July 17, Monday, 5 Town Hike in Cinque Terre

Left Riomaggiore at 9am. Hiked to Manarola (20 minutes). Then up the hill to Corniglia and stopping at some amazing scenery (about 1000' up here). Then to Vernazza, which is a set of steep winding trails up and over to the next town. Every village has steep vineyards stretching from the sea to the top of the hills above the towns. Much of the soil was carried in, and the terraces are so steep it is hard to believe they can keep it irrigated and pick the crops. The terraces are held in place by carefully built rock walls. Amazing is the only word to describe this.
And finally a 75 minute hike over another set of steep winding trails to Monterosso. This is a very touristy town, unlike most of the others. We went for a great swim in the ocean, then took the train back to Riomaggiore.
Stu takes off tomorrow from Milan, and we will leave La Spezia at 8am for Bologna and Bolzano, ending up on a bus into Selva (in the Dolomites).

10 miles today, and legs/feet getting stronger every day. Very warm and muggy, so put down a liter of water per hour. Nice to be getting fit again, and we are now ready for the mountains.