Cinque Terre--Italy's Grand Canyon

Daddy Christopher and Baby Sebastian
see all photos »

We arrived in Cinque Terre on Tuesday, July 10, amidst the throng of tourists and parked our rental car in the long-term parking area by the beach in the main town of Monterosso al Mare. This is the most easily accessible of the five towns and thus a tourist haven. We rented an apartment for two nights just behind all the action on the waterfront. It was typically Italian—two bedrooms, a kitchenette and a bathroom, plus a small terrace just outside the entrance with olive and pine trees surrounding it. The added feature was the plum tree with yellow plums. And it was dead ripe. Yum! All of this was accessible by climbing 62 steps up the hillside.

The views over the sea and down to the beaches are truly breath taking.

The five towns hug this coastline
see all photos »

I mentioned the energy required to see this place. Well, thanks to the fact that this is now a “national park,” when you purchase a hiking ticket you also have the option of combining it with a train ticket. So even though you may wear yourself out on the first climb from Monterosso to Vernazza you can also hop aboard the train that regularly moves back and forth between the five towns. After Vernazza the other towns are Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The views over the sea and down to the beaches are truly breath taking.

Vernazza, our favorite!
see all photos »

We started our trek in Monterosso with a steep hike up through the terraced vineyards and fruit, vegetable, and flower gardens. After climbing up hundreds of steps carved in the path, we were greeted by a spectacular view of Monterosso and the Ligurian Sea. Along the way we met and chatted with several other American hikers. It was a relief to find that the trail took a downward slope toward Vernazza. When this picturesque town came into view, we found new energy and were eager to explore it. At the water’s edge we found a restaurant with umbrella tables and a nice selection of Italian foods such as all kinds of pasta and pizza. We choose three different types of pasta dishes so that we could share samples. After lunch Bud and Eric changed into swimming trunks and took a dip in the Sea. Kathy sunned and watched over the backpacks. The sunny weather and refreshing sea breeze were as delightful as the scenery.

Whew! This is harder than I thought
see all photos »

From Vernazza we decided to take the train down to Riomaggiore, the last town on our trek. From here we got back on the trail and began our return to Monterossa . We hiked as far as Corniglia where we again had to climb hundreds of steps to reach this quaint Italian village that is perched on the mountain side. We soon discovered that this isn’t a tourist haven, probably because of the steps one has to climb to reach it. We quietly walked around the town so as not to intrude on the residents of this sleepy village. We were delighted at the views we had of the 1,000 year old terraces that the farmers had carved into the mountain sides so long ago. While in Corniglia we shopped in a little market for our dinner. We bought bread, salami, cheese (made from sheep’s milk), tomatoes, and bananas and carried them back on the double-decker train with us to our apartment in Monterosso.

Our terrace in Monterosso
see all photos »

After a “homemade” dinner on our terrace, we took an evening walk through Monterossa. It’s hard to believe that we had the energy to do more walking, but the sea breeze and the interesting people kept us going; besides we needed to find a “banc-o-mat” (ATM) to withdraw more Euros. We soon discovered that the only working banc-o-mat was out of money, so we enjoyed some Italian gelato and called it a night.

What would really make this blog so much more readable are pictures of this place (and we have plenty—over 600 so far). But since Bud’s luggage is still trying to catch up with him we don’t have all the tools to make that possible….yet. But stay in touch with our blog and we’ll see if British Air can help us fix that problem. However, our most important prayer request has already been answered. Sebastian Martin Downs (grandchild no. 3) arrived into this world on Wednesday, July 11, at 12:08 PM, weighing 8 lbs. 9 oz. and in great shape even though daddy Christopher tells us that the cord was wrapped around his neck twice. Mommy Astrid is doing fine.

Some of the walkways are more interesting than others
see all photos »

--Bud and Kathy