Today was all about exploring and hiking the Cinque Terra so we were up early and walked to the jetty ready to take the first boat around the coast line/bluff to the southern most town of the Cinque Terre. Unfortunately we found out that the sea was too rough today to be able to take the boats out so we headed off to the train station to catch the first train instead.
The Cinque Terre means "five lands", these are the five fishing villages along this 9km stretch of the coast; Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The territory of Cinque Terre is the result of a thousand years of work by peasant farmers who transformed the steep cliffs into fertile terraces for the cultivation of vines and the production of famous wine. The delicate balance between the natural elements and human actions has created a unique scenery and is included in the list of cultural assets belonging to the "World Heritage" appointed by UNESCO.
A $10 euro ticket bought at the station in La Spezia covers the train fare allowing you to get on and off at all the villages as well as the cost of walking the trail. You can get a cheaper ticket if you don't plan on doing the hiking and just take the train to visit each village. Either way good shoes are needed, your not allowed on the trail without them.

Riomaggiore
Our first stop was Riomaggiore and here we discovered its name comes from the Rivus Maior that runs through it. According to legend, it was founded by some Greek refugees in the 7th century before eventually coming under the Republic of Genoa in the 13th century. There are two parts to the village, the part facing the sea which is the fishing village and the peasants village in the part facing the mountain.
After exploring the steep streets and alleys we came to the old castle perched on the cliffs edge, views of the Cinque Terra lay before us and set the scene for what was to follow.
From here picked up the first trail, the "lovers trail", towards the next village of Manarola. This trail has been carved directly out of the rock face and is the only trail that has been paved into a easy walking path meaning that all the tour groups take this trail. It's also wide enough to walk arm in arm, not possible on the later trails. Lovers padlocks adorn the railings along this part of the trail but again we didn't bring one...
Around a kilometre of easy walking later we came to the next village of

Manarola
Perched 70 meters above the sea on a rocky spur, it's a village filled with narrow alleys and steps weaving their way around the tall houses that seem to be glued together preventing them from falling into the sea. The church here dates back to 1338 and is built in the Gothic-Ligurian style.
The trail connecting Manarola and the next village is now closed as it's too dangerous to walk, hopefully it'll get fixed up in the near future so you can walk the entire trail.
While waiting at the train station we had a great chat with an older American gentleman, an ex-tour guide who had been coaxed out of retirement by his old college friends to take them on a tour around Italy. For many of them this was their first time overseas and as "empty nesters" they were happy to pay a little extra to have their old friend take care of the details. Not a bad way to fund your retirement while travelling with friends!!

Corniglia
A few minutes later we were in Corniglia which by either boat or train can only be accessed by climbing over 300 steps up the cliffs, this difficulty in access leaves Corniglia as one of the most unspoiled areas in the Cinque Terra. Roman invaders gave out these lands after victory over the Ligurians in 177B.C and a family by the name of Cornelia received this area as their from the victory. It's an area rich in vineyards which has been producing wines for over a thousand years.
From here we were able to pick up the trail and head towards the next village. It's only 4km away but the terrain on the trail means it takes a good 1.5-2hrs to cover that, you don't need to be super fit but you will feel it in the legs!

Vernazza
We finished the trail at the village of Vernazza which derives it's name from the Roman family Vulnetia and was formed about 1000 years ago around the chapel in the area. By the 12th century it had extended it's territory to the harbour on the sea and had built a fort to withstand the Saracen oppression of the time, remnants of this fort still remain on the cliff top today.
Here we took a lunch break to fuel up for the next trek, Sarah enjoying stuffed muscles and Tim putting away a pasta & fish meal. The tastes were incredible, the fish having been caught in the very harbour we were eating in, so we were in no hurry to finish.
With the time now around 3:30pm it was time to pick the final trail towards Monterosso, at only 3km it again was a 1.5-2hr journey around the hillside and up & down the steep valleys and cliffs. This path at times becomes a squeeze for even 1 person so you need to stay focussed or you'll quickly end up on your backside (as Sarah found out the hard way)......or worse........
With terrible timing Sarah needed to go to the toilet, obviously not something you can find on the trail. So when we came across what looked like an old abandoned hut it was decided that I would stand guard while she took care of business. After a couple of false starts the trail was finally clear and nature was able to take its course!

Monterosso
With stiff, sore and dusty legs we arrived at the final village of Monterosso, derived from Mons Ruber of the ancient Romans because of the reddish colour of it's rocky soil. This is the " youngest" of the Cinque Terra villages as it can only be found in documents from 1400AD and today is more of a small town than a village like the rest of area.
It was now around 5:30pm so we took the train back towards La Spezia, after nearly 7hrs of walking in and around the Cinque Terra villages it was nice to finally be off our feet. Funny thing is that the train takes only 18minutes to get back to the first town!
Tonight it was pizza in our room as we rested up for tomorrow's drive up to Verona, the home of Romeo & Juliet.