Cinque Terre

While my family was here Taber and I discovered the front-runner of cities we would like to retire in (so far)...Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre "The Five Lands" is made up of 5 villages strung along a stretch of cliffs above the Italian Riviera. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach it from the outside. Confident our legs could hike us through all five villages, a six hour hike starting with an easy stroll eventually ending in a physically challenging hike we set out on foot. We had a large group, my mom, Susie, Lynnie, Jake, Chelsea, Lauryn (Cheslea's fried from home), Taber, and I. All eight of us set out, any guesses as to how many made it through the entire hike?
Before getting on our way, we bought a park entrance ticket which entitles you to walk on the paths and use local transport. The first path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is labeled the Via Dell'Amore ("Lovers Walk"). There are locks scattered through out the paths, a symbol of locking your love. Taber and I forgot a lock, so we did not get to lock our love. Considering that we have gone through 4 bike locks and two locker locks since being here, our track record with locks is not good. Therefor I don't think locks are significant to our love. The first hike was an easy stroll. It offers breathtaking views of the sea, rocks below, and farming above. We arrived at the second village with no complaints except for needing a bathroom. Of course, all the tourist had the same idea in mind. The toilet Gods had another idea in mind, have all but one toilet out of service.

The village of Manarola was splashed with colorful houses nestled on the cliffs with terraces built overhanging the sea. If Taber and I do retire here, I know I will have to hold him back from using the terrace as a diving board into the clear blue sea.

With all eight of us still ready to hike we set out from Manarola to Corniglia again an easy hike, until you hit the 368 steps. Just when you think you have accomplished hike number two and are feeling confident about your endurance your legs are put to the ultimate test. Jake, Chelsea, Taber, and I remained talking to keep our minds off the steps and the burning in our legs from amount of lactic acid being released. We were happy to make it to the top. Along this hike is a ticket check point. We are still unsure the reasoning of it. The only possible way to sneak in would be to swim ashore and climb the rocks. As we all pulled out out tickets, Lauryn was unable to find hers. While frantically searching her bag an employee was hoovering over her waiting for her re-pay the fee. I saw Taber out of the corner of my eye using his ticket as a fan and acting very antsy. At first I thought he was really hot and trying to fan himself off, and in need of Lynnie's fan but it quickly occurred to me who I was married to, a gypsy. I quickly caught onto his plan. He nonchalantly handed me his ticket and I dropped it into Lauryn's book. With an "oh here it is Lauryn it was stuck in your book" we were on our way without having to pay another entrance fee. One a quick side note, as a result of Taber's ability to ignore rules, at least once a day he receives a hit from me and "Ta-BER" has become part of my daily vocabulary. If a sign is posted that says do not cross this line, you can bet Taber will be the first to cross that line. I was unaware of where he learned this skill until Gary and Valene visited us. The four of is admiring an unfinshed church in Reggio when I heard Valene say "Taber go up there". I turned my attention to where she was directing him. It was up century old stairs that were dominated by spider webs and dust. Who followed right behind...Valene! This happened several times throughout their trip and I now know Taber inherited the gene from the sweetest woman walking this earth, Valene. Honestly, I am thankful for this inheritance. I have been able to explore more areas than I would if I were on my own and we get some fantastic photos because of it. So, thank you Valene.

Back to Cinque- Two hikes down and arriving in the third village we were all still together. While my mom, Susie, and Lynnie stopped to buy Cinque Terre hats, Chelsea and I made our way up to a church sitting on top of a ledge. An alarming sound that is not sound animal or human like greeted us. We turned our attention to the noise source and were shocked to hear it was coming from a stray cat. Definitely not a sound the average cat is capable of making. If Susie Frank had seen it she would have put it in her carry on and adopted it. Assure the cat was on its tenth life, Chelsea and I showed it some love. After leaving the kitty we reunited with the group. At this point the sun was blazing. My mom, Susie and Lynnie opting to take the water taxi to the next village. Taking us from 8 hikers down to 5 hikers.

The hike from Corniglia to Vernazza started with enough stairs to give a serious stair machine addict a high. The stair trend continued for a majority of the hike creating a never-ending endurance test. The views were the most spectacular scenery we have seen in Italy. The entire hike being a photo-opt, giving us many excuses to stop and rest our lungs, I mean stop to take pictures. The hike was bordered with steep hillside flourishing with vegetation on the right and on the left open blue sea. With not even a railing to stop you from leaping into the sea. By the time we started our decent into Vernazzaa we were all sporting bikinis and bare bellies. vernazza greeted us with high colorful houses, bobbing fishing boats, and a small sandy beach. The clear blue water left us antsy in anticipation of umping in and cooling off. Before indulging in the sea we revived our energy with some pizza and gelato. After swimming, and by chance, we ran into my mom, Susie, and Lynnie. Originally we had planned to meet at the final village, Monterrosso. It was impossible not to spot the three sisters, Susie Frank was the only person among the tourist and locals wearing jeans. Regardless of the 85 degree sun, she was fully content in her Calvin Kleins.

And then there were three. Taber and Lauryn joined my mom, Susie, and Lynnie on the water taxi to Monterosso. I tried to sweet talk Taber into accompanying us. Unfortunately, puppy dog eyes on a sweaty, tired hiker was not convincing enough. At that point, the only thing worthy of persuading him to join us would have been the burrito truck waiting for us at the Summit. Jake, Chelsea and I were dedicated to completing all four hikes, so on we proceeded without Taber. As the path began to wind its way uphill, we noticed the number of hikers had dropped, only the diehards remained. The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is by far the steepest. We had read it was the most difficult hike...what we did not read was that if you are not capable of walking on a path no bigger than 24 inches wide with a 1000 foot drop you should take the water taxi. One slip of the foot and you would fall to your death. The only perk would be as you were falling to your death you would get a fantastic view of the Mediterranean, not a bad last vision. We were surprised at the narrowness of the trail and the lack of guard rails. If the rough economy has left you short on cash, go to Cinque, fall off the cliff, and sue for lack of safety pro cations the trail provides. The view of Vernazza looked similar to a page out of a coloring book colored with a box of crayola pastels. The colors of light pink, blue, green, and yellow against the dark rock cliffs were visually stunning. The path continued up and through olive orchards, vineyards, lemon orchards, and basil gardens. At the beginning of our decent into Monterossa we were surprised by the sound of fiesta music playing from one of the vineyards. As we got closer we saw it was an entrepreneur selling lemoncello, beer, wine, and water from a small hut tucked into the grape vines. Knowing we were minutes away from Monterossa, we bypassed his station. We emerged from the final hike to a paved path leading to the village. Looking down into the teal sea I saw a familiar face treading water. It was Taber. Eager to feel refreshed by the water, I quickly dropped my bag off with my mom and joined him.
Before walking back to the train station, we enjoyed fresh fish at a restaurant over looking the water. It was a perfect ending to a day filled with heart-stopping views and tired legs.
While on the train, we read an interview with a local of Cinque Terre. Every day while his wife picks fresh vegtables from the garden he takes his small boat out and catches fresh fish for dinner. When Taber and I retire here I would like to have them as our neighbors.