Vernazza-Monterossa al Mare (and back), Day 2
I've decided I have the time so I may as well take the road less travelled, turns out it's wayyyyy less traveled. The most popular route connecting all 5 villages is called the blue route, labeled SVA on the map. It's the route you see all the most commonly taken pictures from. I knew it would be gorgeous and, for me, far too crowded to be enjoyable. I don’t like crowds to begin with, much less when trying to enjoy nature.
As I was exploring the village yesterday I found a tiny outdoor adventure shop carrying only Italian brands of serious gear. It was in a small back alley and I knew it was the real deal catering to locals. I stopped in and had a long, detailed conversation with the owner who, very generously, gave me the insider scoop on the 75 miles of trails that also connect the villages and so much more. I purchased a trail map and was ready to set off to explore the area.
Today's route: 508 to 582 to 591 to 509 into Monterosso al Mare. This route included stops at two beautiful churches and one amazing fresh, spring water fountain to refill water bottles. The views in and above while hiking out of Vernazza are just stunning!
This is the Fountain that offers fresh spring water. WOW. I love this cave. I looked it up and found it's as powerful as it feels. "At the entrance of the church square, in the thick of the trees, there is a semi-oval hollow; where a heavy marble basin (probably a sarcophagus) gathers the chilly water coming down from a marble mascaron of exquisite workmanship. The hollow was accidentally descovered in 1800 after the falling down of a big chestnut tree hit by a lighting and could be an etrusc tomb."
This was the first church I came up, on the upper path without any one around. It was truly beautiful and had such loving energy.
The temperature was 85f/29c...so very hot! It was a 4 hour hike to arrive in Monterosso with stops. Monterosso is the largest and most resort like of the 5 towns with easy access to nice size beaches, lots of shopping, and fun restaurants and bars. I took my time here in order to return to Vernazza along the SVA, the blue route. I knew that the crowds would be gone before 6pm and wanted to experience this part of the route considered the most picturesque. The return on the blue route would take about 1.5 hours.
Hiking through the mountainside means hiking through vineyards, with their many terraces, my favorite. The local wine is excellent. According to Rick Steves someone — probably after too much local wine — calculated that the roughly 3,000 miles of terrace walls here have the same amount of stonework as the Great Wall of China.
Reaching the largest town of the Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare (often called simply Monterosso), is the northernmost town in the chain. The town is divided into two parts—the old town and the new town, also called Fegina. These two halves are connected by a tunnel used by pedestrians and the few cars that enter and exit the town. I spent some time on the beach, and the town is lovely as well.
The loop was stunning, every step of the way. I was blessed with a perfect, if strenuous, plan because I literally didn't see a dozen people on either path, in almost 6 hours of hiking. MAGICAL!! Both hikes are steep ups and downs. In total I hiked 12 miles and certainly felt it at the end, when I had to climb 100 more stairs to get to my shower!!
