Sitting on the rocks, a couple enjoys the ocean view.

Instead of heading straight for the beach, I took a side trail that follows the cliff and takes you up for a hike about forty minutes to an observation point. At this lookout point there are caves blasted out of the rock, that were to serve as gun sites in WWII for the Germans. On a clear day, this point has a view of the French Riviera.

The woman working there told me that last year, a group of whales made Cinque Terre their home for a while, swimming close off shore and the day before, she was watching the sunset when she glimpsed a group of dolphins diving in and out of the water. She also told me about a “secret” beach with a waterfall that can only be reached by boat past the next lookout point...

It was along this trail that I bumped into Brett, an Australian I had met in Berlin. He told me about the tradition of The Rock and invited me to dinner with him and his friends. Of course, before dinner, I ran into four girls from Canada wondering, like me when I first arrived, where the rest of town was. Instead of taking the tunnel, Rachel, Jessica, Sandra and Christie decided to take the more scenic route to town by hiking up the road past Mama Rosa’s which winds around and leads eventually to the stone fortress. I also bumped into the German girl from the hostel and we all ended up having dinner together.

Shot from the trail leading to the lookout point. That's the beach at the bottom right.
I don't think the restaurant was used to having such a big group.

After which, we relaxed on THE ROCK. The Rock is actually a small pile of rocks jutting out into the marina from which you can get the best view of the sunset. Meeting out on The Rock with big bottles of wine… Now that’s vacation. Not running around trying to catch all the sights. Not the Guerrilla Tourism of Pisa where I shot a couple pictures and retreated.

About Guerrilla Tourism. What’s the point?

Is it really enjoyable spending your time running from sight to sight, checking things off your must-see list?

Me? I had an excuse for Pisa… I needed pictures, you know… for this...

I heard of a group who did Rome in six hours (early morning train in, late afternoon train out). Including the Vatican. If you’ve been to Rome, which is huge, you’ll know this is crazy. They literally ran through the Vatican museum, took a quick look at the Sistine Chapel and were on to the next sight. So I guess at least they can say they’ve been there, done that. That’s no way to experience a city like Rome.

If you’ve got a month, don’t try to visit every city in Europe for a day each. It just doesn’t work.
The Rock.