Trekking Cinque Terre: Monterosso to Punta Mesco

12 May 2022

Destination, the white patch of peak at Punta Mesco

On a clear day, there is no panoramic point on the Cinque Terre that equals Punta Mesco, a promontory to the west dividing the village of Monterosso al mare from that of Levanto. From Monterosso, the promontory is very appealing, but hiking to this massive rock formation is daunting. I read that Italian poet Eugenio Montale walked here as a youth, later in 1975 he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature. Don’t know about his poetry but the fact he walked this trail more than once should have earned him a Nobel Prize for something!

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Trekking Cinque Terre: Vernazza to Monterosso

10 May 2022

I would not want to disabuse anyone from hiking the national park trails of the Cinque Terre. However, I will be honest and say the trails can be challenging. I witnessed those clinging to the rock walls on narrow paths, those packing large backpacks and even babies, the elderly, and those with taped knees. There were many huffers and puffers. Some of that describes me.

Google Map’s plot of altitude for Vernazza-Monterosso trek.

Following the reconstruction of a collapsed drystone wall on the Vernazza side of the trail, the Verde Azzurro (Blue Green) path became accessible again just this past month. Yeah! Alternative, higher routes are not an alternative for this hiker.

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