Day 4: Monterosso, Manarola & Riomaggiore

Woke up for breakfast and ate it outside - another hot day. Mom was feeling better so we decided to do the last two walks on the Blue Path. We took the train to Corniglia where we'd left off and then headed toward Manarola. Corniglia to Manarola is 3K, but what a difference compared to the other paths because it was pretty much completely flat. More of a stroll than a hike so we arrived in Manarola pretty quickly.

Great town with lots of boats. Everyone was swimming and jumping off the rocks enjoying the beautiful weather.
We found some more pesto pizza so we shared a slice of that and quattro frommagi down by the water. Dad called us on my cell so we got to talk to him for a bit.

We were so hot and had walked with our bathing suits on underneath our clothes so it was time to go in the water. Lots of other tourists thinking the same thing. The water was cool, but so refreshing and incredibly clear. Some crazy guys doing flips off of the huge rock into the water. We found a quiet spot on the rocks for us to dry in the sun and read.

After a while we moved on to our last walk which is the shortest and most popular. Manarola to Rimogaggiore aka Via dell'Amore (Lovers Walk). Only 1K, but very beautiful. Totally flat. Tons of graffiti and people's writing. Locks everywhere especially around the Lovers Walk statues - as a symbol of love I guess.

Made it out on the other side and wandered around before buying ferry tickets to go back to Monterosso. Tony said that was the one thing he wished he'd done, but didn't get a chance to. Figured we'd do it today because who knows what kind of weather we'll get tomorrow. Gelato time! I had chocolate and banana and Mom had chocolate and peach. Incredible.

We watched a man fishing on the rocks as he quickly filled his bucket before our ferry arrived. Cool to get a different view of all of the towns from the water.

 

We got back to Monterosso to get ready for dinner in Manarola. Didn't think we'd need reservations because the holiday had ended and it was a Wednesday night, but Manarola was hoppin! Waited for a table at Marina Piccola right on the water as we watched some Italian men lower their boat into the water by crane. 

Mom had pasta with crab to start, but they were still in their shells! I had black squid ink pasta with shrimp and bell peppers - yum! To think a few years ago I wouldn't even look at seafood. Then we shared sea bream - the waiter really wanted us to order this, so much so that he brought it to our table first to show us. It was very good and served with potatoes and olives, but the whole fish came out (bones, head, tail, eyes and all!).

Not many trains were coming to Manarola at night so we walked to Via dell'Amore again to get to Riomaggiore. Such a nice after-dinner walk along the water and all lit up. Tried to go to the same gelato place we had been to that afternoon, but it was closed so we had to wait until we got back to Monterosso. Had our last gelato (in Cinque Terre) and walked around a bit before calling it a night.