Breathtaking Views and Olive Groves

Thursday, March 23, 2011 (Part 4)

The gentleman in Cornelia was right. Many parts of the trail from Cornelia to Vernazza were difficult to maneuver. There were many sections that were extremely narrow, that hugged the cliffside, and that had to guard rails or protective barriers. There were also a few muddy, messy sections but, all-in-all, this section of the trail was not that bad.

Meanwhile, the scenery was truly beautiful. Closest to the towns, we found ourselves picking

our way through people's gardens. I suppose you might call them "farms," but they did not resemble at all the farmlands we know from driving US highways. These farms are terraced along steep hillsides, and the largest sections were being used to grow grapevines or olive trees.

The trail itself was very different from the first one we had been on between Rio Maggiore and Manarola. This trail was all natural surfaces -- either hard packed dirt or stone. Typically,

we were walking a trail that was flanked, on the left, by an immediate drop downward several hundred feet to the sea and, on the right, by a rocky wall. Sometimes, it felt like we were walking through a forest or small grove with flowering trees and bushes all around. And every once in a while, we would encounter an odd gate or ancient looking footpath leading mysteriously somew

here. We stuck to the main trail!