The Five Lands

Considered by many to be one the finest places in all of Italy, Cinque Terre retains a very unique background.

It's situated on the Italian Riviera and consists of five small villages nestled along the sprawling, mountaintop coastline.

Each village has its own distinct characteristic but are united as "The Five Lands."

One of the villages is noted for famously building a wall in order to halt the production of a modern road being built through the village. Surprisingly, they succeeded!

The destination is a defining feature for Italy and attracts visitors from all over the world. Trust me, you'll see why.

Like usual, Saturday was the date. But as I arrived at the train station, it came to my attention that my friend, who was supposedly going to attend with me, for some reason or another, he bailed out.

Oh well...Looks like it was just going to be me and my trusty iPhone to keep me company.

I took an early train to La Spezia, where I boarded a 15 minute shuttle to the first of the five villages, Riomaggiore.

There were quite a few people present as I arrived.

As we climbed up to the coastline, I was presented with some phenomenal views:

The universal procedure in tackling Cinque Terre is basically to hike to each village, one by one. To take in the sights is the whole point, so transversing through the hills is ideal.

There are many different paths to the villages, some more steeper and challenging, while others more leisurely and easy-going.

Since the weather was uneven to the least, many of the more difficult paths were closed off, leaving the general pathway as the only serious option.

Traveling between the first two cities was lovely:

The weather was quite pleasant. A cool and gorgeous breeze would wash over you every once in a while.

I recorded some panoramic footage of the coastline:

Coastline 1

Coastline 2

There was even an adventurous Italian fishing!

Further on, a tunnel presented itself with plethora of graffiti.

After a little more hiking, I finally reached the second village of Manarola.

It was surreal to see these antique buildings situated on the mountainside. You felt that they could fall at any moment.

The design and architecture behind the construction of the villages must have been incredibly intricate.

Within the village, I was stunned by this intriguing sculputre:

And some really gorgeous flowers, blossoming in the most natural viola I've yet to see:

I stopped by for a lunch break in Manarola, where a local dish was served:

Cinque Terre is also noted for its incredible amount of original vineyards, providing some of the finest Italian wine in the country.

I tried out a classical glass of red wine, which turned out to be quite distinguishable.

They get an A+ in my book!

After the break, I hiked up to a higher point in order to capture some of the more impressive sights.

One thing that I kept thinking about was that the villages were built in the same as vein as Brazil's Rio De Janerio. The design, positioning, and patterning of the villages related to the Brazilian city so much.

This thought further reminded of my intense venture in Modern Warfare 2, where you battle through the war-torn streets of Rio De Janiero. Wicked set-piece!

It's really odd that every now and then, when exploring, speaking, or generally philosophizing, I'll randomly equate something to video game culture in some sense. I guess its in my blood...

Anyways, back to the story:

They were so many vineyards!

Here's some footage to give you a better sense of how the vineyards, roads, villages, and mountains stood together:

Vineyards

Towering above the village, the local cemetery lay:

As I turned to view the previous village of Riomaggiore, I was floored by the incredible sense of pattern developing.

To my left lay Riomaggiore:

in the center was Manarola (where I was):

and to my right, Corniglia:

I was wrapped in the rapture of "The Five Lands."

They were all around me.

Only one problem...It began to rain.

Why, oh why?

Luckily, my trusty coat housed a secret compartment which provided me with a very useful hoodie.

I rushed to find cover. Once I did, I looked out and found the scenery to truly awe-inspiring.

While the weather was becoming uncomfortable and really off putting, observing Cinque Terre under such conditions was phenomenal.

It was naturally gorgeous. The mist, rain, and atmosphere were perfectly in harmony.

While I wanted to move forward to the third city, Corniglia, I was informed that the road leading to it was now blocked off.

Luckily, there is a train system which connects the five villages through an underground route. It bounces back and forth every 20-30 minutes.

Since this was my only option, I descended into the underground.

I was greeted by an army of like-minded tourists also wanting to travel to Corniglia in a dry manner.

After what was more like a 40 minute wait, the shuttle arrived. We were all packed in like a can of Tuna and advanced to Corniglia.

As many got off, they all advanced towards the bus shuttle to take them to the center of Corniglia.

If I'm going to visit Cinque Terre, I'm going to properly do it, god damn it! Screw this automobile nonsense!

So I hiked it up there:

Not sure it was exactly the best idea...

Lots of slippery slopes, muddy paths, sharp turns, all wrapped around very steep ascent. Basically an invitation to break your leg.

Luckily, due to my ninja like reflexes and some Assassin's Creed climbing, I didn't.

I was presented with a very gratifying note when I reached the top!

And with it, I explored the third village of "The Five Lands."

Wandering aimlessly through the cobbled, narrow streets of the tiny village, I was given an authentic taste of real Italia.

A balcony was found at the very edge of the village, which provided one of the best vantage points.

The view perfectly put into perspective the entire world around me.

The villages I had passed, the ones I yet to explore. The ocean beneath, the green mountains at level, and the sky above.

I captured some of the encompassing landscape through the lens of my camera:

Landscape 1

Landscape 2

I began to notice that many of the tourists that I had arrived with had vanished. They had all returned to the first village in order to escape the rainy madness of Cinque Terre.

I continued to explore Corniglia for a little more but found that if I spent any more time in "The Five Lands," I'd turn into an icicle.

Although I had only conquered 60% of Cinque Terre, a second journey would have to be in made order to fully chart this side of the Italian Riviera.

I slowly descended to the train station of Corniglia.

I strolled by some fruitful grapes along the way:

I also had an encounter with a couple of French tourists, where I was greeted with a surprising, "bonjour!"

Trying to guess the exact usage of this peculiar looking contraption was impossible:

I think it has something to do with traveling over the vineyards. Sounds so high tech!

I stopped by this very Monkey Island-esque barrel:

Grogg!

I soon arrived at the station and rode the next shuttle back to the first village of Riomaggiore.

I truly adored Cinque Terre. It provided such a distinct atmosphere in comparison to anything I'd experienced before in Italy.

The diversity of Italy is really starting to become apparent. Just look at the blog with some of the places I've visited. You can travel in just a few hours and find a WHOLE new world. Not every country can boast such a claim.

But, you know what the most AMAZING thing about exploring the tropical lands of Cinque Terre was?

Being able to STILL get 5 bars on my iPhone!