After a quick breakfast, our day started out with the toughest part of the hike - from Monterosso to Vernazza. We took lots of breaks. Part of it was on the coast which had a nice breeze, but when in the thick of the woods it was really hot & humid. Once we got to Vernazza we went for a swim and then had a nice lunch.
Jenna's knee started bothering her mid-hike to Vernazza, so she took the train the rest of the way and I hiked it by myself. Good practice for the rest of my trip flying solo. Not sure if I mentioned it, but the only way to get to all 5 towns is via train or the hiking trails. Pretty cool.
Corniglia was confusing to get around, and the water was a bit too rough for me to want to jump in off the dock. There is no beach, just rocks and a dock that people jump off of.
Manarola was very cute. I went into a few of the shops, and ended up getting something that says Monterosso in Manarola. When I went to pay the woman in the shop put down her book she was reading, which was in English and the title was something like - How to Understand Your Dog. So I asked her if the book was good and what was wrong with her dog. I definitely caught her off guard and she kind of stared at me with a look for a while, and then broke the awkwardness by smiling and said that she just started it and that her dog was a terror. I told her how I was a dog person with two cats, and how one of my cats I often want to throw out the window. It was a fun and random conversation. She guessed that Buster was going to be even more of a brat when I get back because I left him for so long. I hope she is wrong!
Anyways, the hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore is really a walk, not a hike. It was nice how in between each town the trails got easier as the day went on. The walk between Manarola and Riomaggiore is called Via dell’Amore (Lover’s Lane). The main section of it is full of graffiti of lovers names, locks where I guess they lock in their love and make it official by putting a lock on there? We saw a bunch of locks in Florence as well. Anyways, if I ever make it back there I'll be sure to bring some spray paint, a lock, and oh a lover.
Riomaggiore was my favorite of the little towns. Then I headed back to Monterosso via the train and met back up with Jenna to go to dinner. Close by cause my feet needed a break!
The next day we had another beach day, which was wonderful.
One last Cinque Terre comment - the church really close to Manuel's Guesthouse has a very precarious bell ringer (assuming it's not automated). It would ring at odd times, and every once in a while ring 35ish times in a row. Couldn't figure out the order to the madness.
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