Today was the best day I have had yet. No joke. Cinque Terra is one of the most beautiful places I have been too. Cinque Terra in English is roughly translated to Five Villages. This is significant and interesting because Cinque Terra is a section of land along the coast that is comprised of…this should be no surprise…five villages. We started at the village of Monterosso al Mare and hiked all the way to the next village of Vernazza.
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| Beach at Monterosso al Mare |
Before all of this though, we woke up at 7, had breakfast, and then boared our first ever private bus. This was a nice surprise since lately we have been accustomed to boared multiple different public buses and trains to get to our destination. The bus drove us for 2 hours until we reached a train station along the coast. From there we took a quick train ride for 20 minutes to the village of Monterosso. Of course the sea shore was gorgeous. It was ironic because while our group was there, we ran into multiple people that we knew from Houston.
We then started our hike of 3km (not sure what that is in miles) to the next village. Do not let the fairly short distance fool you though, it was the hardest path they had. At first the hike was normal and not too much of a difficulty, but then we hit the most steep and narrow rock steps I have ever encountered. I was not prepared for this, and the people leading the way thought it would be fun to practically run the steps. I was dying. Luckily the views were gorgeous though, so that helped to make up for the intensity. Eventually we all stopped for a much needed break, and everyone decided the pace needed to slow down. This was a great idea, and the hike was much more enjoyable after that decision was made. I can’t stress this enough when I say the views were AMAZING.
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| From left: Holly, Callie, Stephanie, Demeris, me, Carolyn, and Ariel after our hike! |
After arriving in Vernazza, we were given our first real freedom. Our leaders allowed us to split up into small groups and find our own places to eat for lunch. Holly, Rachel, Madeline, Stephanie, and I all ate at a cute café right on the edge of the water. After eating, talking, and mainly just relaxing after the hike, us girls all met up with the rest of the group at the beach. All of us swam in the Mediterranean Sea and laid out in the sand. Around 4pm, our day trip came to a close and we all boarded back onto the bus. After a nice nap, we were conveniently dropped off in front of the hotel. I quickly rushed upstairs to take a shower and get the saltwater and sweat from the hike off my body. Once my roomates (Rachel, Dena, and Madeline) and I were all clean and spiffy looking we headed out to dinner and ate at a restaurant along the street somewhere (very descriptive I know). I ordered Spaghetti Scampi and was not prepared to be given shrimp with their heads still on. Besides having to behead the shrimp, my meal was delicious. In addition, since tonight was our final night in Italy, our group decided it was a must to go get gelato and stock up on the extra sugar and calories. Tomorrow we are travelling to Greece and I am ecstatic.
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| Vernazza |
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