ShareThisThe old man appeared suddenly, strolling out of a line of terraced olive groves, answering our tentative chorus of "Buongiorno" with a rapid stream of Italian. Gesturing, cell phone in hand, he pointed up the path away from us to the coastal cliffs towering over the blue-green Mediterranean Sea.
Given our very tenuous grasp of Italian, we aren't sure if he's returning our greeting, telling us we're going the wrong way, or simply saying the ridge is the only place he can get cell phone service.
One thing is for sure -- he can't be pointing out a better view.
Every step of the way on our five-day walk down Italy's Cinque Terre (CHINK-WAH-TAR-RA) coastline has been spectacular, one breathtaking vista after another.
The Cinque Terre -- Five Lands -- are five villages tucked into the coastal cliffs of the Appenine Mountains in northwest Italy. Once totally secluded and devoted solely to fishing and farming, the area is now growing in popularity with visitors, especially since much of it was declared a national park and protected marine area in 1992.
But protected does not always mean modernized and homogenized, and that's one thing that makes Cinque Terre so special.
Most of the trails linking these towns and the surrounding hamlets are the same paths that were constructed in the 16th to 18th centuries. They're rough flagstones and boulders, and stairs carved into the mountainsides. They meander beside vineyards, through patches of cactus and clumps of herbs, and alongside olive groves.
The paths are the same ones once used by villagers and their donkeys to carry goods and news from town to town -- and to help with defense and protection against raids by pirates from Corsica that began in medieval times and didn't stop until well into the 18th century.
The four of us have decided to walk the length of the region, starting at Levanto, the most western town in the park, and following the trail southeast to finish in Portovenere. Visitors who don't want to hike it all have other options. Trains, ferries and some buses run between the cities.
Our daily hikes are not especially long -- they range from 6 to 10 miles, with optional extensions around each village. But they have a decided Stairmaster flavor, rising from the sea-level villages to the top of the cliffs and then dipping back and forth between them.
Monterosso, the first "official" Cinque Terre town is also the largest, but lively Riomaggiore feels like the center of it all. You approach from Manarola, the hometown of Crusades-promoting Pope Innocent IV, on the "Via dell'Amore," where lovers from the two towns once rendezvoused and lingered in secluded coves.
Today, it's the only section of the path that has been widened, paved and "modernized," and it's the most congested -- a mixture of foreign tourists day tripping, locals who picnic on the rocky shore and daredevils who leap off the cliffs into the clear blue water.
South of Riomaggiore the trail turns rougher, quieter and steeper, culminating in a cliffside descent into Portovenere with a panoramic view of the ocean and port as it skirts the edge of a massive 11th-century castle. The trail is safe and well-marked -- but it is not for folks with a fear of exposed heights, nor is it recommended in wet weather.
Portovenere -- The Port of Venus -- is substantial in size and history. As you hike into it, you can see gleaming white cliffs in the distance where Michelangelo quarried his marble, and you can gaze on the small bay where poet Lord Byron swam and where Percy Bysche Shelley drowned in a sailing accident.
In Portovenere our trek ends. We linger for one day more and take a public ferry across the bay to the island of Palmaria. On a circuit hike of the island, we climb to the highest point to take a last look back at the craggy, climbing windswept trail we've covered. There's always time for one last look at the Five Lands, where the past and present meet.
IF YOU GO
-- The five towns of Cinque Terre are Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso, Riomaggiore, and Vernazza, but the Cinque Terre trail system runs from Levanto to Portovenere. Cinque Terre is the most remote part of the Italian Riviera.
-- Genoa and Pisa are the closest major airports to Cinque Terre, and both cities are short train rides to Levanto. Several airlines have direct or connecting flights to Pisa and Genoa, including Delta, Air France and Iberia. With transfers, train connections can be made from any major Italian city.
-- Euros are the local currency, and credit cards are widely accepted. The Italian rail system is extensive and easy to use, but remember to punch your ticket on the yellow box on each platform to validate it.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
