European Holiday Prep 22 - 23 June

Where will I start to explain the second full day of our stay in Levanto?  Peregrine Adventures had given us tracks to follow as the trip is self guided.  The day before people had told us that the walk was easier than the one from Levanto to Monterosso the day before.  We had also heard that a railway strike may be happening.  We walked to the train station, validated the Cinque Terre Card at the station and then asked about the train.  They said it will be arriving but was delayed due to the strike.  We had also been told by people the day before that the track from Corniglia to Varnazza was closed.  We also asked at the Cinque Terre Information Desk about the track and they said it was closed from Manarola to Corniglia and due to the trains on strike we would have to get a ferry from Manarola to Vernazza meaning that we would be only walking half the distance. 

Riomaggoire

So Trevor and I decided that we would explore Riomaggorie and Manarola extensively.  The train from Levanto to Riomaggorie was 40 minutes late but still arrived.  Riomaggorie was amazingly beautiful and mountainous hence the streets were steep steps and narrow alley ways.  It was an easy walk from Riomaggorie to Manarola, which is another mountainous village on the edge of the Mediterranean.  We spent about an hour in both villages and took hundreds of photos, not a figure of speak. 



Manarola

Manarola

We bought some fruit for a good price, the cherries were yummy and large and sat on a seat near the start of the "Walk of Love".  After our cheap lunch of fruit we walked as far as we could along the "Walk of Love", which is on the edge of the Mediterranean.  This walk is very popular and the crowds were large but did not spoil the walk, the path is still cut by the landslide caused by the flood in this region on the 25th of October 2011.  We walked as far as we could and then returned to Manarola and explored the outer streets of the village, where we stumbled across a path leading to another village along the path we were to take that day, so we decided to see how far we could go on this track.

Walk of Love

Not far into the walk we meet some Austrians who said they started at Monterosso and walked all the way.  They informed us it was a six hour walk, by this stage it was getting late about three in the afternoon.  This path goes through the mountains to Corniglia.  The walk was hard going with very steep steps up and down the mountains and gullies, along tiny paths which the ground then drops away down the mountainside, no falling here!  We walked through vineyards and forests but the views over each of the villages were mind blowing, making the walk worthwhile. 

Track through vineyards to Corniglia

Nothing could have prepared me for the walk, as none of the walks around the Macleay Valley Coast are as high, steep or have as many steps.  Think the steps to Ellenbourough Falls over and over again.  We did the walk in 30 degree weather and I was wearing jeans and a singlet top. 

The track from Vernazza to Monterosso

I sweated like never before, likewise with the amount of water I drank that day.  We stopped at Corniglia for lunch, very sore and tired.  The night before I stayed up late writing the previous blog, until 1am, having only had 4 hours sleep that morning, I think I had done well. 

Looking back at Corniglia

The walk from Corniglia to Vernazza was very similar with steep steps up and down the mountainsides.  When we arrived at Vernazza we rested at the harbour with a cold bottle of water before setting off to Monterosso. 

Vernazza

The end in near, Monterosso

It was already 7:00pm by this stage with a two hour walk ahead of us.  Trevor had wanted to catch a train or ferry back, but I insisted on us doing the walk.  Again it was steep, climbing the mountains above the villages.  We arrived in Monterosso at 8:30pm and made our way to the train station but the train was delayed for some time due to the strike.  We arrived back at Levanto by about 9:00pm making this 15 kilometre walk into a 10 hour hike.  If you are fit and a serious hiker, take this track as the views are very rewarding.

Saturday 23 June - Today we woke a little tender from the previous day but not too bad.  We opted for a shorter version of the walk, catching a train from Levanto to Monterosso, buying a lemon juice slushy in Monterosso before boarding a bus which drives 15 minutes up the mountainside behind Monterosso.  We walked further up the mountainside to reach Madonna di Saviour.  We had a look inside of the church which was very beautiful with old paintings and the foundations of an eighth century church which once stood on the site. 

Madonna di Saviour

After a break amongst the trees next to the church we walked through Mediterranean shrub land where the wild flowers were in bloom.  This track is narrow with weeds growing next to the edge of the path.  Usually I wear jeans when bush walking due to snakes and to protect against scraps and cuts.  The first day I did not wear jeans the walk was lined with thorny weeds which grew towards the path making it hard to see if there are any snakes, which Trevor saw a black one on this section of the path.

No photo of the weeds but a view over Vernazza along the walk.  We will reach this village at the end.

We walked onto to Madonna di Reggio with statues of Joseph and Mary and a grotto below it with a running water fountain and another which runs continuously from the tap. 

Statue of Mary (Madonna) at Madonna di Reggio

Heading further down the mountainside we walked past many shrines with marble pictures depicting scenes from the Bible or of Mary (Madonna).  Along this path we also saw a snake make its way from off the side of a stone wall and slither under a rock at the base of the wall, very close to us.  The path continued past a cemetery where the coffin and body is placed in rectangle sections of a cement wall (think like a high rise of graves). 

Cemetery

Still heading down hill we arrived in Varnazza where we caught the train back to Levanto, after I had bought locally made perfume, scented with a unique scent for each of the places in the Cinque Terre area.  I chose Porto Venere only because we will be staying there, from tomorrow.