The next day we got up bright and early, laced our boots and headed to Cinque Terre, a national park and UNESCO world heritage site. The trail takes you up, down and around the jagged coastline, through '
The Five Lands' or villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore) of Cinque Terre. The hike from first to fifth town will take you about 6hrs, allowing for plenty of catch-your-breath and snapchat-the-view stops. Don't panic if hiking's not your thang, there's a nifty little train line between the villages and a €7 pass will cover your days train travel.
We started at Monterosso and made our way to Vernazza.
Stopping for some mid-hike blue sea mesmerisation.
The narrow path is embedded in the rockface. Whilst at times this can be mildly petrifying, the awe-inspiring sea views more than make up for it. As an aside, prepare yourself for a glutes workout. There are a whole lotta steps!
Girlband hiking team
If you're not sure where you are on the trail, the rule of thumb goes something along the lines of this: when you see sherbet coloured buildings embedded in the rockface and bobbing fishing boats you're at the next
terra.
Vernazza
Team Neon
Rule of thumb says we were at the next town, Manarola.
Man on rock watching sailing boat
The trail connecting Manarola and Riomaggiore is called Via dell'Amore (the love walk). Sadly it was closed and we had to do the last stretch on the less romantic train. You could practically feel our tired feet and burning glutes exhale a sigh of relief.
Make sure try the Genovese version of Fish & Chips,
Fritto Misto. Crispy, fresh, succulent perfection.
And a final panoramic view before piling onto the train home to nurse our feet, load ourselves into a sofa and lather on the aftersun.
We were just in the nick of time as the thunderclouds muscled their way in and the heavens opened.
Thank you Jess, Stef & Genova. We'll be back when our years supply of pesto runs out. Probably in a few weeks time...
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