Between Corniglia and Riomaggiore

9:10 AM

We start this morning in a small little bar. Enjoying breakfast together with Anna, so that afterward we can happily head up the mountain through the rain. Not the prettiest start, but hopefully the weather will improve as the day goes on. It’s not cold—and if it were, all that stair climbing would warm you up soon enough.

9:23 AM

The nice thing is that everyone else stays away now, and you can puff your way up the mountain without having to worry about oncoming traffic, bottlenecks, or noise—just nicely wrapped up in your own bubble, together.

9:51 AM

Once at the top, there’s a small bar. Fresh grapefruit juice mixed with redcurrant juice and topped up with acqua frizzante. 😂 Pretty sour 🤣

10:18 AM

Ahead of us lies Corniglia, the next village.

Corniglia is the central village of the five in the Cinque Terre, and the only one not directly on the sea, but perched high on a cliff about 100 meters up. The village dates back to Roman times and is mentioned in documents as early as the 13th century. It once belonged to the Fieschi family from Genoa, something you can still see reflected in the architecture and old streets.

10:27 AM

10:35 AM

Ahead of us lies Corniglia, the next village.

Corniglia is the central village of the five in the Cinque Terre, and the only one not directly on the sea, but perched high on a cliff about 100 meters up. The village dates back to Roman times and is mentioned in documents as early as the 13th century. It once belonged to the Fieschi family from Genoa, something you can still see reflected in the architecture and old streets.

10:57 AM

10:58 AM

An early lunch—or just a very good second breakfast. Ohhh, I could just keep eating—this is so delicious! 😋

12:15 PM

Yep, and then you have to keep moving again. On to the next village—we leave Corniglia behind.

12:17 PM

Yep, and then you have to keep moving again. On to the next village—we leave Corniglia behind.

12:20 PM

Pfff, time to catch our breath. This stretch was purple, and after a few thousand steps you really do want to sit down for a moment to recharge in the freshly emerged sunshine.

It immediately gets a lot busier on the trail again. Well 🤔—if you want peace, you walk in the rain; if you want sun, you’ll just have to accept the people.

12:50 PM

12:59 PM

1:53 PM

2:25 PM

We eat a quick lunch, because unfortunately Anna has to leave us here and take the train back to the camper. It’s quite busy, so we thought we’d be clever and skip the next mountain to Riomaggiore by taking the Lover’s Path. Well—that turned out to be a loveless letdown… The seaside path is one-way only and accessible only with a QR code—as a rather sharp Italian woman stopped to inform us. Mi Amore ❤️? Nope, we’re not allowed in. 😳

3:46 PM

So then it’s back to the train to get to Riomaggiore, where our little hotel is. Honestly, I’d recommend everyone to avoid the tourist paths and especially skip the train in these five villages—unless you truly love massive crowds, in which case, that’s a different story.

4:33 PM

After a jam-packed train ride, we arrive in Riomaggiore. First task: find our little hotel. The narrow alleyways feel like a maze. I spot a sign saying “reception,” so I stay there and call the owner. “I’m standing at the reception,” I say. A moment later, a man comes puffing toward us. He takes us along—through even more alleys and gateways, all the way to the other side of the village.

We turn out to have a tiny little apartment. I’d better save it as a waypoint right away, otherwise I’ll never find it again. 😂

Riomaggiore is the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre and was probably founded as early as the 8th century by people from inland areas, fleeing Saracen raids. The houses are tall and narrow, built in bright colors against the rocks—typical for this region.

+4

4:46 PM