Fun in the Sun

We finally got to explore an area of Italy that Jolene and I have been wanting to see for years: The Cinque Terre. It's a series of 5 villages, connected by train or boat, that cling to the steep mountainsides above the rugged Mediterranean coast. Our first goal was to hike the cliff-hugging trail that links the villages, swimming and snacking along the way, and to return to our campsite by train.



The first segment of the trail was very rugged and narrow with countless steps. Much of the way was on very poor trails built on top of the old stone walls of terraced vineyards. The views were spectacular.














Descending down into our first stop, the town of Vernazza. One of the nicest little towns in Italy.






The weather was very hot and we headed straight for the harbor to cool off before securing lunch. After the break, we continued on to the remaining villages, with the first and hardest leg of the hike under our belt. We pushed on, passing gelato stands and bars, saving the rewards for our last town.





The last segment of the trail was the easiest, a paved hiking path called the Via d'Amore (road of love). The previously mentioned lovers' padlocks were fastened to everything imaginable along the 2km stretch. The town of Riomaggiore is a model of urban planning as they had thoughtfully placed a gelato stand right next to a bar.








We had some time before catching the train so we decided on another swim before the sun went down.








We caught the train back to Vernazza and had a wood-fired pizza, another one of our Italian culinary goals accomplished. The following day was more swimming, picnicking, and train riding.







The Cinque Terre is a very special place and was the perfect end to the Italian leg of our trip. The kids were sad about leaving Italy so we let them pick out a couple of souvenirs to take home. Dagobert is getting very crowded.