It’s trips like our visit to Cinque Terre that condone my bad travel planning behaviors. Let me start from the beginning. I probably didn’t do as much research prior to booking our trip to the famed Five Lands as I should have. In fact, here’s what I did:

• Log into airbnb.com four days before leaving Florence
• Zoom in on the Cinque Terre area on the map
• Set filters for amenities of wifi and price point
• Scan pictures for something with a sea view (I REALLY wanted this and think Airbnb should add a filter for balcony or patio)
• Book the cheapest option

Anyway, it turned out awesome and therefore I’m still encouraged and think that last minute planning some of the most beautiful places in the world is ok to do. I know I’m going to get burned soon but so far, it’s worked out. So a little about Cinque Terre and our time there.

Cinque Terre means “five lands” in English, and the area is made up of five small towns along the steep cliffs of the Italian Riveria. The towns were completely isolated until the 19th century when a railway was built connecting La Spezia in the south to Genoa in the north. Tourism started building in the 1970s, opening the doors to the millions of tourists that now visit the area each year. You may have read that the towns are not accessible by car, which is only partially true. Though most of the towns themselves are pedestrian only, there are roads that allow for access by car, however, parking is limited and it is much more convenient to use the train that connects them. And then of course there are the trails that snake across the rugged hillside, allowing visitors to hike from town to town while taking in the stunning scenery.

The apartment we booked for Cinque Terre was in the town of Corniglia. Corniglia is the town right in the middle of the five. It’s surrounded, in order of North to South, by Monterosso, Vernazza, (Corniglia), Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

Corniglia remains the most isolated town of the five. It’s located high on a cliff, so it is not accessible by ferry, and if you arrive by train, you must hike up 365 stairs to get to reach it. It’s also the least populated, with only 150 permanent residents. There are no hotels, only rooms to rent (Airbnb, like we did) or very, very small, more traditional B&Bs. I’m happy to say that as a total outsider and tourist myself, I think we were able to truly experience the genuine charm of Cinque Terre because we stayed here. Our apartment is located at the back of a large, pink house that sits right at the top of the stairs from the train station and overlooks the Mediterranean. Since we’re at the back of the house, our window view is of the steps into town, but there is a small table and chairs set up on a stone patio a few steps outside of our door where we can sit and just barely see the sea and rocky shoreline far below.

View from our little patio in Corniglia.

The 365 steps that lead up to the town from the train station. Our house sat right at the top.

At an overlook in Corniglia. You can see Manarola in the background.

The town has one narrow “main street” lined with small shops and restaurants, most with terraces that have a stunning view of the sea. Once the sun starts to set, hikers make their way back to their hotels in a neighboring town and the locals start to emerge. Groups of women relax in the town center, enjoying the cool evenings with a gelato while children run around and play tag. Through open doorways, men sit at tables and play cards. The last of the light sets everything aglow, and the town feels seems to sink slowly back into its ancient routines. It was so peaceful to sit on our little stone patio to watch the sunset over the sea while the sounds of our host family preparing their evening meal drift up to us from their open windows below. What a stunning place to call home.

Hiking

While in Cinque Terre, we complete the hike to three of the five towns. Since we are in the middle, we hike north to Vernazza one day and then south to Manarolla the next. We find that nearly all of the more direct routes along the shoreline are closed due to slides and they seem like they have been that way for awhile. We stick to the main trail that winds high up into the mountain side and gives stunning views of the oceans, ancient hillside agriculture terraces, and surrounding towns.

• Corniglia to Vernazza

  • Path: The Blue Trail
  • Time to complete: 2 hours
  • The more rugged hike of the two, the path is well marked but situated mostly along the cliffside, allowing you a view of the sea for nearly the entire hike. The famous nude Guvano Beach is located along the shore between Corniglia and Vernazza. Due to massive landslides in 2011 that destroyed much of the area, the trail to the beach is closed and it can really only be accessed by by boat now. There is a terrace or two along the way where you can stop for a snack or drink. In Vernazza, we head to the swimming area, which is the town’s boat harbor. After our swim, we shower, change, and make our hike back during the sunset.

View of Corniglia from the trail to Vernazza.

Vernazza.

Vernazza at sunset.

Vernazza boat harbor where we swam.

• Corniglia to Manarola

  • Path: The High Trail
  • Time to complete: 2.75 hrs
  • This hike provides more diversity in terrain, as there are areas where you are hiking through trees as well as areas of open vistas. The trail takes you right through the ancient terraces where locals still grow grapes and olives. Italians in Cinque Terre have been building and maintaining these terraces for centuries. Many experts believe these terraces are the only thing that have prevented the towns of Cinque Terre from sliding into the sea. Once you arrive in Manarola, you can swim here too. The swimming area is down by the boat ramp where there is deep water and a large rock you can jump from.

View of Corniglia on the trail to Manarola. If you look very closely you can see our pink house.

Dry stone terraces line the hillside between Corniglia and Manarola. They grow grapes and olives.

Trail from Corniglia to Manarola.

Another view of Corniglia on the trail to Manarola. The metal track in this picture was used to transport things up and down the cliffsides.

Transportation track.

Boat ramp swimming in Manarola.

The trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore was closed due to rockfall. It seemed like it had been closed for awhile.

On our third day, we take the train to Monterosso in search of a proper beach – which we found, yay! The beaches are sectioned into both private areas where you can pay to rent an umbrella and chairs and public areas where you can lay out your towel. We purchased an umbrella and chairs for a half day for 15 Euros, and it was definitely worth it. All of the beaches are pebble so the chairs allowed us a comfortable place to sit, and the umbrella provided some relief from the sun, which was very hot while we were there. Also, there were so many visitors that is was great to have some space.

The beach at Monterossa.

Swimming at the beach in Monterossa.

The rest of our time was spent watching sunsets, falling even more in love with pasta, and enjoying the quiet charm of Corniglia.

While we made plans for CT, we made some decisions on where to go after Italy. We found that for about the same cost as a bus you can take a ferry from several towns on the Adriatic coast of Italy to Croatia. Croatia was a place we both wanted to visit anyway, but a big benefit for us is that it isn’t part of the Schengen Zone. The Schengen Zone is a group of countries (mostly EU countries) that form a passport controlled area that once entered, allows visitors to pass through freely without passport checks in each country. US Passport holders are allowed to remain in the zone for 90 days out of every 180 days. Knowing we had some firm plans to visit other areas of the zone in the fall like Czech and Germany, we needed to spend some time outside of the zone for awhile so we didn’t overstay our Visa restrictions. After some research, we found an Italian port town called Ancona. This town was picked on a whim, because it had a port with overnight ferries to Croatia, there was a bus from where we were are near Cinque Terre (La Spezia), and voila, we’re spending two days in Ancona, Italy.

Side note – on our way to Ancona, our bus stopped in Pisa. As we pulled away from the stop, just barely visible between two buildings was the famous Leaning Tower. According to Leonardo, who you may remember from Stephen’s last post, that’s about all the time he would recommend spending in Pisa.

We arrive in Ancona and walk to our Airbnb. It’s a Saturday, and the town is pretty quiet for a weekend. Our Airbnb is actually a registered bed and breakfast located in an apartment on the second floor of a building overlooking the main street. The B&B is empty except for Stephen and myself, so we have full access to the sitting room and kitchen area, which was very modern and nice. Our host set up breakfast for us each morning that included coffee, juices, milk, bread, jam and pastries. The beds were comfortable and we were able to relax and slow down a little over the next two days.

Our breakfast set up at the B&B in Ancona. We were pretty unsure about the packaged toast, so that mostly was left untouched.

The next morning is Sunday, which means it’s the day of the World Cup final match between Croatia and France. Here’s where we kick ourselves for planning ahead. Had we not already purchased advanced ferry tickets, we could have left Italy and chosen to go west to France or east to Croatia to watch the final – depending on who we thought would win. However, our ferry tickets were nonrefundable, so we are stuck between the two countries playing for the most coveted title in the world (at least according to everyone except Americans). I spend the morning and early afternoon taking advantage of the fast wifi at the B&B and catch up on some work, back up our photos, and write some for the blog. About an hour before the match, we head out to find a restaurant to watch the game and find that everything is closed. I mean – seriously – almost everything. Shops, grocery stores, restaurants, cafes. Everything! We finally found an ice cream shop that opened a few hours early to show the game and luckily served wine (because every place in Italy serves wine). The game was fun to watch, and I suppose in the end we successfully avoided dying in the Paris celebration riots. Silver lining?

Our mellow World Cup final match watch party.

The next day, our ferry is scheduled to leave at 8 pm. It’s an 11 hour overnight ferry that will arrive in Split at 6:30 am. It’s our first time traveling by ferry, and I end up paying a little more for a private cabin. There isn’t much information on what is exactly included in a private cabin, but I was leery about purchasing a ticket for an overnight ferry called Deck Seating.

We head to the port when we check out of our room to make sure everything is in order and to store our luggage. We discover that you are required to check in to your ferry no later than one hour before departure, and it turns out that the check in office is more than two kilometers away from where you board the boat. Of course we have plenty of time to get this sorted, but I must say I can’t imagine everyone realizes this, and it probably left some people rushing to the ticket office and perhaps missing their boat.

With everything in order and our luggage stored, we walk to a rocky beach on the other side of the city to spend the rest of our day in the sun. The beach is mostly rocks and boulders, but there are these strange cave houses built into the side of the rocky cliffside that seem to function as beach houses. The day we were there, most of the doors were open. Inside is equipped with a kitchen, long picnic styles tables and perhaps a back bedroom or sitting area concealed by a draw curtain. We found a spot to lay out our towels and spend the afternoon swimming, sunbathing, and reading.

Rocky beach in Ancona. On the left side of the photo are the cave beach houses.

After arriving back to the port, we get in line for passport control. The woman in line behind us has a dog with her. Just so it’s officially noted, I miss our dogs so much!! So I am that person who asks if I can pet your dog, and then proceed to get as much dog petting in as socially acceptable. This dog is a Golden Retriever named Guru, and he and his owner are also going to Croatia. We chat while we head through passport control and I give the dog a goodbye hug as he follows his owner to board the ferry next to ours.

View of the port in Ancona.

As we approach our ferry, there is no clear direction on what we should be doing and no line of other people boarding. I ask a man who is directing cars on board where we need to go, and he points to a door on the right side of the boat. We thank him and walk inside and directly onto an escalator. The walls are floor-to-ceiling mirrors and the landings are covered with red carpet. We feel like we’re in a casino. We’re directed toward the reception desk and given the key to our room, which is cozy but comfortable and has its own bathroom and shower. We drop off our bags and leave to explore the boat.

On board the boat feels like a budget cruise ship from the 80s. We check out the outer deck, gift shop, movie theater, “game” room, and end up in the cafeteria lounge. Leather booths snake all along the walls. As I glance around, there are people spread out across various locations in the lounge, luggage by their side. These are the people who bought “deck seat” tickets. This means they find a place to post up pretty much anywhere on board and that’s where they spend the night. I think to myself that this seems miserable, especially as I watch the lounge singer start setting up for what I assume is that evening’s entertainment, complete with disco ball.

After the boat departs, we head onto the deck to watch the impending thunderstorm that has been brewing for most of the day. Lightening strikes all around us and it starts dumping rain. Of course our first time on a ferry is during a thunderstorm. We go back to our cabin, and I’m unsure how I’ll handle being on a boat at night. I take a dramamine and we spend the rest of the evening watching it thunderstorm over the ocean from our cabin window. I promptly pass out (thanks dramamine!), and awake to an announcement on the loud speaker that we have arrived in Croatia.