Al Mare. To the sea.

And clear skies we had! Last night we went out to dinner at one of the two restaurants open here and I ordered seafood spaghetti. It was the freshest seafood I think I could have had (well, except for that one time on the boat when we had mahi mahi half an hour after we caught it).  This meal provided fuel for what we did today, taking full advantage of the sunshine.

Cinque Terre is known for its 12 km hiking trail that traverses the five villages along the coast. We only hiked from Manarola (where we’re staying) to Corniglia (the next village north) but it was absolutely breathtaking. After fruit bread and a cappuccino at the hostel, we set up the hill, up narrow stone stairways and paths. The trail provided quite the botany lesson. First we encountered lemon, lime, and orange trees, heavy with fruit. Then it was olive trees, grove after grove. Ornamental flowers decorated the homes in the villages and among the paths. And the vineyards, oh my. Imagine a hillside completely terraced with grape vines overlooking the Mediterranean with stone pathways crisscrossing the terraces. It was beautiful, and we happened to run into our roommate from California, Jenna. Add to this outlook after outlook of the villages with their coral, yellow, mint, and teal buildings all perched on the very edge of a cliff and you have the sights we saw today. Oh, I forgot about the view of the Alps. See, when we got to the top of our first uphill, we saw clouds out over the water. I said, “CLOUDS! They look like mountains!” Because in Ohio I sometimes pretend the clouds are mountains. Don’t tell me you don’t too. Except then we realized the were SNOW COVERED MOUNTAINS, which meant they had to be the Alps, a fact which we kept lauding each time they came into view again. 

In Corniglia, we needed lunch, so we looked for a market, but unable to find one, settled on something much better, and nearly as cheap. At one of the small cafes lining the narrow streets, we stopped for sandwiches. The ladies in front of us ordered espresso at the counter, drank it straight away, then left with a “ciao!” Taylor and I both got foccacia (spell check is telling me to correct this to moccasin) vegetariana, a toasted foccacia sandwich filled with fresh mozzarella, lettuce, and tomatoes. We managed to hold onto our warm sandwiches long enough to descend the mountain to the marina. I may have freaked out a bit at the prospect of touching the Mediterranean. So we basked in the sun, dangling our feet over the stone dock eating our sandwiches and listening to seagulls crying overhead. Our meal was finished off with “just one more” spoonful of nutella (aka 4). Then we clambered over rocks, slick with seaweed and crossed with streaks of granite to lean down and plunge our hands in the water.

It was chilly, but not chilly enough to not consider swimming. See, when we were walking along the trails, we were stripped down to t-shirts and exclaiming over the fact that it was January. Then we had to laugh when we saw Italians wearing down ski jackets strolling about town as if it were the arctic. I, on the other hand, even got a bit of a sunburn. By the end of our hike, we decided to treat ourselves with a train ride back, rather than hiking back up and down the mountain. As we sat waiting in Manarola, we decided American sounds like ducks quacking while Italian is so beautiful sounding. Then we made up a parody to ‘Riding Dirty’: “They see me rolling, in Manarola, controlling and trying to catch me riding trains, try to catch me riding trains” etc, etc. We got back just in time for a spectacular sunset with Manarola in the foreground.

David from Arkansas whom we met when we were chilling in the hallway, said he’d show us Manarola’s marina, so we headed down the lit streets of the village, in view of what I have heard is the largest outdoor nativity (that’s NEIGH-tiv-it-y, Whitney) to the water. We plan on returning with breakfast in the morning. Down there we came upon a small pizzeria and ordered squares of just made pizza that we took down to the water to eat under the stars. We are so blessed.

Exploring one of the abandoned houses along the path. 

Look at the pathway. Each trail seemed to have its own pattern of stone. 

Sunset with Manarola in the foreground. 

We made a friend!

To the sea!!

View of Manarola from Corniglia. 

Those terraces are the vineyards we walked along and if you look to the left of the furthest piece of land, you can just see the snow capped Alps.