Honeymoon: Day Five, CINQUE TERRE (JK)

View of Monterosso from our kayaks

JK, Sept. 13 2010: A full day: began with an early rise again (7-ish) and a walk along the beach trail, near the statue in Monterosso.

We had a light breakfast of coffee and pastry before renting a kayak for two hours and exploring the coast in both directions, including a small waterfall. I swam off the kayak. The exercise felt great. Kayaking was followed by pizza for lunch.

Then we caught the train to Riomaggiore, at the far end of Cinque Terre. We wandered around the village for a half hour or so, stopping to appreciate the castle, church and local flora, before hiking to Manarola and then Corniglia.

Each village has its own feel, with different
relationships to the landscape, in terms of layout and altitude, street widths, divisions of areas, amount of agriculture etc.

The hike was substantial, capped by 380 steps to the village of Corniglia.

Here we rested, in a small restaurant patio of six tables, covered by vines, overlooking the ocean from the mountain top. We sampled local beer, wine and cheese and admired one of the many spectacular views. The cheese and drinks were also a great reward at the end of a substantial day. Thankfully we were able to catch the bus down the hill to the train station as we headed back to Monterosso.

A view of Corniglia from the train.
You must climb over 300 steep, crumbly stairs to reach this village.

I had a pre-dinner nap that made me feel ill, then we went for a quick swim before dining on the waterfront.

Oddly, the more expensive meals are less notable than the delicious lunches of pizza, panini and brioche.

 The fresh gelato, in an incredible diversity of flavours, is also a real treat.