Today’s main event was the hike from the fifth and largest
town, Monterosso, to Vernazza, the fourth town.
It was the one part of the coastal trail that we had not done when we
were here before and, like yesterday’s trek from Vernazza to Corniglia, it was
challenging, with lots of verticality.
Like the rest of the trail linking the towns, this portion is still
officially closed as a result of landslides, but we’d talked to other hikers
who said that it was passable.
Despite its difficulty, the trail offered many rewards. The initial portion was a seemingly endless
series of steep steps which took us up into the terraced vineyards that climb
the hill. We were able to see farmers at
work on their vines and get an up-close sense of the challenges of producing a
crop on such terrain. It was
interesting to see the funicular-like conveyer track used to transport the bins
of grapes from the terraces down to collection points near the base of the
hills.
In many areas, the
trail was on narrow ledges (without railings), where it was not possible to
pass others coming from the opposite direction.
There were many hikers out on this warm and sunny day; we had trouble
imagining how much difficult maneuvering is necessary during the height of the
tourist season. The hikers included
families with young children, parents carrying babies, ladies in decidedly
unsuitable footwear and lots of people with dogs. On small group with a thirteen-year-old
golden retriever had to literally carry the poor pup up the steps at some
points!
Soon (OK, not really soon, but eventually) we were walking
among the olive trees that produce the other main agricultural crop here. Their shade was welcome and their silvery
leaves brought the Italians’ use of olive branches on Palm Sunday back to mind.
In addition to the close-at-hand sights on the trail, the
distant views were spectacular all the way.
The first were of Monterosso, its beaches, castle, and harbor, then the
rocky coastline far below us, the tour boats, sail boats and kayaks on the
turquoise sea, and finally, Vernazza came into view. The trail’s vantage point has provided many a
postcard photo of the small harbor, domed churches, warm-hued houses climbing
the hills and spilling down to the seaside piazza and the tower above the far
side of the bay. We found an olive tree
with two perfect “seats” and a picture perfect perch for our picnic and no
five-star restaurant could have been better.
Back at sea level in Vernazza, we enjoyed a cold beer and a
chance to just sit on the breakwater and enjoy the scene without having to move
for a while. We took the train back to
Riomaggiore (via a stop in Manarola) for happy hour and dinner at home.
On this mild evening, we went down to the harbor for our
third sunset here and it was gorgeous one.
You could almost hear that big orange ball sizzle as it sank into the
sea – wow!
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