20100117 – Exploring the Cinque Terra

Today was our day to explore the remaining 3 towns that make up the Cinque Terra: Monterosso, Vernazza, and Corniglia. Instead of rushing out this morning, we spent 5 Euros and purchased an hour of wi-fi usage at the visitor’s center. After paying bills, confirming reservations, copying down directions, and taking care of other random chores, we caught the train to one Monterosso.

If Riomaggiore, where we are staying, is the largest of the 5 towns, Monterosso must be a close second. There were a number of bars and wine stores open. We were luck and found a nice wine shop that sold single glasses of Sciacchetra. Sciacchetra is a grape wine that is only made in the Cinque Terra. It was expensive, but well worth the money. This was the first wine that I have ever tasted that actually tastes like grapes. We would have loved to purchase a bottle to bring home, but the cheapest bottle that we have seen costs around 30 Euros! Our very small glass, perhaps the size of two shot glasses, cost 4 Euros. Later, we tried another local drink, Grappa. Grappa is a very strong drink, similar to vodka. I didn’t like it nearly as much as the Sciacchetra.

My favorite part of Monterosso was the anchovy shop. We were not able to visit the place where they make the anchovies, but we were able to sample them and to watch a video documenting their creation. The anchovies in the Cinque Terra are all made entirely by hand. The workers take the catch, cut off the heads, gut them, and then carefully pack them all in salt. I have only had anchovies a couple of times in my life, but these were the best.

We wondered around Monterosso some more, walked into a church, and took in the scenery before heading back to the train station to visit Vernazza. Our visit to Vernazza was similar to Monterosso but much shorter. Sadly, because we are visiting these towns in the winter (the off season), most of the restaurants, shops, and museums are closed. Vernazza, which is one of the smallest towns, really didn’t have much to offer. We walked down to the beach and then visited a very basic but lovely church before leaving for Corniglia.

I was beat by this point. I have been walking pretty hard these past few days, and my legs are starting to let me know that they need some rest. So, when we exited from the train and saw a sign that said that Corniglia was 365 steps away, I have to admit that I was somewhat concerned. Honestly, everything seems closed here. So, would it really be worth the effort? It was.

We started the ascent, and we carefully tracked the numbers placed on the stairs at random intervals by some unknown author. Even though he or she technically defaced the steps, they did know how to count. At the top of the steps, we found a lovely bar and I purchased a slice of lemon cake and a cappuccino. Jeremy had the same drink, but he bought a cream filled donut.

After refueling, we hiked up to a tower that wasn’t as much of a tower as it was someone’s roof. Still, the view was spectacular, and we spent a good deal of time just looking out over the city and the ocean.

At around 4:30, we headed back to the train and returned to Riomaggiore to purchase the train tickets for the next day. At the ticket office, we were in line behind a family from Australia. We were able to pretend that we knew a whole lot about riding the trains in Italy, and we showed them the cost-saving plan that we had come up with for getting to Venice. We bought our tickets, went to the store to purchase some grapes and a tomato, and then went back to our room.

We actually have a busy night planned. We have sausage and spaghetti to cook up, the Survivor season finale to watch, and a whole lot of Venice planning to do. I’ll update soon about how awesome dinner was!