FIELD TRIP: the Cinque Terra region of Italy
I watched Rick Steve's Europe, episode #205 last night, and saw the most perfect place I have ever seen. Actually, I have the strongest, most inexplicable, disconcerting feeling as if I have already been there or that I must go there or my soul will collapse upon itself. I must go there or I will die inside. I no longer have any drive or desire to run away to a deserted Mexican beach to live in a $5 a day cabana and eat fruit and fish and lay on the beach all day - I am moving to Vernazza, and I am never coming back.
The Cinque Terra refers to a strand of five delightful Mediterranean seaside villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore) cascading along a five mile stretch of the northwestern Italian coast like glistening, glittering little gems.
Descending along the coast, we will visit:
Monterosso al Mare
Vernazza
Corniglia
Manarolo
Riomaggiore
We will fly into Genoa, take the train or ferry* toward La Spezia to Monterosso and then we can either walk between the towns, take the train, or ferry* (*the ferry does not dock at Corniglia due to the lack of harbor). Cars are out of the question here, as it should be. The some 600 residents of Vernazza banded together and stopped a road from built through their town. Bless their souls.
Thankfully, there are no Super 8s, but there are several nice hotels and Bed & Breakfasts, we can also rent rooms from the locals or stay in a hostel. Here is a link to the Baranin B&B whose AMAZING site has more information about the Cinque Terra than their own B&B! Strangely, it seem to imitate and replicate THIS SITE.
We will be spending our days working up our appetites by hiking the trails, diving, swimming, sunning on the beach, fishing and boating, attending a festival or two if we time our trip right - we just missed the Lemon Festival in May, we will also be spending some time in the Cinque Terra National Park and Marine Reserve, as well as exploring the five five castles and the five sanctuaries of each of the unique Cinque Terra towns, but mostly we are going to literally absorb peace and quiet while we reflect and relax.
If you want to learn more, visit, my favorite - the 5terra website, the Cinque Terra Consortium, Cinque Terra online, the dreaded wiki page, and I also found this helpful site put together by a past visitor to the Cinque Terra.
If sightseeing pictorials are more your taste, please visit the TerraGalleria gallery and the picturescolourlibrary gallery.
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