Monterosso Al Mare, Liguria, Italy, Monday, September 17, 2012

Levanto

Another croissant breakfast and we leave Rapallo in search of more conditioning. We take the train to Levanto with a quick change in Sestri Levante. We are doing another coastal hike today from Levanto to Monterosso al Mare the first town of five on the Cinque Terre. Then perhaps we will hike further to Vernazza, where we are staying. The Cinque Terre is a fairly popular bit of coast where up until recently five small towns were connected only by the footpaths between them. Actually, this is true for the middle three, the outer two had roads leading to them but not beyond.

Can You Name This Church?

Right now, our primary goal is to find the trail from the train station. We have some directions from a church so we head in the general direction of where we think it is. We reach a piazza and can see the church above so that is a good start. We take a peek inside the church whose name now eludes me and climb above it to a privately owned castello.
We finally see a sign pointing to Punta Mesco and Montorosso. There is also a trail marker which is a red and white bar on a nearby stone so that will be the markings of the day.

Old Path

It also signifies something very familiar to us on our European trails, and that is the beginning of an uphill climb. We start out on an old road which then turns to dirt. We are soon able to see how far we have come with views back down to Levanto. It is picturesque and we pass a few homes as we climb some old stone steps. We join a paved road for a short distance and then veer away from Italian civilization. The sea views end as we hike through some dense forest and then closer to the cliffs with occasional peek a boo sea views.

Lone Kayaker

At one spot we can look down to the turquoise waters and see a lone kayaker paddling along. As we leave the forest the terrain starts to change and gets quite dry. The sun having access to us combined with the climbing starts to get the sweat glands to working overtime.
We are really surprised how dry and desert like the terrain has gotten and some areas remind us of the canyons around St. George. Although not as steep as behind us, it is a steady uphill. I finally relent to take a short break on a rock even though it is in the sun, have some water, and get up to press on.

Montorosso Al Mare From the Trail

About an hour and a half from our start we crest the last ridge and get our first view of the Cinque Terre coast. Part of Montorosso is tucked behind the ridge while we can see the rest. Vernazza, our home for tonight is visible up the coast. We can see the hill town of Corniglia, the only one of the five towns to not have a harbor, and the last two towns of Manarola and Riomaggiore in the distance.
Now the downhill begins. First it is a dirt path but than changes into another endless series of steps. I am not sure why, if the ancient people were so short, that they would make steps that are tall enough to shake your whole body with each step and test the shock absorption limits of your knees. Yet that’s what they seem to like to do when the trail is at it’s steepest. We continue down and a few people catch up to us. Carol does not like people walking right behind her but when she stops to let them pass the man just says no, no, and waves for her to continue. They stay right on our tail and at one point I stop and he does the same thing. Obviously, they just want to see the dumb Americans crack their kneecaps on a giant stone step. When I stop for some water, they finally give us a big smile and pass us by. We continue to move at our own slow pace as the full packs force us to be more careful with our footing. Getting closer we follow a road and then descend a long flight of stairs to reach the edge of town.

Il Gigante

There is a beach here that says libero or free so we know it is time for a break. We have discovered Il Gigante Spiaggia or the beach of the giant. There is an old statue of a giant on the cliff at one end of the beach. We find a shady spot against the cliff, and put down the packs which turn into good back rests. An oriental woman nearby wants to massage my shoulders and feet but I hate to take Carols pleasure in doing it, away, so, I turn her down. Time for me to test the water and get refreshed. We do not want to go in together as what we think is the swim area is a little away from us and our packs have passports, money, iPad, etc. in them.

Oh So Refreshing

The water is beautiful and I swim closer to where we were sitting. It is apparently OK to swim there too so I convince Carol she can come in with me and we can watch our stuff from there. Other than the oriental woman trolling the beach for massages, there are not any shifty characters around. Of course, as soon as we get in a black guy with trinkets for sale wanders over causing me to keep an eye on things. He puts all his stuff in a bag, takes off his shoes and curls up on the sand to sleep, so no threat there. We enjoy the water together, this being Carols first foray into the Mediterranean.                                                                                        It is getting late and we want to head over to Vernazza by train, so we use the outdoor shower to rinse off, put on the packs, and walk to the station. We buy our tickets and it looks like there is a train in 15 minutes at 1602. Some people approach us and ask what track the train to Vernazza is on and I tell them track 2. After double checking the monitor with the paper board schedule we see there is no train at 1602 today just one at 1618 and it is on track 3. We stop on track 2 to tell the people we misled that the train is on track 3 and 15 minutes later. We talk to Chris and Judy some more while we are waiting. They are from North Carolina and are spending a week in the Cinque Terre. They have come here from Helsinki and are also staying in Vernazza tonight. There is an announcement that says our train is retardo which is Italian for delayed by 30 minutes. There is a lot of confusion on if it is still on the same track or not but the monitor still says track 3 . I walk around to track 1 and ask an Italian lady who says it is still on track 3. Finally a train comes and everyone gets on but it flies by Vernazza and the next 2 towns and stops in Riomaggiore. Most of the train was trying to go to Vernazza and gets off here. Chris and Judy were supposed to meet someone for their room at 5 and as it is now 4:55, they go to find a phone to call about being late. We cross the tracks and discover a train back to Vernazza which leaves at 5:20. It is only 10 minutes back which is good because we had set up a meeting time of 1800 (6) with our landlord at the station in Vernazza. Before long they announce a 15 minute delay on that train. Several people must think I am Italian and ask me which train goes to Vernazza. I tell them what I think is right as there is a delay and one train comes before ours that is going elsewhere. As we are waiting, Chris and Judy arrive with a phone adventure story and I tell them I held up this train for them. They announce another 5 minute delay which will still get us there in time. I go to look at the schedule again as they announce the train to Milan will be arriving. It shows that this train also stops in Vernazza so when it gets there we all get on. It stops first at Manarola which is a good sign and then 2 stops later we get off in Vernazza at 1752 with eight minutes to spare. We say goodbye to Chris and Judy and start to look for Francesco.
I finish making a sign and a lady approaches us and asks if we have reserved a room. I say yes with Francesco and Il Carugio and she says to follow her in Italian. We walk up to a room and she asks for our passport info and then says quattre Notte and I say no due Notte. She says no quattre notte, I say no due Notte. A side note to this is we originally booked four nights and changed to two so I tell her this in my best Italian and she makes a phone call then again says 4 nights. I say no and now ask if she is Francesco’s wife. She says no I am Barbara then looks at Carol and calls her Juliette. I say no, her name is Carol, are you Francesco’s wife with Il Carugio and it dawns on her that we are not the people she was looking for. She practically pushes us out the door as we are gathering our stuff so she can find her tenants at the station. After being hijacked we get back to the station at 1805 and yell Francesco. No reply so I finish my sign which Carol holds and start looking for someone looking for us. Nothing, but Carol sees another lady looking like she is looking for someone so I say Francesco, and she says Francesca. I say no Francesco and it is another no go.

Vernazza Apartment

Finally a guy sees Carol and says Carol? We have found Francesco who was looking for us on the platform of the station not just below it where we were. What a crazy experience. It took us two hours for a ten minute train ride and then crazy Barbara grabs us before we luckily hook up with Francesco. Keep in mind that neither Barbara or Francesco speak much English and it was quite a funny event. Francesco shows us to our apartment, which is much better than Barbara’s studio, and checks us in. Cash deal, handshake, leave the keys, no passport info required, and we are on our own for two days.

Looking at Downtown Vernazza

We get settled, walk down to the harbor, watch the sun set, and find a great place to eat. We have two nice pasta dishes and stuffed mussels which are incredibly good. After dinner as we are walking off a few calories, we run into Chris and Judy eating at a small pizzeria. We sit and talk with them and a fellow traveler from South Africa. We talk until almost midnight before we turn in.
What a day this has been with a great hike, delayed trains, passing our station, hijacked by a crazy Italian lady, and making some new friends out of the deal.
CNC
“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey”-Firzhugh Mullen

Expenses
7.80E- 2 train tickets to Levanto
3.80E- 2 train tickets to Vernazza
51E- 2 pasta dinners, stuffed mussels, and wine at Trattoria da Sandro
3.10E- eggs, potatoes, and onion for breakfast at local stores.
80E- Il Carugio Apartment

Miles Walked – 9.4 Miles