The Five Villages of the Cinque Terre - Riomaggiore to Vernazza

On our second day, Ann, Kathy and I headed out after breakfast. We wanted to take the boat to see the five villages from the sea, but the sea was too choppy and the boats weren't going to be running at all. Instead, we took the train to Riomaggiore, the town furthest east, and planned to work our way west back to Monterosso. We explored Riomaggiore, climbing the hills and oh-so-many stairs in this terraced town, known for its wine, for about 2 1/2 hours. I snacked on a LOT of good stuff, as I wrote about in the previous post.

Ann and Cathy taking the train to Riomaggiore

This town is STEEP!  

I wonder what it's like to live in a place where people
are fascinated with taking pictures of your drying laundry.  

My favorite flowers are poppies.  There are wild red poppies growing all  over Italy,
and were in full bloom while I was there.  I think it's a sign.

getting close to the top of town, where there was a castle-looking overlook thing
that we wanted to check out

You can catch a glimpse of just a tiny section of terraced vineyards that
surrounded the hills of Riomaggiore

a view of Riomaggiore from the hills above town (check out the vineyards)

a brief part in the clouds

heading back down to the town center

Riomaggiore's marina

Because we still had hiking to do and had spent so much time in Riomaggiore, we skipped Manorola...

(as seen from Corniglia, the next town to the west)

...and went to Corniglia (pronounced cor-NEE-lia), the most central of the towns and the only one without a natural harbor/beach access. It is the smallest and least congested of the five.  The only way to get to Corniglia from the train station is by stairs - 382 of them - or so most people think.  Wait a few minutes and a small green bus (more like a large van) will drive you up if you have the combo train/hiking trail pass.  We opted to take the bus up and take the stairs down after a quick jaunt around Corniglia (it's pretty small, so it was pretty quick) and a nice rest at the amazing overlook it has.

The village off in the distance is Monterossso.

taking the stairs down 

Finally was Vernazza, the most frequently photographed of the Cinque Terre. When we got here it was a mob of people, and the smell of fish choked the air. The original plan was to hike along the trail from Vernazza to Monterosso (the only section of trail officially open between the towns) but for various reasons the plan changed. Ann and I still hiked up the trail far enough to see the iconic view of the harbor and town. 

When we came back down though, the crowds had somehow disappeared, and it was easy to see why this town is so beloved.

Now THAT is the house of a fisherman!

This sweet little boy had to be dragged away by his father from kicking the toy soccer balls
that were in a mesh bag in front of a shop.  

I didn't get my sunny beach day on the Italian Riviera, but I did get to walk along the beach. If I make it back, I will have to hike the trails and then relax on the beach.  I guess I had better stay a few days!