The big walk (5th October)

So although Riomaggiore could be a wonderful place to just relax and do nothing, we decide to do the opposite and walk the 10km track that joins the five (Cinque) villages (Terre). The first stretch is the shortest, the best laid, the most scenic and the most well known. It's called the Via dell Amore and features a piece of art that has become the icon of the walk (the silhouette of two lovers kissing). Because of all the previously mentioned points, it's also the most crowded stretch, as it's easy for large tours groups of grey hairs to slowly move along this footpath. Once in Manarola we sample their gelato (it's very good) and walk about the tiny village. It's not too different to Riomaggiore with it's brightly coloured houses with dark green shutters. We resume the walk but this time the track is not paved, rather it's a fairly flat dirt track with the occasional large stone along the way. Shona slips on once such loose stone and it bites her ankle leaving an immediate bruise. It's not too bad only the size of an old NZ 5cent coin so she sucks it up. Just as well because the next village Corniglia is situated high up on the hill. This means a large flight of stairs (we didn't count them) to hike up to enter it. Just as well we didn't stay there because the train station was at the bottom and we didn't fancy doing it with a pack as well! The hike up definitely means we deserve more gelato which we ate overlooking the stunning view of the blue ocean. We had set out on the walk at 10am so it was now nearly lunchtime. The map says the next walk is 4km which takes 1hour 40minutes. So we hang out a bit longer stopping for a pizza - margarita of course. It's made from scratch and is delicious to share. Upon setting out on leg 3 we realise that each leg gets harder and harder. This time there are massive sets of stairs to climb up (we take a few breaks to enjoy the view, perch in the shade and get our breathe back). As we walk along one part of the countryside has recently been ravaged by fire. We are not sure why, but Mike finds it disturbing that the emergency help box is completely melted as a result. It is cool to see the various grape vines, lemon trees, olive trees growing on terraces amongst the normal bush that grows on the super steep hills. Our water goes down fast to help keep us hydrated. At one point there is a clearing under some trees and a number of people have stopped to have a picnic or have a rest. This isn't so strange except that there is a kitty cat lying on one of the tables in the sun and it appears to have cat food in a bowl and water for it to eat from. It's like someone treks in each day to feed it. We start to wonder if the cats are used as pest control, rather than poisons which could potentially affect the quality of the produce? Eventually we arrive in Vernazza with slightly sore knees, going downhill is rather hard on them. As we shared the first pizza we are still slightly hungry so find another margarita to share. It's not as good as Corniglia, however it fills up the hole in our tummies. Luckily the busker singing outside takes a break while we eat. She isn't that good and only knows one song which she plays on repeat - 'What's Up' by the 'Four Non Blondes'. Vernazza is the biggest town we have been too with lots of brightly coloured houses with dark green shutters. A large harbour and even an old castle on the hill. We head up to the castle to check it out. The view is very cool from here and we climb up the tower to get an even higher one. No one joins us up the top for ages, so we chill just enjoying being in the Cinque Terre and also trying to work out if it is going to rain. it's clouded over a bit and we suspect that it might. Our next stretch is supposed to take an hour 10 minutes, so when a massive tour group decides to come up the top, we choose to go down and carry on. The final leg is reasonably long and slightly rougher than the others. It's still a pretty decent track - however with the odd spit of rain the rocks can become a little more slippery and treacherous. We have no idea what was going through the mind of the lady we pass who's walking in jandals... mental! It is really satisfying when we round the corner and there is the path down to Monterosso the largest of the five villages. We decide that we can check out Monterosso another day but stop for a cappuccino on the beach first. We train back to Riomaggiore and use our kitchen to cook ourselves dinner. So exciting to be able to cook. It's pasta with garlic, pesto and parmesan cheese - YUM! Other people in our hostel bring back some mates so we drink our beer and wine and talk about travelling and life. At about midnight everyone seems to call it a night and we head to bed to rest our exercised and full bodies!