Five seatown villages- The Cinque Terre

At the end of our first week in Italy we decided it would be exciting to make our way out to the five coastal towns known as the Cinque Terre. I had heard about these towns from many people that have visited Italy. All informaton painted a beautiful and romantic experience.
We were able to book a last minute room at a small hostel/apartments called the Mar Mar (thanks Rick Steves). It was far from fancy, but gave us a place to sleep, shower and relax between being out on the coast. Plus our room was located in a small group of buildings that line the water and port in the town called Riomaggiore, also referred to as town #1. So we got to wake up to the sound of water and look out at the ocean when leaning out our window.
Riomaggiore is described as the least resort like town. This was perfect for me and Robbie, as for those of you who know us, we are not resort people. When traveling abroad we always prefer finding a way to mix in with the locals and absorb as much as possible.

Here is a picture from the shore of our town. We can see our room from here.
We spent Thursday and Friday here and headed home on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and very hot. One that that was a new experience for us whas the type of beaches that lay here. All towns except for the 5th town, Montorosso, are rocky beaches. This means that the beach is made out of rocks, and not small rocks, but rocks that weigh at least 3-5 lbs. For the future I think I will bring some water shoes to protect my feet as it can be quite rough. Somehow, probably because of the beauty of the Italian riviera, it is comfortable regardless.
One of my favorite things during the trip was a hike through all five towns. We began around 8:30 am and hiked from town 1 to town 5. Getting to the first few towns was not hard at all, and the scenery was beautiful. The hikes to town 4 and 5 were a very different story. Lots of rocky up and down paths that wind here and there. The scenery was still just amazing, but it was quite the workout, even for me and Robbie. 4 hours later we were in town 5. It was quite the experience, and one I will never forget. Hiking along the cliffs of the Mediteranean was one of the most beautiful things I have ever had the opportunity to do. I would do it again in a heartbeat, even after a few days of being sore :) I do have to put a disclaimer out there, this is not for anyone that only wants a leisurely stroll, we worked hard and sweated hard along some small and not so safe trails. But if you are in for a challenge, don't miss it!

~Chelle