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Day 17 - en route to Cinque Terre
Carl could only use one word to describe the drive from France to Italy- DOWN. After
3 hours of exclamations "Em! Look! We're still going down!" I politely asked him to
only tell me if something new was happening.
Once we hit La Spezia, we were mistaken in believing that we were on the home
stretch. Following the directions of La Punta Caro (b****-face, our sat nav), we
followed a death trap of seriously winding and skinny roads sitting dangerously
close to the edge of the mountain we were climbing. We spent the next half an hour
fearing for our lives. Literally.
Up the top, the view of unspoiled ocean was second to none, and we followed the road
down to our next stop: Riomaggiore. Warned by fellow travelers on Trip Advisor, we
were aware of the roads of Cinque Terre - almost impossible. We had already decided
to use the parking lot just on the outskirts of Riomaggiore, at a fee of €23 per
day. We did however see some people on a tighter budget parking for free, way up the
steep hill toward the National Park. Each to their own, but after two days of hiking
the Cinque Terre, I would have paid someone €23 to carry me from my apartment to the
parking lot.
After checking into Cinque Terre Holidays for €100 per night, we were taken on the
long journey up hills and stairs to our self-contained apartment. Thank goodness we
had packed our overnight bags for our 3 night stay, as trying to lug our full
suitcases all the way to our apartment would have been a nightmare! We were assured
that a bus came every half hour which could take us to our apartment in future, but
our entire stay we didn't see nor need the bus. the apartment was comfortable and
felt lived-in, with a self contained kitchen (the oven had never been used) and a
small bedroom, living area and bathroom.
I was starving so we went to the town centre for lunch, which was disappointingly a
very Pizza Hut-esque pizza and pasta. We wanted to buy some supplies to cook our own
dinner, but the sadly understocked stores gave us very little options other than
cheese, cured meat and bread (sigh!) We did recognise the irony that the first hotel
that was self contained was in the first location without a Spar supermarket. We
bought a few little bits and pieces (embarrassingly unhealthy options) and headed
the slow uphill trek home.
We were exhausted from the drive and spent the afternoon resting away from the heat,
munching on some snacks and then diving into bed, where the tiny desk fan was an
adequate enough substitute for air conditioning.
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Day 18- Cinque Terre: Trek #1
Happy to start our day with home cooked eggs on toast, we grabbed a couple of water
bottles, our sneakers and, slathered in SPF 30 we set out for our first trek, to
Corniglia (the middle of the five towns).
The first part of the walk was called Via Del Amore and the ease of the walk gave us
a false sense of security that the trek would be similar to the Bondi-Bronte coastal
walk in Sydney. Upon buying our €5 walking tickets, we were notified that track 2
(the coastal walk from the 2nd town to the 3rd town) was closed due to a landslide.
From here you could use a different track which on the map looked significantly
longer, but not too much for us.
The Via Del Amore was an interesting path, where ar first glance what looks like
grafitti is actually declarations of love. Every place possible, there were padlocks
scrawled with names of lovers. It was a really interesting sight and the perfect
place for a photo opportunity.
When we arrived at the 2nd town, Manarola, finding the alternate path to the second town was a
serious challenge- there were no signs and the thick crowds walking the Via Del
Amore seemed to have disappeared. We should have known there was a reason for
this... the smart tourists caught the train to Corniglia. We finally found the way
after many false starts and turns, and soon we were making our way up a mountain.
Yes, a mountain. In the middle of the day, in the middle of summer, in full view of
the sun. It was well over 35 degrees by this stage and the sun was unbearable, and
it got warmer the higher we climbed. Over one thousand rugged stairs later, we
reached a less intense incline as we found the tiny town named Vernazza. From here, we
knew that we had made it about 1/3 of the way and we thought (or should I say, hoped
like hell) that the most intensive part of the walk was behind us. We followed the
small lines of red and white paint that marked the way of the Cinque Terre walk,
through scarily narrow paths perched high on the mountain in the middle of
vineyards. Most paths were only about 40-50cm wide, and the drop off about 3m
directly onto grape vines and chicken wire. If you were unlucky enough to fall with
some momentum, you could easily fall down the mountain.
To be fair, the view was just spectacular for some of the walk, with uninterrupted
ocean opening out beneath us. I was so hot, however, bright red and trying
desperately to fan away the massive bees that had taken a strange liking to me, that
unfortunately for the most part, I didn't notice the view. I am so glad I did the
walk but to be perfectly honest, I don't know I would do it again, at least not in
the summer in the middle of the day. There was barely anyone on the track, we
overtook about 4 couples struggling to continue. The descent into Corniglia provided
shady, cool and welcome relief and we did see some people (mostly Aussies) heading
up in the other direction. We didn't have the heart to tell them what they were
getting themselves into. After about 2-3 hours (who wears a watch on holiday?) we
finally arrived in Corniglia, where we followed a large group of American college
students, assuming they knew where the beach was, down 365 stairs which led only to
the train station. On the way, we came across a talented local artist and bought 5
watercolours - one for each Cinque Terre town - for Carl's apartment. Turns out, to
get to the town and some swimming water, we would have to climb the stairs again. I
am not ashamed to admit that by this stage, covered in sweat, dirt and defeat,
profanities were freely used, and Carl and I decided to catch the train into the 4th
town, Vernazza where we could swim.
The train was €2,60 each and took what seemed like a lifetime in a drought to come.
The trip was short (only one stop) and once there, we made our way to the water. The
town of Vernazza was very similar to Riomaggiore, but much more narrow, and the
water was very badly polluted, so much so that I didn't even want to go in! Carl had
a quick dip and I hosed myself off (their version of showers) in freezing cold and
refreshing water. We had a quick and easy take-away lunch of pesto pizza bread (how
do they make something so simple taste SO good?) and headed back to the train
station to go home to Riomaggiore, where we had a swim in the much cleaner water and
our first Italian gelato before heading back to our apartment for a much needed
shower and rest. We then headed out to one of the town restaurants for a delicious
dinner with the best calamari we had ever eaten.
Day 19 - Cinque Terre. Trek #2
Another delicious egg and toast breakfast courtesy of chef Carl, and we were ready
for our second trek. The original plan was to catch the train or ferry to
Monterosso, the furthest town from ours, and walk back to Corniglia where we could
take the train home.
We decided on the €8,50 ferry ride to experience something different, and weren't
disappointed as the views of each town were spectacular, despite the epic crowds and
Antonio, a strange she-male that had taken an uncomfortably strong liking to Carl.
Monterosso was pretty and wide, with a beach and many restaurants specifically
geared to tourists. It was definitely the biggest of the five towns. We bought our
walking tickets, again €5 each, and started our ascent on our already aching legs.
This walk was similar to yesterday's, in that it started with a steep climb uphill,
but was not as intense as the alternate route between Manarola and Corniglia. We understand
why there were signs with "these shoes not allowed" and pictures of haviana thongs.
The track is rough and rugged but this one was largely sheltered by the towering
trees, which made the views even more rewarding. Once again, I was terrorised by
massive bees and wasps which actually followed me for a hundred or so metres at a
time. It was quite scary and I'm not sure what attracted them to me, perhaps the
sunscreen or my perfume.
Before our descent into Vernazza, we were greeted by one of the most spectacular
views of the entire trip, down into the coloured mish mash of houses, and the many
dingys moored in the sparkling Mediterranean.
The trip took about 2 hours, and being faced with a potential additional 2 hour trek
to Corniglia, Carl and I made a mutual decision to "stuff it" and have a swim and
lunch instead. The water was pleasingly less polluted than yesterday, and we found a
cool cove with a fun rock jump to entertain us. We ate a lunch of pizza (the real
thing, with big dollops of mozzarella cheese in the centre) at the outdoor
restaurant on the water, and headed home to Riomaggiore by train for some gelato and
much deserved R&R.
Due to our awesome organisational skills, we had a few hours to play with after our
nap. Carl suggested we "lock it down" on the Via Del Amore, so we went and bought
two locks and wrote "C & Ems" "12/07/2011" "Made in Bondi" "Euroad trip 2011" on
them, and set off to Via Del Amore. We found the perfect spot to lock in our love
not far from the cafe. We climbed up the wall to a platform so we could reach the
mesh fencing protecting walkers from falling rocks. While we were finding the
perfect place to rest our locks, an American tourist offered to take a photo of us.
She said "only if I can take one with my camera, of people actually doing this". By
the time we were finished, we had a little crowd and were given a round of applause
by our audience.
Unfortunately for Carl, the platform we were standing of was actually a bed for some
cacti, which caught Carl square on the butt as he jumped down to the footpath. He
yelled out and I had no idea why, until I saw the hundreds of spines sticking out
from his shorts. I spent the next 10 minutes dutifully bending down to gently pick
what I could out from his shorts, while no doubt creating alot of confusion and
strange looks from the several tourists passing by. A pit stop at the restroom of
the wine bar near the entrance of Lover's Lane ensured the rest of the spikes were
removed, and we decided that Carl should have a well deserved beer (and for me, a
red wine) as we looked out into the endless blue ocean and discussed life.
Dinner was disguised by a search for wifi and, finding it at Bar Central, we stopped
for a drink (the best Sex on the Beach cocktail ever!) and, upon finding that the
wifi doesn't work on Apple products (?) we decided to order food instead. The food
was decent and well priced and the entire bill including drinks was €32.
Thoroughly worn out from our last 2 days of Cinque Terre goodness, we made out way
back up, up, UP to our apartment to prepare for our departure tomorrow.
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