Cinqueterre

So I went for three days to Cinqueterre with BDan (a friend from the States) and Andrea, from our program. It was a lovely, sunny few days before the recent cold weather set in. Cinqueterre, literally meaning "five lands," is a group of five little, Italian fishing villages scattered along a protected strip of coastland. During the high season, the villages are over-run and not quite so quaint, but this time, only Vernazza, the swankiest of them, was unduly crowded. We stayed in the smallest, Rio Maggiore, which was all but empty at certain times of day. It's the one with the most youth hostels, so we stayed in a suite with a few other college students. I think the pictures of Cinqueterre pretty well speak for themselves, so here they are:



We hiked up into the hills, which were all terraced and lovely.

Cinqueterre is famous for its cats. They are everywhere and the friendliest semi-stray cats you will ever meet. Not to mention the sleekest. These cats, we met along a trail, but there was a pile of fish-heads a little behind the wall that seemed to suggest someone had hiked out to feed them.

I took a lot of pictures of rocks and water.

Rocks and water. This is the view from a promontory in Rio Maggiore.

Rio Maggiore itself.

Andrea and I being thrilled to be in the sun and near the sea.

Rocks and water.