"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."
I had plans. Big plans. My sister who lives in Italy had been bugging me for years to come visit so we could hike the seaside trails connecting the Cinque Terra, or 'Five Lands' for those of you not versed in the Italian language. From the south, the villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare hug the cliffs of the Ligurian Coastline, AKA the Italian Riviera.
This was the year that the stars aligned. I cashed in a boatload of frequent flier miles and made an airbnb reservation in Vernazza for one night. We would take the train from her home town of Siena to Pisa, climb that crazy tilting bell tower, then take another train to La Spezia before transferring to the local train that serves all five villages. Once we were checked into our apartment, we would hike from Vernazza to Corniglia then take the train back to clean up for dinner. The next morning, we would hike from Monterosso back to Vernazza, shower, pack up, then hit the southern two villages.
The Pisa stop worked like a charm. Nice view of the Apennine Mountains from the top of the tower.
We made it back to the Pisa train station with time to spare and arrived in La Spezia to complete chaos. In addition to the tourists arriving by train, there were three cruise ships docked in the nearby harbor with untold guided tour groups - each one with a leader holding up some type of identifying flag. We crammed into one of the double-decker train cars and counted the minutes until the first stop in Riomaggiore. Enough tourists exited the train that we could finally breathe.
Three stops later, we arrived in Vernazza and got our first views of our home base.
I had plans. Big plans. My sister who lives in Italy had been bugging me for years to come visit so we could hike the seaside trails connecting the Cinque Terra, or 'Five Lands' for those of you not versed in the Italian language. From the south, the villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare hug the cliffs of the Ligurian Coastline, AKA the Italian Riviera.
This was the year that the stars aligned. I cashed in a boatload of frequent flier miles and made an airbnb reservation in Vernazza for one night. We would take the train from her home town of Siena to Pisa, climb that crazy tilting bell tower, then take another train to La Spezia before transferring to the local train that serves all five villages. Once we were checked into our apartment, we would hike from Vernazza to Corniglia then take the train back to clean up for dinner. The next morning, we would hike from Monterosso back to Vernazza, shower, pack up, then hit the southern two villages.
The Pisa stop worked like a charm. Nice view of the Apennine Mountains from the top of the tower.
We made it back to the Pisa train station with time to spare and arrived in La Spezia to complete chaos. In addition to the tourists arriving by train, there were three cruise ships docked in the nearby harbor with untold guided tour groups - each one with a leader holding up some type of identifying flag. We crammed into one of the double-decker train cars and counted the minutes until the first stop in Riomaggiore. Enough tourists exited the train that we could finally breathe.
Three stops later, we arrived in Vernazza and got our first views of our home base.
Trudgin' along the AT since 2003. Completed Sections: Springer Mountain to Clingmans Dome and Max Patch NC to Gorham NH
"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard
"The days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations...those are pretty good days." Ray Wylie Hubbard