Breathtaking. Magnificent. Unbelievable. Cinque Terre was absolutely fabulous. I did not want to leave, and while I was there I could hardly believe that it was real. Each of the cities was so beautiful. The colorful buildings, dramatic drop offs, coastline and expanse of ocean all combined to create a gorgeous scene. We visited each of the five cities. All of them had unique quarks that made it worthwhile to visit all five. Sadly the pathways between the cities were closed, but we were able to walk along the Via dell'Amore. It was a beautiful walk along the coastline. We walked the path from Riomaggiore to Manarola. I was in awe the entire time. The view just doesn't get old. In Riomaggiore we headed to the marina for a great view of the colorful buildings crowding the hills next to the dramatic drop off at the harbor. We also got gelato from a little store. I got strawberry, and it was one of the best ice creams I have ever had in my life. It was so good and fresh. In Manarola we mostly just walked around a bit and enjoyed the city. We were only in Corniglia for a quick moment, but we still got to see the city. Monterosso was also very beautiful and had a nice beach. I could have stayed there all day and just soaked up the sun on the beach. Vernazza was a little harder to visit, because the town was nearly destroyed by a devastating mudslide. Only one pharmacy and one bar were open in the main part of the city, because the rest of the buildings were gutted by the disaster. The pathway was being rebuilt and a huge pile of debris lay at the end of the town near the waterfront. It was so sobering to see how quickly possessions can be swept away. But there was a sense of coming together and repairing that lingered in the town. Many of the doors of the destroyed buildings were painted with colorful, inspiring portraits. I really enjoyed my time in Vernazza and was impressed with the reaction of the town.
We stayed in Levanto, a town just outside of Monterosso, at the Ostello Ospitalia del Mare. I also really loved Levanto. It was more relaxed and had a larger beach than the five cities. I would absolutely love to move to Levanto the moment the opportunity presented itself. I'm very glad that we stayed in Levanto, because it was really close to Cinque Terre, and it had a lot to offer. The hostel was really nice and had a good breakfast. And the woman who owned it was very nice and helpful. One of my favorite parts of the trip was the two and a half hour hike we made from Levanto to Monterosso. It was a gorgeous hike and quite a good workout. The terrain changed nearly every 15 minutes from rocky to muddy to stone steps to steep inclines. It was a challenging hike, but very doable. And parts of the walk were enclosed in trees, while other parts had wide open views of the ocean. It was unlike any other hike I have done before, and was so exhilarating. Levanto and Cinque Terre are some of the best places I have visited so far, and I really hope to return one day. The area is worth at least a week, so hopefully I will have a chance to go again and devote a little more time.
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