Another Hike to Vernazza.

Very uneven steps and lots of them

These pictures show the trail and countryside we hiked through, don't follow the ratings by the Park, ask other hikers what the difficulty was and why...you will get a better idea of what your in for.
Vernazza was gem glistening as we approached, the harbor and water were inviting and Doria castle beckoned us up.

This is one ofthe views from La Torre

Boats at moorings...always peaeful

Like a postcard

5terre coastline.

Looking down on the South side of Doria Castle

Sitting at the seawall

Doria Castle

   When we went to bed last night (9/19) the wind was Howling...during the night it sounded like all the furniture on our Lanai was blowing away, it was probably pretty close to how Dorothy felt on her ride to OZ! We woke up a couple times, but the wind was so strong we didn’t even want to open the door...with nothing else we could do, we went back to sleep. The damage would have to wait till morning.

     First thing we noticed was the wind had stopped, not calmed down, it had stopped, completely. A little chill in the air  but only a little. We opened up the “4 foot back door,” to see how much furniture made it thru the storm...everything was intact, moved around a little, but there waiting for us to use. It quickly turned into such a nice day we took our coffee and sat outside.

     Is this like Colorado or what? If your not happy with the weather, just wait an hour and it will change. You would have never guessed the wind had even been blowing. By the time we got down into the village, any mess that had been created, was already cleaned up. Our little town looked just as clean as ever. The people here really take pride in how this place looks (except the paint on the buildings), everyone is always picking up, and all of them recycle...it is truly their way of life.

     Nancy was feeling much better today, rash subsiding and knee feeling Kind of like new (or at least like a retread), she wanted to tackle the hike to Vernazza but, with the following rules; we are not in a hurry, lots of breaks are allowed and we train it back from Vernazza instead of hiking back. All of this was fine with me, I grabbed my camera and packed the gear we’d needed. I was hoping she’d be better soon so we could enjoy hiking our last 10 days here.

     The hike was simply awesome...the sky was clear, not to muggy, and the trail showed no signs of rain or wind. Nancy was nursing her knee a little but all in all no real problems. Per the rules we stopped often, drank lots of water and made a stroll of it as much as possible. This trail is actually pretty difficult, lots of up and down and enough steep grades that everyone is huffing and puffing sometime. The real problem for Nanc (and I’m sure most people)is how uneven the trail is and the 1000s of steps that range anywhere from 6 inches to 16 inches high. When it gets narrow and there are no hand holds is when she really has to be careful. I’m very happy to report we had no injuries (that were aware of yet) and we even made pretty decent time.  My Nanc is a tough girl.

     If anybody reading this ever gets to the 5terre this hike is a must...you really see so much...the villages, the sky, the sea, trains, rock formations, boats and of course, the other hikers. You will be astounded, amused and fearful for some of these people. The young guy bounding along wearing just his flipflops for footwear and a crooked grin, or the young woman who is so overheated she slips off her shirt and is hiking in her bra,  there also is the woman who failed to read anything about this hike, and is in a skirt, blouse and fashion sandals and don’t let us forget the overweight or overaged people who look distressed within the 1st 100 yards. We saw a lady today who was just at the beginning of the hike, she was headed uphill and she looked ready to fall backwards. Ouch! This is a pretty wild area, not a lot of medics anywhere to be found, lots of people around to yell help, but thats about it. Like I said, we made it and we’re both happy.

     I got so many good pictures, I took 256 pictures just today...I’ve obviously got to weed through them and pick out the best ones to share. This digital Coolpix S9100 has been such a good camera, I love it. We saw such sites today.

     Once in Vernazza the climb down to the sea is tough tough tough...so many steps still. Then you get down and the 1st thing you want to do is climb to the top of Doria Castle...man the view is to kill for and the steps up will kill you getting there.

     We stopped for lunch at the top of Vernazza, great place called La Torre, food was OK but the view was WOW...the whole city was open before us. I would rank this view with any in the world...OK maybe with any view I’ve seen in the world. Really it was spectacular. After lunch we sat at the sea wall and climbed up to the castle. A very good day. Went to catch the train. Lots and lots of people at the station, no station attendent, a sign in the window just said “I’m not here”...no shit Sherlock! Trains were all delayed, we had enough people standing there to fill 2 trains...when a train finally did show up, it was rewarded with a standing ovation...I’m not kidding!