Day 21 - Cinque Terre walk - the more love you make, the more love you take

I am sure this day is going to be one of the days we remember most of this trip - a magical day. We catch the train to Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre. This little town is renowned for 'amore' and as we start the coastal track for the next village there is colourful graffitti lining the cliff face walls. There are also thousands of locks of all sorts, shapes and colours hanging off wire fencing all along the walk - apparently put up by people in love 'to lock their love for posterity'.

The walk is a great introduction to the Cinque Terre - it is relatively short at only one km to the next small town of Manarola and hugs the cliffs with spectacular scenery. We enter a tunnel with windows looking out to sea and a wonderful sound of a piano accordian playing a very upbeat melody, very much dance music, greets us. Fantastic acoustics in the tunnel and to hear it made everyone smile. This was one busker who was on to a good thing and we stopped to put money in his hat.


We explore Manarola, which unfortunately is packed with tourist groups - I thought we had escaped all this - before getting on the train to take us to town number three: Corniglia.

Here we climb 382 steps (and they are hard steps) up to the town perched on top of a hill. As we climb the zig zag steps I can smell the most wonderful smell. There are yellow wildflowers everywhere - I think they are a common weed - and suddenly I think of honey. Later in the town I buy some of the local honey and it smells just like the flowers. Ligurian honey - very different and delicious.

The small town is enchanting. Despite an influx of tourists walking the Cinque Terre walk it still functions totally as a small rural village. The cheese shop, bakery and delicatessen are so rustic I realise that all the delis we have in Australia are imitations trying to capture the authenticity of what I am seeing - the real thing. Dinky little one person trucks arrive in the village square with boxs of grapes in the back.

At the small pizzeria/restuarant we have lunch and order lemonata. Unlike Rome and Florence where we were used to getting something resembling Sprite - here we get just pure lemon juice and ice - no sweetening at all. Very much a liver cleansing kick to start our walk on the trail to the next town of Vernazza.

The walk takes us uphill through olive groves and vineyards and then around the clifftop. More spectacular scenery. It is tough going though - the hips complain a lot. There are a lot of people on the walk and we all laugh as we pass each other, all grateful for the opportunity to stop for a moment.


By mid afternoon we reach Vernazza, a delightful town, perched on a rock - not much flat ground, but atmospheric with narrow streets and colourful houses close-knit together. There is a small bay with a circular marina and lots of boats and people. Alan and I do the cozzie changing thing with a sarong and slip off rocks into the Ligurian Sea.

We return to Levante about 5pm worn out but happy. We find a great little restaurant and have one of the best meals we have had in Italy. We try the traditional Gattafin for our antipasto course and love it. It consists of pecorini cheese with crushed basil and other herbs in pastry. (Ligurian cuisine is renowned for its pestos, anchovies, wines and honey.) Alan has scallopine in a white wine sauce, me grilled beef, both accompanied by ratatouille and delicious roasted and herbed potatoes. We end the meal with a basilico liquer. Perfecto.