Cinque Terrific

When I left Canada I had booked a few flights and planned several key events, but I left some flexibility in my itinerary just in case something cool came up. The villages of Cinque Terre were exactly that. I had never heard of the place until I learned of its existence from several other guests at my hostel in Florence. The more they talked about it, the more I felt like I needed to go there. It was a tough decision as I would have to cut out another country/city in order to make it happen. I pushed back my visit to France and grabbed a train to the first of the 5 villages, Riomaggiore. I arrived just in time to snap a few photos of the sun setting behind the jagged cliffs and walk up the steep hill to my hostel. The hostel was just a kitchen that had some bunk beds jammed around the edges. It was close quarters to say the least, so it was good that the other guests were fun people. One of the guests, Dan from Philly, was in a similar place in life as I. He had recently quit his job and set off on an indefinite journey around the world. My journey has a date set for a flight home, but my desire to go back to the 9 to 5 fades more and more with every day. There is just too much to see and do on this planet to be stuck at a computer 48 of 52 weeks a year. We had a lot to discuss and decided on hiking the trails together. Cinque Terre is made up of 5 small villages built into the cliffs of the Italian Riviera. You can only reach the villages by train, by trail or by boat as cars cannot reach them from the outside. The hikes were quite varied from a leisurely stroll along the coast line (similar to that of the sea wall in Vancouver) to walking up hundreds of steep stairs straight up the side of a cliff (almost Grouse grind style). Both days I spent at least 5 hours on the trails. It was a great change of pace from the partying and sight-seeing of my previous stops. Each day of hiking was followed by a tasty meal, a glass of wine and an early bed time. The four days I spent in Cinque Terre was a real battery re-charger and some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in my life time. I’d recommend it to anyone.