Anniversary Trip to Italy - Day 6: Cinque Terre Day 2

On our last full day in Portovenere we got up early and took the ferry to Monterrosso which is the northern most village of Cinque Terre. Our plan was to look around the town a little, buy some water for our hike, and then find the trail that goes from Monterrosso to Vernazza. We had talked to a pair of real nice Scottish women who were traveling around Italy with their backpacks the night before at dinner in Portovenere. They told us it would take us about 2 hours to hike from Monterrosso to Vernazza. And then about an hour or so to go from Vernazza to Corniglia. There was no ferry stop in Corniglia and the easy trail from Corniglia to the next village was closed. There was an alternate route but it would be more rugged and we did not have a map so our plan was to turn around in Corniglia and head back to Vernazza where we could get the ferry back to Portovenere.

The hike was amazing. Again there were lots of steps. But the sites, sounds (or lack thereof), and smells were so invigorating, I did not mind the steps too much although the next day I had to dose heavy on the Advil.  Here are some of the choice shots from the day including the dolphins we happened upon.

Look. Dolphins!

The seemed to want to play with the boat

I  never got a good shot of them very far out of the water but you can see them in front of the boat

Did I mention the steps?

This was really just the beginning. Interestingly enough, as we hiked throughout the day, we encountered other hikers. Some people would be gaining on us but before they caught up to us, we would hit a climb. We pulled away from EVERYONE on the climbs. Some of the younger people would start to catch back up to us on the flats or the downhills but then as soon as we hit the climbs, we would drop them. Yeah, we are a little fit.

Monterrosso off in the distance

Another shot of Monterrosso

Approaching Vernazza

Zoom in from the same spot I took the picture above. We ended up eating the restaurant with the colorful umbrellas on the left

Super zoom

All along the trail are grapes and olive and other agriculture. These farmers do a lot by hand and must be super fit.

Getting closer

And down we go

Notice all the people sitting and drawing, sketching, or painting. There were lots of them at various places on our trip.

Here is the scene they were painting

After lunch we headed on down the trail to the next village which was Corniglia

Part of the rail. A flat section.

See the slug. Melissa almost stepped on it. I somehow always see these types of things. I saw a snail later that night.

See Melissa. I was trying to give you an idea of the many steps. We were going in the opposite direction of those folks coming down

First Glimpse of Corniglia

I like the say the sun colored the rocks

Arriving back in Portovenere