph's room in Manarola to wait a while until restaurants were opened for dinner. Nothing interesting was open, so we headed to Riomaggiore to the restaurant I wanted to go to the night before. It was a fun meal, we shared a bottle of wine and ate local cuisine. I had locally made pasta with shrimp and a cream sauce, plus a panna cotta for dessert. I exchanged e-mails with my hiking buddies and then headed to my room ready to pass out from our wonderful and tiring day of hiking.

The next day I considered hiking another part of the trail, but instead roamed around Riomaggiore and spent some time relaxing by the water. It was warm and sunny, so I picked a spot where I could relax without being disturbed by other tourists. This was easy to do since there weren't many of them around, but I did manage to scare the heck out of one lady who didn't realize I was tucked away in the rocks reading my book. Unfortunately time ran out and I had to make my way to the next (and what I thought was final) destination: Rome.

I was sad to have to leave this place!