- 54,000 Steps and Exhausted
- A Fumble and Some Spikes in Corniglia
- Hot Hike: Corniglia to Vernazza
- The Cinque Bust
- A Tour of the Castle
- An Unforgettable Umbrian Pizza Party
- Siena v. Florence: The Rivalry Continues
- Mi Piace Formaggio di Capra
- Yummy for my Tummy: Pizza and Gelato
- Hill Town Trekking, Part 1
- Hill Town Trekking, Part 2
- Three Days at Sea, and Almost No Sleep
- Just Call Me Skipper
- A Day in the Ruins
- Cooking in Italy
Our luck runs out…
After a glorious trip to the Dolomites – we had our longest drive ahead of us. 6 hours of drive time, 8 hours total with stops – to get to the Cinque Terra. We had watched the Rick Steve’s videos, Poobah had dreamed of hiking the trails, the cameras were ready to take the picture perfect postcard images. It was a long haul – but it would be so worth it! We only had one shot – one day to make it everything we had hoped.
The Cinque Terre are 5 towns along the Italian coast that have hiking trails in between each of them, preserved charm from hundreds of years ago and the feel of undiscovered paradise.
You might be thinking that this sounds like a perfect setup for a great day! In fact the opposite happened. That is why I call our day – the Cinque Bust.
Uno – Late Start: Rick Steves had encouraged all hikers of the Cinque Terra to get an early start to avoid the heat and crowds on the trail. 7:30AM would have been ideal. Well – TWK (Trippin With Kids) does not have the best track record with getting up early and out the door, especially if there is no burning imperative like a train to catch or a pre-paid tour that will leave without us. Add on the slow Italian pace of the Agriturismo and breakfast served at 8:30AM – we didn’t get on the train until 10AM and not to Corniglia until 10:30 AM. Add in hundreds of steps up to the town, a cactus incident with Steve and we didn’t start the first hike until 11AM.
Due – HOT, HOT, HOT: Apparently, we had been spoiled by cool weather – from Iceland where we needed long sleeve shirts to the Dolomites that was just perfect – this was the first encounter with Italy heat. And it was HOT. I grew up in the humidity of the East Coast (Washington DC) and had travelled for 2 months in SouthEast Asia in June – August 2002. Either I was getting old or I just hadn’t adjusted – but the heat was brutal. At one point in Vernazza, we climbed a tower and at the top I thought was in an oven broiler. We didn’t even do the second hike from Vernazza to Monterosso because it would have been 1PM – 3PM sun and I thought we would melt!
Tre – Whiny, fussy family: With the heat, came lots of complaining, fussing and general irritability. Everyone had short tempers, everyone felt fatigued. Cupcake at one point on the hike yelled, “I HATE HIKING!!!”
Quattro – Injuries: Steve fell into a cactus, I slipped on some stairs and then grabbed Cupcake’s arm, scraping her arm with my ring. Potter broke a glass at lunch and had glass shards everywhere. My medical kit could barely keep up!
CINQUE – Wrong place, wrong time with loads of people (who also had read the Rick Steves book): At one point there were so many people and a bunch of them were hugging the Rick Steve’s Italy book. I’m sure this small set of villages must treat him like a king when he visits because the tourism here outpaces the size of the villages! We also were off on our timing. We got to Monterosso at 5PM and all of the beach clubs were closing. The last ride from the train station back to our Agriturismo was at 7:30 so we couldn’t experience the charm at night. We usually do well piecing together the day but it was just one more thing that was off our game that day.
However, when I look back on the pictures – the “bust” part has already started to fade and in a few years – I’m sure that I’ll remember it fondly and encourage other people to go. Just in the spring or fall and take the boat. 🙂
Mary is our Sherpa Momma, carrying water bottles, sunscreen, snacks, tissues and more in her backpack. But, thankfully, no diapers. She's really just looking forward to having a rest. When she's' not tired, she's an aspiring coffeehouse singer / guitarist.