Friday, August 9, 2013

In the Cinque Terre it's always limoncello o'clock somewhere part 2

Leaving Vernazza we climbed from sea level again....the next town, Corniglia, sits above the sea on a point of land. Here is a shot taken from a distance, it is the closer of the two towns. The fourth town, Manarola, is in the distance

 

Getting closer

 

 

Corniglia has a really nice feel....lots of little shops and places to explore. We will be back to spend more time here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next section of the lower tourist trail was closed....still heavily damaged from massive floods in 2012. From Corniglia we had to climb up to the high mountain trails if we wanted to continue. By now the temperature had climbed to 28 degrees and we were working hard. Here is a shot back, you can see where we started way in the distance

 

Climbing quickly we were soon looking back down on Corniglia

 

The next section of trail took us high up the hills and through many terraced vineyards....you can see our next stop Manarola in the distance

 

 

Eventually we had to descend.......many steps down

 

We finally arrived in Manarola. Unfortunately the very last, and shortest, part of the trail is still closed. So we hopped on the train for the short ride to Riomaggiore.

We had hiked a total of 18.4 kms with plenty of elevation change, and it was stink hot out, so we were hungry and thirsty. We found a patio in Riomaggiore and quickly devoured a few pizzas

 

 

Followed by some more tasty cappuccinos. Now the baristas at Starbucks can do hearts....but can they do hiker bums?

 

Then we hopped back onto the express train back to Monterosso where we walked back to the B & B and decided to go for a nice refreshing dip in the pool....after rinsing the stink off first of course! It's very nice being able to swim while overlooking the Mediterranean.

After a nice swim and a shower it was time to venture out for supper. We think we are adjusting to the pace and the schedule over here. We didn't even start looking until around 8:30. We ended up eating at Bar Gio which is right on the ocean front promenade in Monterosso.....it was yummy

 

 

Another wonderful day draws to a close. Jo and Delanie are both fast asleep as I write about today's adventures. Time to post, then sleep. Will see what tomorrow brings :-)