From WOOF to WOW: Hiking the 12km Trail in Cinque Terre

This morning was not my favorite. Honestly, it kind of stunk. Maybe it was being sore from the big hike earlier in the week. Maybe it was the fact my body was annoyed with being on the go for so many days in a row( yes mom, I took vitamins everyday). Maybe it was the fact that it was windy and cold again this morning and MAN WAS I TIRED OF THE WIND AND THE COLD! (Yes, I realize this was a trip of a lifetime so I shouldn’t let the weather get me down, but seriously, can a girl get a 64+ degree day without the wind?!?) Or maybe it was just one of those off mornings. Whatever it was, it was not fun.

Thankfully after a filling breakfast, espresso and the realization of HELLO IM ON VACATION IN EUROPE WITH MY HUSBAND, the attitude adjustment happened and I was ready to face the big hike day. Originally we had planned this hike for the day before but after the impromptu Five Lands hike we knew we needed a break in between and I’m so glad we planned the break. This hike was on a whole different level than our precious hike and the soreness set in quickly.

We started in our town of Riomaggiore and immediately began with a steep incline. P and I looked at each other and thought “what did we get into” but then incredibly views come out of the clouds and we realized we made the right decision. #wheninItalyalwaysgohiking #getupandmoveitwillbeworthit

Here in Cinque Terre they mark their trails by numbers and red/white lines. The lines become your best friends as they helped you figure out which path to follow along the trail. Some of them were shaped pretty funny.

The monorails were prevelant in this part of the town too. Crazy how steep and high they have these guys!

There were also a lot more man made pieces on this side of the SVA which was interesting and fun to check out.

We rocked out the front part of the hike and were highly surprised by how steep and difficult the descent turned out to be compared to the start. There were a lot more rock scrambles than anticipated and the path became quite narrow with steep drops on the side. There was no fear for safety, but there were a few comments about how much we wished we were wearing our hiking shoes. Some of the terrain reminded me more of Arizona or Nevada than the Italian coast. And then we found the highest point and wow, what a view!

The descent that lasted forever was not very well marked, but thankfully our instincts kept us on the right path. We were both very happy to see the town getting closer and closer.

And finally we reached the end of the trail and it as time to find the ferry boat and a gelato store.

Normally the ferry would have taken us along the coast back to Riomaggiore but because of the (stupid) wind it was not traveling along the coast. So we hopped a ride to La Spezia and then walked to the train station from the marina. Not what we planned but it worked!

It was a long fun day and we were ready for food and rest. While the day didn’t start out on the best note it truly was a fun last day in beautiful Cinque Terre. Not gonna lie, I was super sad to say goodbye to this beautiful place. I'm so grateful my BOFF suggested it to us and I hope one day to get back.


What we ate: I wasn’t hungry most of the day, but here’s a snapshot of some of the food.

For dinner we grabbed a bottle of win and two pizzas and ate them in the palazzo outside our lil Airbnb. It was a warmer night than normal and we enjoyed hanging out and seeing life in Riomaggiore. We also met some Americans touring Italy and had a fun conversation with them. We found out they were from Michigan but we didn't hold it against them ;)!