Pesto and Pure Magic

We arrived in the Cinque Terre on the afternoon of Saturday, June 2.  Our group is staying in Levanto, which is not actually one of the five villages in the Cinque Terre, but it is another beach town very nearby.  Bente and I took a stroll around Levanto to get acquainted.  The beach here is different.  Most of the beach is privately owned.  The company that owns the beach covers it with lawn chairs.   You have to pay to sit in a lawn chair, but they will also do things like bring you drinks and food.  There is a small section of public beach, which is free, and not taken care of very well.  We got gelato while we strolled.  I had raspberry and chocolate, which was delicious.  Prices were much more reasonable than they were in Florence. 

Saturday night we had a seafood feast at our hotel.  The owner of the hotel is also a chef, and he prepared a seafood buffet for us, complete with traditional Italian dishes.  My favorites were the “fish soup,” as an appetizer, and the pesto lasagna.  The fish soup was full of all types of seafood – mussels, calamari, fish, shrimp, and more.  It was very tasty!  We also had fresh anchovies, marinated mushrooms, local greens friend in pastry, sundried tomatoes, tiny crab cakes that looked like hushpuppies, and steamed mussels.  For dessert, they served cream puffs drenched in chocolate sauce and lemoncino.  Lemoncino is an Italian dessert drink.  It is made from grain alcohol, lemon peels, and sugar.  It is bright yellow in color and very strong.  I didn’t really like it, but it was neat to have the experience of trying it.

Carlo, the owner of the hotel, also did a pesto demonstration for us, to show us how he makes his pesto.  Basically he uses basil leaves, olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts and mashes them together with a mortar and pestle.  We were all surprised to learn that it’s important to remove the “core” or green center, of garlic.  His pesto was very delicious – probably the best I have ever tasted.  We also learned that sometimes pesto in the US is bitter because people put it in a food processor and the heat burns the oil from the basil.  To counteract this, you can add ice to the food processor.

Carlo making pesto

On Sunday we had a free day to enjoy the Cinque Terre.  The Cinque Terre are five fishing villages up on top of mountains by the sea.  They were founded originally by fisherman, who had to build high because if their homes were closer to the sea they were attacked by pirates.  Over centuries, families have developed a terraced farming technique and grow olives, grapes, and vegetables.  They also farm sheep and goats on the hill, which is why the region is known for its goat cheese.  The region is also the birthplace of focaccia bread and pesto.

One of the villages at Cinque Terre

There is a hiking path connecting the five villages.  It is very steep, difficult terrain, and for a long time it was the only way to travel from one village to another.  Today there is a road that was built in the 1970s, a train, and a ferry by sea.  I set out on Sunday to hike the trail connecting the villages.  I hiked the whole thing!   Although it is not terribly long, it is very steep and has hundreds and hundreds of stone stairs, so it was a physical challenge.  The views were fantastic, and we got to see local farmers tending their gardens as we walked.  It was probably my favorite part of the journey so far.

View from the hike

 I loved the challenge of the hike, the beautiful scenery, and the opportunity to experience local culture all at once.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was truly magical.  Butterflies flitted about.  Sunlight poured in through tree branches.  Foamy seawater splashed against dramatic cliffs and tiny colorful houses dotted the horizon, all tumbling on top of one another among the rocks and olive trees.  Flowers blossomed wherever I looked.  The scent of lemon and olives permeated the air.  There are many more paths to hike because the area has been turned into a national park.  I would love to return for about a week sometime and spend time each day hiking, exploring one village, and enjoying the beach.

Terrace farms along the hike

The last stretch of the hike is known as the “Lover’s Lane.”  It is an easier stretch, and it is paved.  Traditionally teenagers who were dating between the two villages would walk down the path together.  Today it is covered with graffiti, but it is all graffiti about being in love such as hearts, initials, and song lyrics.  There are also tiny locks all over the fences on this stretch.  Couples put a lock on the path to symbolize that their love will last forever.

Locks on the Lovers' Lane

I hiked the path from about 9:45 until 1 p.m., then I took a ferry to Pointe Vente, at the tip of the island.  I met some friends from my group there for gelato and a drink.  I tried a “Prosecco with sorbet” which was very delicious!  It is lemon sherbert drenched in Prosecco, Italian champagne.  Then we all rode the ferry all the way back to Levanto.  The ferry stops at a port in each of the five villages, so it was neat to see where we had hiked and get a view of each village from the sea.