Our visit to Cinque Terre was all about hiking for me. Most of you understand by now that Michael can’t exert himself much due to his heart issues. But he is a great sport about meeting me somewhere after I’ve hiked there.

Today’s first hike began in Corniglia. I bought a Cinque Terre Tren card and took the train from Riomaggiore to Corniglia. The Tren card made the most sense because I would be hiking the two trails that have a fee associated with them (the other two I would be hiking are free) and would be taking the train enough to make the Tren card the way to go. Michael also bought the Tren card, but for him it was because he would be taking the train numerous times.

The first portion of the hike consisted of climbing the 383 steps to Corniglia, the only one of the five towns not located at sea level. Once there, I walked around a bit to enjoy the town. It is very pretty.

I got my fill of Corniglia and started the hike to Vernazza. This is the description of the hike:

Hiking trail Corniglia – Vernazza
Difficulty: average
Length: 3.5 km
Duration: 1.5h
Hiking fee: €7,50/day or Cinque Terre Card
After visiting Corniglia, with its lovely tiny streets with shops and restaurants, follow the signs to Vernazza. Starting in Corniglia the trail is relatively flat and you will have wonderful views descending towards Vernazza. (The map shows the trail ending in Corniglia, but it is the same route either way and I included the Corniglia to Vernazza text above.)

As you can see, the predicted time to complete the walk is 1.5 hours. That is pretty close. It took me one hour and 20 minutes. The hike included lots of steps but it wasn’t really difficult. The scenery was lovely, as predicted.

It was time for me to take my second hike of the day. This one was to Monterosso. This is how the trail is described:

Hiking trail Vernazza – Monterosso
Difficulty: average
Length: 3.6 km
Duration: 1.5h
Hiking fee: €7,50/day or Cinque Terre Card
The trail begins with a long staircase but you will have great views of Vernazza along the trail. Some parts are broad and peaceful, and you can always enjoy a wonderful panorama over the sea. The vegetation is very varied, you will find evergreen oaks, arboreal heather, broom, and juniper. The footpath passes on an antique stone-bridge, which is really worth a picture. (The map shows the trail ending in Vernazza, but it is the same either way.)

I was telling Michael that I didn’t know where the trail to Monterosso started. Some gentlemen who had just come from that way told me to turn left at the “hanging blue jeans.” The tip turned out to be perfect!

The gentlemen were still behind me and saw me stop to take a picture. They gave me a thumbs up. 🙂

I was surprised to see the signs listed in miles instead of kilometers. We hadn’t seen that anywhere else in our sailboat travels thus far.

I was so incredibly hot and thirsty when I got to Monterosso. I met Michael and we went straight to a restaurant to buy each of us a big beer. Then we went to the beach. I took off my shirt and went in the water in my sports bra and shorts. That felt heavenly!!!!!

We took the train back to Riomaggiore. Michael had worked with the folks who were renting to us to move our stuff to the new location while I was on my first hike. I asked him if the view was good and he said something like I could decide for myself. Here are my first views of the apartment:

This boded well because it was obvious that the apartment was right by the sea! The interior was super cute and the view was spectacular!

We ended the day with a beautiful view of the sunset.