SIDE NOTE: I had the photos input in order of my hikes but Travelpod then reorders them alphabetically. I wrote them and said that screws up photos that should be shown in sequence. They responded that they are aware of the problem and hope to have it resolved in a few months. They said I could number the photos to get around the problem but the field to enter a photo caption is already so small that I doubt I'll do that.

7/9 I took the train from Santa Margherita Ligure to Monterosso for 6€ . Monterosso is the northernmost town of the Cinque Terre and the only one built on flat land. The Cinque Terre (pronounced CHINK-weh TAY-reh) is comprised of five small villages along the coast that are connected by a series of hiking trails. These towns, along with Portovenere, have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are no cars or scooters in these towns, with parking well outside of town and out of view.

The Cinque Terre is pure, unadulterated Italy. I had never heard of it but Lee had visited and said I definitely needed to add it to my itinerary. I'm very glad he did! In addition to the 7 miles of hiking trails there is a train line that connects the five villages which runs in what is mainly a tunnel for the full distance between Riomaggiore and Monterosso, emerging from the rock infrequently.

The Cinque Terre is an Italian national park and you have several ticket options. I chose the 3 day pass for 18.50€. At the Monterosso train station I asked about storage for my backpack and was told there was none in the Cinque Terre . The closest bag storage was in La Spezia which is the first town after the Cinque Terre to the south and where I would be staying. The Cinque Terre park pass allows to you ride the train for free so I hopped back on the train to ditch my backpack in La Spezia.

Having gotten rid of my heavy backpack I then took the first train back to the Cinque Terre with it being an express train only stopping in Monterosso. I had read in Rick Steve's that the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza was the toughest and I thought I might as well get it out of the way first. Lee had warned me that it would be difficult for me and he was right.

Each of these towns is very small with typically one main street so you can walk the towns easily in under half an hour. In Monterosso the town seemed overrun by tourists and I didn't think there was really much to see. There was a concrete Nazi bunker overlooking the sea where gunners hid during WW2 (Monterosso was bombed) as well as the Church of St . John dating from 1307. It was overcast so my pictures aren't as flattering as they could have been. I bought some provisions for the hike and took off for what the book said was a 90 minute hike to Vernazza.

On the steep climb out of Monterosso I realized this would be like the Stairmaster from hell but without the handrails. The trail is very narrow (the average Houstonian would not be able to do it) making it difficult to pass another hiker and unnerving since in places there are steep dropoffs and the footing is always unpredictable. The trail was constantly going up, up and up but provided the most amazing views of Monterosso, Vernazza and the Mediterranean.

I knew I would have trouble physically on the trail since I have no push off with my right foot. I'm used to pulling myself up stairs with the handrails. In places the "steps" were a couple of feet high and I would resort to holding on to nearby rocks and climbing the "steps" albeit not gracefully . I could handle the few flat stretches OK but my right ankle would tend to wobble, especially later in the day when it fatigued. I was determined to complete the hike since I had been told it was the highlight of the Cinque Terre, moreso than the villages themselves.

The Monterosso-Vernazza trail winds through olive orchards and vineyards that have been farmed for centuries. The parcels of land have become quite small since they've been handed down through the generations. This creates a scenic patchwork that enhances the hike because you're actually walking through working farms rather than some created place.

When Vernazza finally came into view I was so excited! The hike did take about 90 minutes including many stops to take photos. I was a sweaty mess but a happy one. Vernazza is the cutest town with only 500 residents and built around this tiny harbor. Vernazzans are more likely to own a boat than a car which makes sense given its location . It is very photogenic and considered the jewel of the Cinque Terre. The shape and size of Vernazza has changed little in 5 centuries. Vernazza was my favorite of the five main Cinque Terre towns. A main piazza in town has nice restaurants while the kids can play in the sea protected by a breakwater.

I walked around the town for a little while just as a respite from the thought of continuing my hike. I picked up new provisions as well as a fresh strawberry granita. The granita came from a restaurant Rick Steve's recommended on the edge of town. The owner was quite the salesman and very chatty. He had postcards from all over the world that customers had sent in. He even showed me a Houston postcard that he had just received! He bragged that he was the only one in town that actually used fresh fruit in his granitas. It was like a smoothie but it did taste great on that hot day.

Eventually I headed out on the second toughest hike which was also supposed to be 90 minutes. I had a little more confidence now and enjoyed the exercise I was getting on the hike. The hike had many American college students as well as families with young kids. The kids did not always look happy but the Europeans seemed to be having little trouble with the hike. I was quite impressed with the grandparents who were tackling the hike and managing quite well.

Corniglia is the only Cinque Terre town not actually on the water, it's perched on top of a bluff overlooking the sea . It was originally settled by a Roman farmer who named the town after his mother. Corniglia is the smallest of the towns with about 450 permanent residents and is famous for its wine. The stores in Corniglia, and the other towns, were generally small storefronts with a family business on the street level while they lived on the upper floors of the building. The shops catered to the tourists but were not tacky souvenir shops. They would sell local products or be businesses any normal town would have.

I was quite excited to have the two toughest segments of the hike completed on my first day! I climbed down the 400 stairs from Corniglia to the train station and headed back to La Spezia to retrieve my bag and collapse at my hotel.

La Spezia is a working class town that is sizable and lacks anything worth seeing. It does have many hotels though since accommodations within the Cinque Terre are pretty limited. La Spezia was an important Axis Naval base during WW2 and there is still a large military base around the harbor .

I reached the hotel and was told they were full despite me having a reservation. The owner was quite pleasant and called a nearby hotel that had space for me. His wife walked me to the other hotel and was quite chatty. She said how much Italians liked America since it provided so much opportunity for people.

The new hotel didn't have all of the amenities of the first but was slightly cheaper. It didn't have AC but did have a huge window that opened on to a small street. The bathroom was down the hall as usual but my hotel room was huge. I figured I could survive 3 nights there.

7/10 I woke up sore from hiking the day before as I suspected I would. My gym workouts paid off though since there is no way I could have done those hikes without strengthening my legs. I told myself that the two remaining hikes were both shorter and relatively easy so I shouldn't have any trouble . I also got to warm up by hiking through the pedestrian streets of La Spezia to the train station. It was neat seeing La Spezia since it was true Italy without the influence of lots of tourists.

An interesting and controversial law in Italy requires any place offering Internet services to require an ID before letting someone access the Net. It has been quite a pain but every place in Italy has required this and I was told that inspectors come by to check their records. I'm not sure what they hope to achieve with the law but the public and Internet places don't much care for it.

After waiting more than an hour for the train to Riomaggiore (the trains were all late or cancelled) along with lots of others, I finally arrived. The town of Riomaggiore had tons of tourists since it offers the easiest "hike" in the Cinque Terre. The "hike" is actually a 20 minute stroll along a paved walkway on the cliffs overlooking the sea to Manarola .

The path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via dell'Amore (roughly, "Lovers Walk"). The Via dell'Amore came about after a second train line was blasted in the 1920's. The towns were extremely isolated until the last century with villagers rarely marrying anyone outside of their village. The villagers were happy with the trail and wanted it made permanent but landslides kept the trail closed more than it was open. After WW2 the trail was reopened and became established as a lovers meeting point. A journalist who saw all the amorous graffiti along the path coined the name Via dell'Amore.

The stroll leads to Manarola which was a picturesque town which climbs from the sea up a ravine. On the day I visted the seas were quite rough despite it being sunny and beautiful. When this happens the boats are all brought into town and placed securely anywhere there is room including the streets and piazzas. It created a unique walk through town .

The 45 minute hike from Manarola back to Corniglia wasn't difficult either and I was pleased that I had managed to visit all 5 cities and complete all 4 hikes in 2 days leaving me with a free day.

7/11 I had done some research on options for this free day and decided to visit Portovenere. It is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site despite it not being adjacent to the other towns.

On my walk to the bus stop in La Spezia I encountered their farmers' market which was bustling. The smells were great with so many different items for sale and lots of shoppers.

The bus to Portovenere was a quick 30 minutes south along the coast. It sits at the end of a peninsula clinging to a rocky promentory jutting out into the sea, protecting the harbor from the crashing waves.

Portovenere captures your heart at first glance when you see the pastel buildings within the walled city looking out on the harbor . It is prettier than any postcard. There is a wide promenade in front of the buildings leading to a church at the end of the promentory. In the village is a medieval castle on top of a hill that is rather storybook-esque. The town is quite small with no cars or scooters allowed but also not overrun with tourists. Since it is not in the same area with the other Cinque Terre towns and does not have train service fewer people come to visit. That's a mistake though! Portovenere was the most beautiful town I have visited in Italy!

Behind the castle in Portovenere is Lord Byron's Grotto, a swimming hole which allegedly is the spot where Lord Byron swam from his home to the island of Elba. Personally, I'm not sure if I believe it because it's rather far, but the grotto is obviously a beautiful place to go swimming (today it was again way too rough). In addition to Lord Byron, countless famous writers have visited over the centuries which led to the body of water between Portovenere and La Spezia being called the Gulf of Poets.

Portovenere is striking but it mainly has restaurants and a few shops without lots of sightseeing opportunities. I chose to ride across the narrow channel to a beach on Isla del Palmeira. The beach was rocky but offered great views of town. It was almost surreal sitting in my lounge chair reading and glancing up to see the most lovely town imaginable right across the water.

The weather was perfect and I just hated to leave. I'm so glad I had the extra day on my schedule to visit Portovenere. I took the bus back to La Spazia to pack for my next destination. The Cinque Terre was certainly a fantastic place to visit and a nice contrast to the big cities so often visited in Italy.