06.10.2020-we pay money for climbing stairs

06.10.2020

Dear friends,

today was a fantastic day.

It all started with sunshine and the realization that we still needed bus tickets for today. Unfortunately, these can only be purchased at the train station or tobacco shops, neither of which were available nearby. However, this problem was quickly solved. With a wink and charm from dad, our pitch leader handed out some tickets, or at least I think that's what happened. After all, my super important task was to stand at the gate, wait, and be excited when he presented me with the tickets, with a confident sparkle in his eyes.

Next to the entrance of an office, there was a large sign that said "Cinque Terre," our destination for today. Unfortunately, two sections were closed because the trail was no longer passable. That's putting it mildly, as the part of the trail that we could still see was either completely destroyed by a landslide or there was a large hole where a bridge should have been. But let's start at the beginning, which was Monterosso. We took the train to this small town right on the coast. Of course, we couldn't resist and took a brief walk through it, and holy cow dung, it's just so adorable. Narrow streets, cute shops, Italian flair, and food everywhere. The trail was nice too, although I still can't get over the fact that we had to pay money for far too many steps and almost the same breathtaking view over and over again. But that's how it is here: weird but beautiful. To give you an idea of what we got ourselves into, there's a short stretch of the trail that is only 1.4km long but supposed to take 1.5 hours to complete.

The first town that crossed our narrow, rocky path was Vernazza. It looked pretty from a distance and car-free up close, with delicious Piadina (look it up and see the pictures, it's so good and even tastier 😊). Unfortunately, the village's tower was a total letdown and a waste of stairs energy, as it was completely wrapped in wire and no longer accessible. But we just kept going and fought our way from 0m above sea level to 218m above sea level at a speed that was way too fast and despite the continuous cloud cover, still too hot.

In Corniglia, we had our very first Italian ice cream, isn't that crazy? After a week, we finally made it to a small village above the sea. It was delicious, by the way, and the seller was very cute 😊. Unfortunately, then the hiking part of our day was over, and we could only get on the train to go to Manarola.

Waves, a salty deadly mass that collides with the thunderous roar of an elephant herd against a sturdy rock wall, settling their dispute like perfectly coordinated ballet dancers without any harm, and then gently, some hopping, others jumping, returning to the sea, indescribably beautiful. We stood on the coast for at least half an hour, and each time the foamy splashes looked different when the wave collided with a loud roar against the continent.

Riomaggiore was our last stop today, with alleys only as wide as ourselves and completely ignoring our previous lesson, we stomped through the city, always on the lookout for the harbor. This time we were lucky, the paths that were often worryingly steep or narrow led us exactly where we wanted to go. But unfortunately, the light rain ruined our non-existent plan, and we made our way back after a brief glimpse.

After a quick stop at the bakery, where they have incredibly delicious mini pizzas here, we were already back at our apartment. And let me tell you something: I really wore out dad. And my study of whether he could really feel his leg hair was nothing compared to his grumpiness, which reached its peak when I hopped along beside him, laughing. Tonight, he will definitely sleep very well, and so will I.

See you soon and sweet dreams.