June 20 - Hike Through The Cinque Terre

Today we woke up early, grabbed a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel and proceeded to the station to catch the train for a short ride Riomaggiore. We got off and immediately hit the trail. From what we read, hiking the trails can be somewhat grueling but rewarding as you skirt along the costal hills of the Mediterranean. So off we went.

Starting out we first took a vote and made Fran the Trailboss (the vote was one in favor of Fran, none in favor of me, and one abstention) Fran took command right away. She says the key to a successful hike is:

• Keeping a brisk pace
• Carry only what is necessary
• Maintain adequate hydration
• Engage in frequent urination - in the appropriate facilities of course.

With my selective hearing I heard every instruction except the last part about the facilities so I took that as a green light to relieve myself like a Cocker Spaniel at a dog park, to which she proceeded to swat me with a newspaper, scold me, and then rub my face in my newly created wet spots.

So after some last-minute preparations we proceeded to head down the trail. The views were simply stunning! You've never seen such beautiful landscapes. We hiked a short distance to Manarola and passed through olive groves and vineyards as the trail meandered along the coast line near the water. When we arrived in Manarola we were hardly winded so we marched on to Corniglia where we found the trail to be more challenging, steeper and rockier, but even more beautiful. We trudged on and kept a quick, methodical pace and found ourselves slowly ascending into the hills away from the water. As we continued, the views of the villages from the top became more spectacular and we could hardly take our eyes off of them. We stopped frequently for water and conversation with people along the trail. There were many folks hiking like us from all over the world and each seemed eager to share there experiences and impressions of the hike so far. That part was equally enjoyable and we met many folks along the way. As we moved on we came upon the train station for Corniglia. We thought this was great because we had decided earlier to lunch there and it seemed we had already arrived. When we went past the station and back on the trail we turned the corner and was staring at an incline that seemed insurmountable. We knew, however that there was no turning back so the trailboss barked out her orders (something like, get off your lazy *#@$ you #(*$@ and get moving) and we started the long, tortuous climb.

We made the climb and entered the lovely village of Corniglia, after a rest stop and some desperate gulps of water. We were famished but didn't want to engorge ourselves as we still had much hiking to do. So we found a little bar that had some prosciutto and formaggio sandwiches stacked up like magazines in a display cabinet ready to serve. We chose one of them to split but before serving that placed the little delight in a cute little play oven which, I guess, is essential to full enjoyment. When I got the sandwich I took one bite and thought I have found the perfect food. The flavor of that simple meal was so profound I wanted to have six more. Every time I thought about it afterwards my mouth would water as I fantasize being stuck on a desert island with nothing but me and an endless supply these sandwiches - anyway I digress, the meal was pretty good.

The longest leg of the trail was ahead of us so my intrepid leader cracked the whip and we 'mushed' on. It was long indeed and the terrain became more treacherous, almost dangerous at times, as we hovered above steep cliffs just below the edge of the trail. Two hours later we reached the top of a hill and were greeted with a wondrous view of our destination - Vernazza. What an amazing view of this hilltop city perched on top of cliffs that jut out toward the sea. The view of the lovely, pastel colored buildings against the sparkling backdrop of the sea etched an image in my mind that will, hopefully, never vanish. After entering the town we decided that we had enough as the trail to Monterosso could not possibly match what we saw so far (although I'm sure it did) so we caught the 3 minute ride back to our hotel and collapsed to another glorious, and well earned siesta.

That evening we cleaned up and went into the old part of Monterosso and found a very nice cafe that seemed perfect. We sat down and met a very nice couple from Sweden. They were enjoyable company as we exchanged stories of our journeys on the trail as well as our lives in our native homeland. They were avid soccer fans and, in fact, Sweden and England were playing in the World Cup that night so they were looking forward to that event. After dinner we strolled around until it was dark and went to our room to end our perfect day in Monterosso al Mare and prepare for the next leg of our adventure - Rome!!