Cinque Terra - Walking Where Romans did not Dare

The Romans looked at the donkey trails joining the Cinque Terra settlements and said, "It's not worf' it". The Genoans said, "We'll stick to the sea". Tackling the donkey trails is not for the faint hearted. The terrain is rugged... even today there are few roads down to the five villages. The slopes running down to the sea are used as vineyards... but the grape growers have had to build funiculars to help the grape pickers carry their loads to the top of the slope. Walking this donkey track, ladies and gentlemen, is the type of challenge on which Joye and I thrive... along with the 200 people sharing the track today. We were shocked to see some young girls finishing the track wearing thongs... and carrying a pink handbag... completely disrespectful of the challenge and historic reverence that the track deserves.

We took a train into Monterosso, psyched-up to start the walk. It took us a while to find the start of the trail... cunningly disguised as a tunnel through the first mountain ridge. This proved to be the only concession given to the walkers. Despite the large numbers of walkers, the condition of the path is poor. Stones on steps show no regard for lessening OH&S risks... they sit exactly where the donkey kicked them... in the 15th century. The track was narrow... usually single file... but often had rock overhang that caused you to turn sideways to avoid falling off the ledge. We spent a good part of the walk waiting for walkers... heading in the opposite direction... to use the track. Of course, we had the geriatrics who had just discovered they suffer from vertigo... clinging to branches halfway along a ledge... too scared to go forward or back. Generally, the walkers were good-natured... with the usual exceptions of those few who wanted to set some time record at any cost.

At the halfway point, rain started to fall. Joye... anticipating every eventuality... had packed ponchos... so we thrived in the extra degree of difficulty. Wet polished stone set in clay resulted in steps more slippery than Eddie Obied in the witness box. The descent into Vernazza was steep... but thanks to good luck... we got down without a fall. Our lunch in Vernazza was delightful... sheltering from the rain... watching the other walkers making their long descent in difficult conditions. We were hoping that the rain would ease and allow us to complete the next leg of the Cinque Terra walk... onto Corniglia... but that was not to be... we caught the train back to our apartment in Lavento... to watch the Men's Final of the French Open. It was a great day.