Miles Hiked 6.4
Elevation Gain 2,451 feet
Here I am back in Italy and visiting the five villages of Cinque Terre – the hard way. The first (and previous) time I was here was in 2016, seven years ago. I remember the trail from Riomaggiore as being steep with a lot of steps. It will be interesting to see how I do this time.
I arrived in Riomaggiore late afternoon on September 29 from Venice. The train ride involved three train changes (one I almost missed because the train I was on was late). Riomaggiore hasn’t changed since I was last here and getting around was easy. I ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant, and then hung around for awhile before heading back to my room.
And so, today is the day. Just like the last time I was here, I got a late start. I probably won’t make it to Monterossa al Mare.
How quickly I remembered hiking this trail seven years ago. That rememberance was triggered by the insane climb at the outset. This trail doesn’t do anything easy. Rather than a fairly gentle slope upwards, it was all stairs. It brought back memories of the Grand Canyon except I think the steps of the GC were wider and easier. As I recall, this first part is a redirected part of the trail cause by landslides on the actual trail. The Riomaggiore to Manarola trail is supposed to be easy. The redirected trail is not.
Fortunately, it was almost perfect weather to be hiking. The sun was out, low humidity and the temperature was in the low 80’s. I had my hiking shorts on. During my recent PCT hike, I never wore them because the trail was exposed to the sun about 95% of the time and there were poisonous plants on the trail. The trail here had no poison plants (at least none known to me), and there was a lot of tree cover.
Riomaggiore, my start point faded behind me as I hiked to the first town, which is Manarola. In 2016, I remember few people were on the trail. My luck did not hold. At times the crowd of hikers rivaled those who start the Appalachian Trail in early April. For the most part, it was easy to get around the slow hikers, and of course I gave way to the faster ones. However, sometimes the stairs got so narrow only a single file of hikers going one way could use the trail.
When I arrived in Manarola, my legs were giving out. No, I wasn’t fatigued at all. The fact was I had not eaten a thing since the night before. I needed some food. There were plenty of shops in the village, so I got a sandwich and drank some water, which I had brought with me. Refreshed I went back to the trail and continued onward.
The next village was Corniglia. By now, I looked like I had taken a dive in the sea. The strenuous climb had the sweat pouring out of me. More water! If I remember correctly there are fountains with potable water in Corniglia, so I didn’t “sweat” it. (Get it? Didn’t “sweat” it).
As I was walking along, I looked at my watch and thought it read a little before 4 PM. Wow, I thought, where did the time go? It looked like I would get no further than Corniglia. Once I arrived in the village, I filled up with water (yes, there were public fountains) and found a place to sit. I was disappointed I wouldn’t get to Vernazza. Then I looked at my watch again and it was only 3 PM! Great, onward to Vernazza!
It took a little over an hour to get to Vernazza. The place was loaded with tourists. Ha! Off season doesn’t really exist here. I found a gelato stand and rewarded myself with two scoops. I managed to squeeze into a place to sit and enjoy the spoils of my effort. Watching the tourists was fun, so I hung around for awhile. Eventually, I walked up to the train station and grabbed a train back to Riomaggiore. Thanks, but no shuttle trail angels needed. The trains are great. Tonight, a nice warm shower and dinner will be my final reward for the day.
Tomorrow, Monterossa al Mare.
The below text was taken from the Cinque Terre website and will give you more details on the trail.
The blue path #2 of the Cinque Terre
It is the most famous and spectacular route of the Cinque Terre. But it has been traced, over the centuries, by those who used it habitually to move, so in some places it is a real mule track that winds along the waterfront connecting the five villages between them. It is easily passable, but let us not forget that it is still a path, where it is possible to find narrowing of the route, slippery sections and cliffs.
Caution. The itinerary from Riomaggiore to Monterosso is about 12 km long and the maximum altitude (200 m) is in Prevo, a small but characteristic fraction of Vernazza. The route is mostly made up of paths (about 8 km), cobbled mule tracks and stairways (about 2 km); the remainder is formed by the Via dell’Amore waterfront and by internal country roads. This is the path N. 2 of the C.A.I. of La Spezia, but is better known as the “blue path”. The entire route is marked by a white and a blue stripe.
Excluding the “Via dell’Amore”, which dates back to the 1930s, it is an ancient route, well known in the times of the Republic of Genoa, when Vernazza was the airport and the main commercial point of the area. It takes about 5 hours to cover the entire trail and a total height difference of 500 m is exceeded. But time doubles if you make short visits to the villages. The ideal is to have at least a few days available and divide the route in stages.
