Vaulted Coffers: Cinque Terre ::: Day 2 ::: Exploring the 5 Towns

When I woke up it was raining outside. Not at all ideal, considering the whole point of being in the Cinque Terre is to hike.

So Jonathan went and did his laundry. I slept in. We then attempted to hike to the castle in Riomaggiore, but turned back when it began to downpour.

He decided to leave early, not totally calling the trip to Cinque Terre a loss, though. We did have an amazing meal with each others' good company, a room with a great view, some drinking with the locals, and what little he did see of the Cinque Terre was beautiful.

I wasn't going to give up so easy, though. I checked into the hostel, and once the rain let up I went out for a hike around Riomaggiore. When I accidentally ended up at the train station I bought a ticket to Monterossa, the last of the five towns.

In Monterossa, I sat in a cafe overlooking the ocean, writing and eating some lunch, while it downpoured again. By the time I was finished, it had cleared up and I attempted to hike again.

I started the hike between Monterossa and Vernazza, which had incredible views. I got to a point, though, where I needed to make a decision to go right or left at the top of a bluff. The path to the right looked washed out, so I went left. This led down along the bluff, and about halfway down I realized it was heading back into Monterossa. By this point, I didn't want to turn back. There were some pretty hairy parts I passed, where one slip on the wet ground would have led to certain death at the bottom of the cliff leading down to the ocean.

After doing this loop, I decided to go back up, and perhaps try the path that led right. However, once at the top, a couple informed me that the path to Vernazza was closed due to a landslide.

I had no other option than to get back on the train in Monterossa. I got off in Vernazza. Walked around a little bit, and then got back on the train to Riomaggiore, since it was getting dark and the trains fewer and further between.

I ate a nice dinner by myself and then went back to Bar Centrale to watch futball. I got to talking with Stefano, a local wine maker, until the bar shut down just after 12:00. Honestly, I think I only understood about 50% of what he had to say, but it was fun nonetheless.