Monterosso to Vernazza to Corniglia

We hike from Monterosso al Mare in Cinque Terre to the next village, Vernazza, every year, but it has been several years since we continued on from Vernazza to the next town south, Corniglia.  We decide to do both in morning and return to Vernazza for lunch.  We've recently written about the hike to Vernazza, so we'll focus on the second part of the morning, heading to Corniglia.

But, first, we can't resist a few photos leaving Monterosso and arriving in Vernazza.

Leaving Monterosso

View of the coast along the way

Vineyards (and vineyard transport) along the way

Arriving in Vernazza

Train tunnel back to Monterossso

We hustle through the market-day crowds in Vernazza and head up the hill on the other side of the village to start the trek to Corniglia.

Heading up

View down the coast 

The path continues up to the ridge and then follows the sea south.

Continuing up 

Corniglia coming into view

Continuing along the path

More glimpses of Corniglia

Although we see the Corniglia in the distance, we still have a ways to go, passing around a few hills and up and down a few small ridges.  Soon, however, we are descending into town.

The path continues along the ridge

Looking back at Monterosso

Descending into Corniglia

Arriving in Corniglia

We pass through town, walk the 382 steps down to the train station, and catch the train back to Vernazza for lunch at a favorite spot overlooking the city, La Torre, dining on spaghetti with lobster and spaghetti mari with a beautiful view of the village and the sea from our table.

Descending to the Corniglia train station

View from our table at La Torre

Two spaghetti dishes for lunch

It's been another great day of returning to one hike that we really enjoy and re-experiencing another that we had ignored for a while (but won't any more!).  We're rapidly approaching the end of our second Cinque Terre trip this year and are savoring the experiences and planning our trip(s) next year.

Hiking South from Deiva Marina

Deiva Marina is the next town on the Mediterranean north of Bonassola (in order, the communities along the coast north of Monterosso and Cinque Terre are Levanto, Bonassola, Framura, and Deiva Marina).  As we expand our wandering up the coast above Monterosso, we take the train to Deiva Marina and hike south over the hills to Framura, where we'll  have bruschetta and wine for lunch and walk through the old train tunnel, now a hike and bike trail, to Bonassola where we'll catch a train back to Monterosso.

Deiva Marina has always been hard to reach by land due to the high mountains surrounding it and by sea because of the lack of a harbor.  In 1874, the railroad along the Ligurian coast was completed and Deiva Marina became easier to access.  We enter the village by train and walk by the beach to the beginning of the steep trail south over the hills.

Passing by the beach

Starting up the trail

Looking over the southern edge of town

The trail rises quickly to the ridge and we follow it through a forest once we reach the top.

Trail continues up

View back at Deiva Marina and the coast north

The trail deposits us on a small road which we follow to Framura, arriving at Setta, the middle of the five villages making up the community of Framura.

Views of the sea from the ridge

Looking down on Framura

Benches along the way to enjoy the view

We enter Setta, follow the path through village, and descend through the two villages below Setta (Anzo and Ravecca) on our way to the train station where we know there is a great little seaside restaurant for lunch.

Entering Setta

Following the path down to the sea

Flowers and vegetables along the path

Dining at the train station

After lunch, we walk over to the hike and bike path made of the old train tunnels to Bonassola and pass through the tunnels, through the hills, to the train station in Bonassola.

Passing by the harbor in Framura

Through the tunnels along the coast to Bonassola

On this trip we find another new community (new to us) and interesting trails north along the Mediterranean and the Ligurian coast.