Friday, February 7, 2014

Hiking from Vernazza to Monterroso

3-Nov-2013 (Sunday) - Vernazza to Monterroso, Cinque Terre

Next on our list of business was to hike backwards towards Monterroso . We had some daylight left, so we thought we'll attempt the journey in the late afternoon. It was going to be just a 1.5 hour walk, or so I thought. It took us a while to figure out where the start point was. I mean, look at the sign there! It's so freaking small! We went up a wrong path before even seeing this sign!
 
Hiking away from Vernazza was easy. And the view was amazing! You get to see the whole town from an aerial view. Stunning.

Then came the hard part, vertical climb for a full 40 minutes or so. Breathless! And to think initially I wanted to hike with my backpack on! Missing those train station and ending up in Vernazza first was a blessing in disguise! If not we will be hiking with a full pack (cause the hotel in Milan refuses to let us deposit our bags for two nights even though I've emailed them in advance). Downhill was worst cause I hate going downhill and slipping. Luckily, no incident to report here :) We made it safely to Monterroso, even stopping at a half way hut to drink some wine and lemonade liquor from a drink stall in the middle of nowhere. Lots of hiker stopped to chat with the owner. 
Downhill brings forth the view of the next town - Monterroso. It was almost subset when we reach, so the view and stunning as well. The path towards the town were concrete path along the cliff of the sea. After wondering around for half an hour at the sea side watching the waves, we headed to the Monterroso train station and got on the next train back to Vernazza. 
 On the whole I was pretty happy with the hike, and thank whatever luck I have that I didn't hike with a full backpack! Do be warned that the vertical climb was really really tough, and this is coming from a season hiker! Don't attempt if you are not used to hiking uphill.


Ref
Walks of Italy - Hiking trails of Cinque Terre
Monterosso
Italian lemonade liquor

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments