Leaving one sole in Corniglia, the other in Vernazza
7 May 2022
Look back at Corniglia from the Azure Trail.
The Azure Trail is mostly an easy upper trail connecting Corniglia to Vernazza. It is an easier climb because I start out at around 330 feet above sea level from Corniglia. The upper, or high trails, tend to be older, more in tune with nature, and closer to the farmers who originally built and continue to tend the rock walls and paths. It evidently gave them a constructive use for all the rocks that were removed from their terraces in order to grow their grapes.
The Cinque Terre has a way of distracting you from reality. Emphasized in the brochures about the area are the 377 steps that one must climb from the train station to reach Corniglia. However, once trekking the higher trails of the park, these 377 steps look like child’s play. The uneven stone steps, twists and turns, ups and downs, and narrow pathways found along the higher trails are the reality.
My second stop along Italy’s Cinque Terre is small Manarola, a collection of pastel buildings tumbling down a ravine to the sea. Trains depart Riomaggiore three times an hour and the ride takes 2 minutes. For a flat rate of 5€, that’s a hefty fee when I have energy to spare – a real bargain after hiking one of the mountain trails along this coastline.
Manarola may be one of the prettiest villages on the Cinque Terre. My entry yesterday came from above where I could look out over the expanse of vineyards and hills all the way to Volastra and Corniglia. Today, coming up from the train station, Manarola seems to be perched on a steep promontory with its small port to the left and rows of colorful houses above and to the right.
My first trekking day along the Cinque Terre went from Will Wheaton’s “No, no, Hell no!” to “I think I can, I think I can” before reaching a resounding “Eureka” much as the Donner Party must have felt when reaching the West after a hungry winter in the Sierras.
One can ride a bus, train or ferry; I chose to ride the ferry from La Spezia to Riomaggiore. To say arriving at the Cinque Terre by ferry is spectacular is a vast understatement.
La Spezia – southernmost entry to the famed Cinque Terre: it has taken me three years and three tries but I have finally arrived. No rush, no stress, no problem. Hopefully. Covid has not chosen to disappear but I have chosen to take back control and live within the parameters of a world at war against both a deadly virus and a murdering Russian autocrat.
Masked, vaxed to the max, armed with my CDC record and the ability to exercise common sense, I am eager to explore and hike the Cinque Terre. Not for the usual “tourist day trip” but for the next two weeks. Italian scenery, food and la dolce vita!
I have visited Pisa on several occasions, most often not further than its famed Leaning Tower. It wasn’t until I wandered into some of its smaller, quieter streets that I discovered Pisa’s charm. I determined to return and spend more time exploring something other than its Piazza del Duomo.
