Cinque Terre

On the long upward haul.

Working our way down to Levanto.

The monastary ruins on the highest point of the hike.

The lookout.

Sam is happy he made it to the top. And that the shirtless guy in the background won't get out of the picture.

Glad to be in Europe together.

Before the gruelling climb. Il Gigante in the background.

Looking down from Ospitalia del Mare.

On the Cinque Terre.

Well deserved gelato after the long hike.

We made it back to Levanto!

Looking down on Levanto.

Along the Cinque Terre.

Everyone checks their hair as we continue up the hill.

Sorry. Especially to those who were here in 2006. We awoke to deep blue skies and blazing sun. In t-shirts and shorts, we boarded the train to Riomaggiore to begin our hike. It was a little worrying to see signs in the train station announcing that there would be a strike today from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. And also to see that the path between Corniglia and Vernazza was closed due to landslide. But we got on the train anyway, and I adjusted our day accordingly. Everyone hiked the first leg of the trip, the Via Del Amore – aka the walk of love. Back in the old days, there was no path between Riomaggiore and Manarola, and young people in these two little villages typically had to marry someone from their own village because they were isolated from the rest of the world. After this path was constructed to link the two towns, young men and women would walk down the path, meet each other halfway, and fall in love. Hence the name. The entire group continued on the second leg, which is longer, but still almost flat. We lost a few people, who missed a turn and continued way past the train station, but luckily Mr. MacKinnon was able to run up the stairs and retrieve them before our train came. For those who wished to continue on a strenuous hike, we got off the train in Monterosso and hiked all the way back to Levanto. Those who wished to go relax in the sun in Levanto just took the train one more stop and walked back down to the hostel from the train station. Rens came with us on the hike this year, and did the whole route with us. He has never done that before. Pretty good for a 59 year old! I found out this year that he plans to retire in 6 years. Maybe I will retire from the Europe trip too then – I can’t imagine a trip without him, mostly since I have never done one with another driver. Anyone who has come on the trip will tell you that he is a great driver, and a kind, helpful, and fun-loving guy. We are his favourite group year after year.
The hike to Levanto was unknown territory for me, but it helped us avoid the train strike by planning on walking all the way back to the hostel. It is a challenging climb to the highest point of the trail – just stairs, hills, and more stairs from Monterosso to the lookout. On the lookout there are the ruins of a 13th century Augustine Monastary, and sweeping views of Monterosso and the Mediterranean coastline. It took us about 2 ½ hours to get back to Levanto, and I was really proud of the group for meeting the challenge. So proud that I got them all two scoops of gelato when we arrived. Many of the kids took a short dip in the cold Mediterranean, and two of them, Emily and Jessica, were in there for about an hour, jumping through the waves.
Another well-deserved feast at Moresco brought our day on the Cinque Terre to a close, and our thoughts turned to Rome.