The second day in the Cinque Terre was the most difficult day of hiking during the entire trip.
Tim and Monique had planned to hike from Rio Maggiore to Manarola by way of the very popular Via dell'Amore trail suspended above the Ligurian Sea on the side of the hills. Unfortunately, this trail had been closed for repair since 2011 due to a landslide. The two were determined to make the hike from one land to another, so they chose an alternative route that went up and over the mountain between Manarola and Rio Maggiore, via Beccara. The hike as shared in the images below proved to live up to the description of difficult and good physical condition required. It was a slow and vertical climb up what had been billed as stairs, but at times seemed no more than rocks and dirt carved out by nature with the help of man. When the two hikers ran into a family of four, with the mother carrying an infant in a front backpack, they were inspired to make the climb. And when a young Italian woman flew past them running up and down the mountain at a great rate of speed, Tim and Monique were in amazement at the ease of which she negotiated the rough terrain with confidence. She went up and over the mountain and back again before the two, now climbers, reached the summit. The rewards were unsurpassed views of the Ligurian Sea and the lands leading up to it that few would ever get to experience. As they approached Manarola, the stairs became evident again and they eventually arrived in the small fishing village without use of train, boat or car. This was a very rewarding part of the trip. Dripping with sweat, they found the train station and used their Cinque Terre Terro MS cards to take the train to their final destination for the day which was Corniglia. There was another moderate trail that could take them from Manarola to Corniglia, but the aggressive nature of the earlier hike led them to the decision of a short less than 10 minute train ride to Corniglia. They made their way to the flat which would be headquarters for the night and explored the breath-taking views that were had from the attached balcony shared with other tenants. They cleaned up from the strenuous hike from earlier in the day and explored the isolated town of Corniglia. Tim had been to the Cinque Terre twice previously, but had traveled by Ferry from land to land and the ferries do not stop at Corniglia as it is high up on a cliff and somewhat remote. This made for a vey enjoyable day as there were fewer tourists in this village compared to the other villages of the Cinque Terre which were accessible by ferry, train and car. The town square was tiny, quaint and very comfortable. After a gelato stop, they gathered some supplies for dinner from the local markets and had dinner on the terrace of the flat they were staying in. They shared the terrace with another couple from Canada and swapped stories while enjoying spirits, food and an amazing sunset. A perfect end to a day that started out with uncertainty regarding the path they had chosen. Before retiring for the night, Tim and Monique chose to explore the town at night, and what a treat that was. If felt like they had the entire village to themselves, excluding a few locals enjoying the minimal night life of Corniglia. These are the kinds of moments the two were searching for. They had visited three of the five lands (Cinque Terre) and would see the remaining two on the next day.
