le cinque terre
one good thing about the election of benedict xvi was that it freed up my weekend. i didn't want to risk missing the white smoke so his election let me get away from rome without any worries. john, mandi, sean, and i spent the weekend in the cinque terre. this is a stretch of the ligurian coast up near genoa that has some of the most beautiful views in all of italy. along the coast there are five small villages that are more or less all carbon copies of one another. but what breathtaking copies they are. these villages are built in some mind-boggling places. one of them is perched on a cliff above the sea. until the twentieth century the only way to get to and between the villages was by a series of what are described in the guidebooks as "goat trails," and we discovered that they really weren't kidding. the best way to experience this region is by hiking these trails.
we got there on thursday afternoon. we stayed in riomaggiore, the southernmost village. i was hooked from the instant we got off the train. the platform is cut right into the cliff side and looks out onto the sea. we had to walk up three or four sets of stairs to get to our hostel. these villages have staircases instead of cross streets. that was just a warm-up for friday though.
after we dropped off our stuff we went down to the waterfront. we scrambled over a breakwater and just chilled out for a while. at first i was the only person who managed to stay dry but then i tried to scramble over a rock that was visibly too slimy for me to make it. i took a nasty dip in the drink and the only pair of jeans i had brought with me was soaked for the next two days. it was all good though, i had brought my puma shorts for the hike. after some delicious pizza we went and hung out on a rocky beach and looked at the stars. the sky is so clear up there. the beach was covered in large rocks, the waves pulled them out to sea and the sound of them being dragged against each other in the water was amazingly soothing.
the next morning we set out on our hike. we left at about 8:30 or so. the first section was a cakewalk. it's called the via dell'amore and it's a nice, level path that doesn't really change in elevation much. the next hike was a different story. the path from manarola to corniglia was closed due to a rock slide so we had to take the harder trail. this started off by going straight up the side of a mountain. it was a series of fairly steep stairs that didn't seem to end. once we got to the top of the path it leveled off nicely. that's when the really sick views started and didn't end until we were done with the hike, about ten and a half hours after we had set out from riomaggiore. it was as rigorous a hike as any i had ever done when i was in scouts. it was awesome though, the trails go right along these terraces that people have been farming for centuries. they were a sight to see. the trails were narrow, we could barely pass people on the rare occasion that they were going in the opposite direction. it was just really peaceful. i felt like i was back at summer camp in the adirondacks except it was combined with being on the seaside. the villages themselves were awesome too.
the next day we took the boat along the coast to monteresso, the northernmost village. we wanted to hang out on the beach but it was cloudy out. we just walked around and looked in the shops all day. overall it was a very relaxing weekend. on the way back home we stopped in pisa to see the tower. pretty wonky (as villacci's travel book puts it). the place is surrounded by chotchky tents, selling leaning shot glassed, leaning coffee mugs, and a host of other leaning crap. i didn't think i was going to buy any of it, but there was one item i just couldn't resist. i won't describe it here, you'll have to see it when i get back. maybe i'll post a picture of it.
we got there on thursday afternoon. we stayed in riomaggiore, the southernmost village. i was hooked from the instant we got off the train. the platform is cut right into the cliff side and looks out onto the sea. we had to walk up three or four sets of stairs to get to our hostel. these villages have staircases instead of cross streets. that was just a warm-up for friday though.
after we dropped off our stuff we went down to the waterfront. we scrambled over a breakwater and just chilled out for a while. at first i was the only person who managed to stay dry but then i tried to scramble over a rock that was visibly too slimy for me to make it. i took a nasty dip in the drink and the only pair of jeans i had brought with me was soaked for the next two days. it was all good though, i had brought my puma shorts for the hike. after some delicious pizza we went and hung out on a rocky beach and looked at the stars. the sky is so clear up there. the beach was covered in large rocks, the waves pulled them out to sea and the sound of them being dragged against each other in the water was amazingly soothing.
the next morning we set out on our hike. we left at about 8:30 or so. the first section was a cakewalk. it's called the via dell'amore and it's a nice, level path that doesn't really change in elevation much. the next hike was a different story. the path from manarola to corniglia was closed due to a rock slide so we had to take the harder trail. this started off by going straight up the side of a mountain. it was a series of fairly steep stairs that didn't seem to end. once we got to the top of the path it leveled off nicely. that's when the really sick views started and didn't end until we were done with the hike, about ten and a half hours after we had set out from riomaggiore. it was as rigorous a hike as any i had ever done when i was in scouts. it was awesome though, the trails go right along these terraces that people have been farming for centuries. they were a sight to see. the trails were narrow, we could barely pass people on the rare occasion that they were going in the opposite direction. it was just really peaceful. i felt like i was back at summer camp in the adirondacks except it was combined with being on the seaside. the villages themselves were awesome too.
the next day we took the boat along the coast to monteresso, the northernmost village. we wanted to hang out on the beach but it was cloudy out. we just walked around and looked in the shops all day. overall it was a very relaxing weekend. on the way back home we stopped in pisa to see the tower. pretty wonky (as villacci's travel book puts it). the place is surrounded by chotchky tents, selling leaning shot glassed, leaning coffee mugs, and a host of other leaning crap. i didn't think i was going to buy any of it, but there was one item i just couldn't resist. i won't describe it here, you'll have to see it when i get back. maybe i'll post a picture of it.