Upping and Downing in Cinque Terre

Heidi and I are currently in Cinque Terre, which was my main non-negotiable of this trip. I've wanted to go to 5terre since I heard other back-packers rave about it when I was touring around five years ago, but ran out of time to see it then. We were so excited to get to this magical place, and have experienced quite a few enchanting moments. However, as life tends to go, there's been plenty of decidedly untwinkly points as well. Since Cinque Terre's main featured experience is a grueling hike up and down its gorgeous cliffs, I'll take you through the similar ups and downs we've experienced since getting here...

Low: Getting here.
I'm still nursing a dislocated shoulder in a gimpy sling, so Heid had to play sherpa and double up on carrying our packs on the journey here. The long day of train rides came after a night where we'd both gotten about three hours of sleep and our respective inconveniences only heightened our grumpiness. Heidi slept and grouched on the train while I held it together, then after we finally arrived in La Spezia, it was my turn to lose it. After a frustrating search for a bus stop that we never did find, I tried chasing after a bus to ask a bus driver for advice. This was a scene from a Chris Farley movie: I was running alongside the bus, hitting the windows, and then ran SMACK into a sign that had, apparently, been right in front of me. So cool. Heeeey Italy.... The embarrassment and added hurt to my gimpy shoulder compounded my frustration at being lost, and I snapped at Heidi to fix things. She, to her credit and grace, pulled me together and we managed to call a cab with the help of a friendly bar man. Finally made it to our hostel, intact.

The gimpy shoulder has not been without its moments of humor though: I earned the nick-name 'One Armed Bandit' in Interlaken, after I proved I could dance it up with my arm in a sling. I heard Heidi talking in her sleep the other night when she made some sarcastic comment about 'One Arm over there,' which we both found highly amusing the next morning. And me running smack dab into a sign? Come on. That's funny.

High: Meeting friends at our hostel
Straight away we met some fantastic people, two of whom became our best buds for the next two days. Dave was from St. Paul, and Sherry and Amanda were from a small town near Fresno. People can make or break a place for us, and Sherry and Amanda were fantastic companions for beach lounging, town perusing, profusely sweaty hiking, and deep conversation. Dave tended to meet up with us for dinner, and was likewise enjoyable to be around-- got into lots of talks about politics and footwear. :)

Low: Our hostel situation
When Heidi and I got to our elusive hostel, FINALLY, we were in such black moods that we disliked it immediately. The staff was unfriendly, there were all kinds of rules-- like, that we weren't allowed to use our own sleep sacks, and that we were forbidden to be at the hostel between the hours of 11 and 3. What?? That's prime siesta time! We had to pay upfront, and made the decision to cancel our last two nights with them, and look for a place closer to the actual Cinque Terre. (We were still a bus ride away at that point.) However, once we did that... We realized we actually needed to FIND a place in town... In the morning, after sleep and rationality had done a bit to improve our moods, we asked if we could rebook our last two nights... But were told our beds had already been reserved. Shite. Wandered Riomaggiore with Sherry and Amanda, and finally found a cute little hotel on the main road managed by a sweet Italian woman. The next day however, when we came by with our all stuff to move into our new room... We were escorted up over 200 stairs to our room. Hey Greta and Heidi: remember that part about Cinque Terre being on a cliff? Oh yeah....

That climb was a nice little warm up for the next high though....

High: The Amazing Hike
...Which was actually QUITE high, and then QUITE low, and then QUITE high and low about six more times, and QUITE hot, and QUITE hard, but glorious, and fabulous, and one of those things that makes you feel so sure of being alive. We loved it. Complained about the heat and our shaky legs, but absolutely loved it and took tons of pictures, which we'll try to post soon. This was one of the best parts of our trip thus far-- THIS was magic. Seeing all those gorgeous little cliffside towns reveal themselves one by one... Unreal. No wonder I had heard stories.

Low: Saying goodbye to Sherry and Amanda
Such an inevitable aspect of meeting travelers and then moving on... But we still always grieve a bit when we have to part with people that have experienced such a major life experience with us. Sherry especially became a favorite with us, and was able to help Heidi and I through some of the very real difficulties we encountered here with her encouragement and prayer.

Heidi would probably also note around this point, that a major low for her was finding a toenail in her gelato. Yikes. I however, have experienced no such trauma, and continue to consume it about three times a day.

High: The Angels Singing on the Cliff Last Night
After our long sweaty hike, Heidi and I once more climbed the 200 plus stairs leading to our new hostel. We stopped near the top to enjoy a beautiful view point, and watched as a beautiful, sweet young couple set up a guitar and a music stand. They were both in white, and looked around 17, 18, or 19. They had packs with them, but spoke Italian, which made us wonder if they were runaways, or gypsies... Or perhaps just other travelers like us. They looked at each other as if they were at the most helpless point of being in love, and it filled Heidi and I both with a giddy happiness for them. They smiled at us, enjoying our enjoyment, and an unspoken friendship was formed as the boy began to play, and smiles were exhanged between us and the girl to show her we believed in his talent. She smiled with such uninhibited happiness each time he finished a song, and checked with us each time to see if we had been as entranced as she. The sun set behind the cliff as he played, and it really felt like something other worldly. His first song was in English, and he sang, 'We are not afraid today.' Heidi and I have been up against some dark shadows lately, and his song felt like a grace-filled reassurance to us.

We gave him some money, and wrote a note thanking him for giving us such a wonderful moment. We told him that we thought he and his friend were angels, sent to help us through a difficult time. This may have been my favorite moment of the trip so far.


One more thing that is neither high nor low, but is worth mentioning: The Uninhibited Italians
Italy seems especially uninhibited. Today, on the train ride to Vernazza, Heidi and I sat behind a couple that was loudly making out and climbing into all sorts of romantic positions that were, frankly, quite impressive given their confines. Then a girl came on, blasting Indian music loudly on a personal stereo, and proceeded to strip down to her bra and panties to change into a sundress. On my way off the train, felt my backpack start to be unzipped and turned around to see a woman quickly draw her hand out of it. SCUZI ma'am!! We got to the beach, saw naked children running around, plenty of naked breasts, and men handling their, ahem, *jewels* openly. Also-- you were waiting for this-- the man thong. In bright cerulean blue. Such a wondrous site to behold. Or, you know. Not. But was certainly enjoyed with a mix of amusement and repulsion!

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Today, we've spent some more time on the beach, and are exploring some of the five towns. Tomorrow, we leave in the evening to take a train from La Spezia to Milan, and then an overnight train from Milan to Paris, then on to Rennes to see Mont St. Michel. We've loved it here, but are also looking foward to getting back to France. :)

More later!!