cinque terre, revisited.

Saw these frickin’ awesome photos of Jacinta’s trip to Cinque Terre (via Cup of Jo) and fell instantly in love.

After the initial hyperventilation, I quickly remembered that I too went to the beautiful Cinque Terre back in 2008 and because I didn’t have this blog then, I never shared them with anyone!

Cinque Terre is basically this amazingly beautiful coastal part of the Italian riviera made up of 5 villages – Monterroso, Vernaza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore (try saying their names out loud, with an Italian accent. It’s fun!) – therefore the name “Cinque” meaning 5 and “Terre” meaning lands.

The best way to see Cinque Terre is by hiking, and by hiking, I mean hiking. You need to wear proper shoes, and the terrain is full of slopes and bridges and foliage, the whole shebang. My friends had told me about the hiking but because I didn’t realise that they meant hiking, I was totally inappropriately attired and had to buy sports shoes and a backpack.

Of course, if you’re not really into hiking, you can take the train to each village, but really that’s no fun and you don’t get the awesome views that you do when you do it on foot.

I have to admit that we cheated at the last part and took the train from Corniglia to Manarola. But we had started from Monterosso and the hike from Monterosso to Corniglia is actually the toughest part of the whole thing. The last bit, from Manarola to Riomaggiore is a relatively easy stroll compared to the rest and there’s many areas with graffiti art and stone canopies. We even stumbled upon a group of Japanese ladies who were having some art class right by the coast! Cool beans. This is in a stark comparison to the first part of the hike where everyone is basically struggling to maneuver the terrain.

Oh and as you can see from the photos, me and my friends hiked with a full backpack – this is not so advisable. Learn from my mistakes people! Go to Cinque Terre! However, I went during autumn/winter which meant that while there wasn’t much crowds, it was too cold to swim. Which explains why I’m envious of Jacinta’s photos! And which totally warrants going back in the warmer months!

And now, here be photos!

And with that cheap thrill photo, I bid you goodnight my biskuts!