The five towns situated on the north west coast of Italy are
without a doubt one of the most magnificent places we have ever visited. From
Riamoggire to Monterosso is a plethora of gorgeous towns, stunning views and
rugged landscapes. Beginning in Riamoggire we watched the sunset the day we
arrived. As we slurped on our gelatos and watched the fiery red ball dip into
the ocean it was hard to imagine being more at peace.
The next day we prepared for the trek between the five
towns, and what a trek it was. Owing to the fact the Italian government hasn’t
quite finished fixing the ocean paths we were faced with the option of taking
the trains between the towns and not seeing much at all except the inside of a
tunnel, or trekking over the mountains between the second and third towns.
Well, being the fearless adventures we are, we decided it was time to emulate
the great explorers Burke and Wills and in the words of Robert Frost “…. Take
the road less travelled.” Filled with self-importance and excitement we hit the
mountain road and were joined by a rather portly and wheezy American man, who
whilst full of wonderful information was never going to make the journey, so we
left him. Not very nice, but alas sacrifices must be made on this sort of
quest. Once we shook off our slower companion we were immediately caught behind
a Chinese tour group. Not to have our spirits quashed we quickly over took them
and acted like we were still the only civilians to hike this perilous path. The
other 58 people we passed quickly stilled this notion, but to not to be stopped
we continued on till we reached the summit and some of the most breathtaking
(literally, it was 2Km straight up hill) and spectacular views we have ever
see.
The rest of the journey wasn’t quite as eventful as that
first trek, but the views continued to be more and more stunning, although our
hearts always favoured the first town of Riamoggire. Hence dinner of pizza and
pasta was eaten on the rocks again watching that giant orange orb dip its rays
into the ocean. It was made even more special by the accompaniment of a rather
tasty red wine.
With heavy hearts we departed Cinque Terre, but the
simplicity and magic of this destination will forever live within us.
