Cinque Terre 1

 Wednesday, October 8

MANAROLA

Cinque Terre

 

literally means

 

"The Five Lands." 

 

For the purposes of tourists,

 

we recognize it as

 

"The Five Fishing Villages." 

 

Each one has their own little 

 

unique charm, as we would learn later. 

3.08 pm

We are ...

making our way ...

to our accommodation.

These lemon glass wares ...

are very popular in Italy.

We passed this hotel.

Here is our accommodation.

Good thing we were carrying cabin-sized bags.

Oh Wow!

What a sunny room.

Absolutely beautiful.

Everything smells new and clean.

The porch ...

overlooks the ocean.

This would be the hill ...

that we would be climbing tomorrow.

Yup, you heard right.

 

 

Looks like brand new ...

furniture from IKEA.

What a ...

 

glorious day.

I stared far into the horizon. 

That's supposed to be good for the eyes. Ask Mom.

The view is too awesome.

I really love our room.

We had some baguette with butter ...

for tea time.

Bryan said he could sit there ...

all day. He could. It was wonderful.

Dinner reservation at 6 pm. 

 

 

I had made reservations for dinner 

at 6 pm under Bryan's name.

 

Yup, I ... 

 

(said with emphasis) 

 

I ... made the reservation

 

since Bryan carried our bags all the way

 

from the station to our accommodation.

 

Haha.

 

We were at the restaurant 10 minutes early.

 

At 6 pm, a diner-couple walked in.

 

They were attended to.

 

After them, 

 

I approached the reservation counter, 

 

flashed a smile to the guy in-charged

 

and said : 

 

"Bryan ... 6 pm." 

The guy ran his finger up and down the name list.

 

He couldn't find Bryan's name.

 

 

The paper was upside down for me,

 

 

from where I was standing, 

 

 

but I found my eyes scanning through it ...

 

 

like an expert. 

 

 

Bryan's name was clearly not there. 

 

 

Oh no.

 

 

I could have sworn the Owner wrote it down.

 

 

Yup, the Owner.

 

 

I was directed to see the Owner 

 

 

because ... 

 

I suppose ... it was a late reservation.

 

 

Also, the restaurant was closed 

 

 

from 3 pm to 6 pm,

 

 

at the time when I visited, 

 

 

and there was no one to attend to me. 

 

 

The dishwasher happened to see me

 

 

 and directed me to the Owner.

 

 

Oh boy.

 

 

What now ...

 

 

I was tired. 

 

 

I did not want to go to another place

 

 

to look for food. So I did the next best thing

 

 

I could think of under those circumstances.

 

 

I took another look at the list again.

 

 

There was a name :

 

 

"Ryan ... 6:30 pm."

 

 

 Ahh.

 

 

Interesting.

 

 

Here goes to nothing. 

 

 

I pointed to that name with  

 

 

all the confidence I could muster.

 

 

The guy responded, 

 

 

as he placed his finger just below 

 

 

the name of "Ryan 6.30" :

 

 

"This is you?"

 

 

I heard my voice confirming, 

 

 

"Si ..." 

 

 

 I signaled to Bryan.

 

 

The guy led us to our table.

 

 

Bryan was not aware of the problem

 

 

that happened earlier at the counter. 

 

 

He was looking around the restaurant 

 

 

and checking the place out at the time. 

 

 

We were led to a table on the 

 

 

second floor, 

 

 

which overlooks the sea. 

 

 

Omg ...

 

 

Double Wow!

 

 

You have got to be kidding me.

 

 

My heart whispered a soft,

 

 

"Thank you, Ryan."

 

 

I felt bad immediately ...

 

 

because I was quite sure our 

 

 

original table was 

 

 

not in a very -- nice -- place. 

 

 

The Owner had asked if I minded 

 

 

if they gave us a table which was in ... 

 

 

I can't remember the words he used ... 

 

 

but his tone was clearly apologetic, 

 

 

so I can safely deduce,

 

 

with sufficient accuracy that, 

 

 

it was at an unfortunate place.

 

 

Is this what guilty pleasure 

 

 

feels like? 

 

I looked over to my side. 

My eyes saw : SON. 

 

Huh.

 

Then, my eyes darted to

 

1830

 

Mental decoding is automatic.

 

12

 

21

 

Nice. 

 

It was of some comfort to receive 

 

those signs at that moment of time. 

Bryan said their vinegar is thick.

Homemade apparently.

Our dinner is served.

Catch of the day : sea bass.

I know what you are thinking.

 

Trust me. 

 

I was thinking the same thing.

The crispy calamari was quite delicious.

6.24 pm.

We were enjoying our dinner by the ocean.

 

 

At the back of my mind, 

 

 

I must say I kept looking over my shoulder ...

 

 

just waiting for this Ryan person to show up.

 

 

6:35 pm.

 

 

No sign of him.

 

 

6:40 pm.

 

 

Still no sign.

 

 

 

6.45 pm.

 

 

I was about to heave a sigh of relief

 

 

when a waiter came over to our table.

 

 

I felt my breath caught in my throat.

 

 

O - oh.

 

 

The waiter greeted us with a friendly smile,

 

 

and asked,

 

 

"Excuse me, may I know what name 

 

 

did you make your reservation under?" 

 

 

Darn. 

 

 

He spoke perfect English. 

 

 

I couldn't pretend I didn't understand him.

 

 

I replied coolly, 

 

 

stressing unnecessarily on the 

 

 

phonetic sound of the first letter, 

 

 

"Br--yan ..."

 

 

He echoed, "Ohh. Beh-rrrryannn." 

 

He said thank you and turned to leave.

 

 

Silently, I watched him walk away.

 

 

Obviously, he was gonna take this ...

 

 

this Ryan person ... 

 

 

to our original table.

 

 

What else could I say?

 

 

Thank you again, Ryan ...

 

 

for this lovely table that overlooks the sunset. 

  

Justine and Kayden, pasta lovers.

This one's for you.

Bryan's self-arranged fine dining plate.

7:03 pm

We witnessed the sun disappearing into 

 

the horizon far beyond 

 

and the sky lighting up into 

 

multitude shades of red.

 

It was nothing short of ...

phenomenal.

Bryan was impressed ...

 

I managed to get such a nice table for us.

 

As we were leaving our 2nd level,

 

and walking up to the 3rd level,

 

and the 4th,

 

before reaching ground level on the 5th ...

 

Remember, this is Cinque Terre.

 

all the houses are on rocks and cliffs.

 

I took a peek at the tables above the 

 

2nd level (where we were).

 

Pause.

 

I guess they were -- okay.

 

If you don't mind having just 

 

a teeny-weeny bit of view. 

 

12.39 am. From our patio. 

  Good night, Manarola.

 

Thursday, October 9 @ 7.50 am

The Next Morning.

 

 

Our Hiking Day. 

I breathed in deeply, as I got out ...

on the porch. 9.08 am.

We had sipped our coffee ...

whilst admiring the beautiful backdrop 

 

before us.

9.41 am.

 

This is the beginning of the trail.

 

It's not very far from our place.

 

About 10 minutes by leisure walk.

 

Manarola - Volastra - Corniglia.

We were at Manarola.

 

Heading to Corniglia.

 

(passing through Volastra.) 

The trail looked ...

nice.

I was relieved to see the trail - like this.

Our view from the starting line.

What's this?

Where did the ...

nice trail go?

Still, the path was walkable. 

 

Shortly after, we reached a sign

 

that says :

 

"Volastra (Corniglia)"

Our view ...

from this point.

Moving on.

Steep climb.

Take one step at a time.

Each time we reached a different terrain,

we stopped to take a photo.

More steep climb.

This is only the beginning.

We have to climb up to the top -- right there.

I was nervous, hearing that.

Smile for the camera though. 

First structure we encountered.

The trail continues.

We see the sun.

We see the ocean.

We have reached some kind of gate.

All is well.

As long as ...

we can see the sun ...

the sea ...

we were okay. Or rather, I was okay.

Small challenge this one.

Second structure.

A small feat. 

Remember the structures.

We will be able to see from our porch later ...

to see how high we have climbed.

The scenery was so serene. 

Gate to Volastra / Corniglia. 10.17 am.

The ocean was so blue.

We were still in the open space in broad daylight.

Here's an information board.

Strike a pose.

Enjoy this ...

fantastic view. Not so much the weeds.

Back to the trail.

To Volastra.

On the right track.

More steep ...

climbs.

Another gate.

I was walking in front here.

Everything seemed okay.

The steps continued forward and upward.

Bryan was walking at his pace.

I was just focused on walking up ...

the steps.

Up up up ...

we climbed.

Looks like it's never-ending.

 

Then, something happened.

 

Omg.

 

I suddenly saw the swishing of

 

a tail in the bushes right in front of me.

 

I let out an instant shriek and I fled.

 

FOR MY LIFE!!! 

 

All the way to the highest top.

 

I mean, 

 

I leapt.

 

I sprinted.

 

I ran like there's no tomorrow.

 

 After a short distance,

 

and far far far away from that -- tail.

 

I had to stop.

 

I was bent over, 

 

with my hands resting above my knees.

 

I panted and huffed and puffed,

 

trying to get air into my lungs.

 

I was gasping.

 

Literally.

 

I couldn't breathe.

  

Hardly.

 

I was in exhaustion.

 

Totally.

 

I did not know what "breathless" is,

 

until that moment.

 

I felt light-headed.

 

I felt nauseous.

 

I felt giddy.

 

I felt like I was about to collapse.

 

My chest hurt.

 

My legs felt funny.

 

My body felt a sudden chill.

 

At that very second, 

 

I felt regret.

 

So much regret ...

 

that -- I -- was -- on -- that -- trail.

 

What was I thinking???

 

Obviously, I wasn't.

 

I didn't.

 

 I'm not a hiker.

 

I don't do trails.

 

I don't like nature -- like this.

 

It creeps me out.

 

OMG.

 

Carol would so love this.

 

Jessie - maybe not so much, 

 

 there's no oxygen tank or flippers.  

 

Diana would be wise to say NO

 

from the start, 

 

at the word "HIKE."

 

What am I doing here?

 

I want to go back!

 

I don't want to do this anymore! 

 

I looked down the trail.

 

I yelled at Bryan,

 

"Dee, are you okay?"

 

He said yes!

I yelled again,

 

"Do you want to go back?"

 

He said, "No. Why?" 

See how far he was from me?

That was how far I ran -- up the steps.

 

Life my life depended on it. 

Bryan was resting. 

 

He was catching his breath.

 

He came up shortly after

 

I couldn't wait to tell him what happened.

 

He said, "It's just a small gecko."

 

No No No!!!

 

I saw a dinosaur tail, I tell you.

 

It wasn't small!

 

He chided me for going to the extreme.

 

He said he understood his own body and

 

he would rest when he felt that 

 

his body needed a break. 

 

You will recover faster when you stop

 

before you exhaust the body.

 

Sure. 

 

Right.

 

Now he tells me.

 

(eyes rolling) 

After a few minutes, I felt better.

There were more steps to climb

I took baby steps. One at a time.

What's that dark tunnel now?

 

Oh no!

 

Fast forward ...

 

I survived that.

 

I don't know how.

 

I have no recollection 

 

of that dark tunnel.

 

Not at all. 

 

 Self-reflection.

 

I'm a horse, for crying out loud.

 

Horses are supposed to be ELEGANT

 

and and and ... POWERFUL.

 

What am I doing with all these 

 

not - so - elegant creatures

 

and where the heck is all my power??? 

 

I stormed off (mentally) ...

 

into the --- unknown.

 

Finally.

Civilization.

I was so so so relieved.

Here we are.

All good.

Moving ahead ...

slowly ...

gradually ...

carefully.

Can we stay here ...

a little longer? Pretend to read ...

the board.

We have made it thus far.

See Corniglia? 

We were heading there.

I'm right behind ...

you.

What have ...

we here?

A church. 

We are now at Volastra.

We have ...

so much ...

to be ...

thankful for.

I said a silent prayer ...

of thanks.

I felt deeply ...

 grateful.

Santuario di Nostra Signora della Salute.

Translated as :

 

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Health

 

This church dates back to the 12th century. 

 

We have much to be thankful for.

Are we ready ...

to move on?

Need I say more.

This trail was not so bad.

On our right.

On our ...

left.

The sea was calm ...

and so were we. Snigger.

This wall is ...

interesting.

We walked further ...

till we reached this wooden - barrier - thing.

Selfie here. Turn ...

around.

The view ahead.

How do we ...

capture this scenery in its raw form?

 

With difficulty.

 

Obviously.

 

Moving ahead.

More ...

wooden ...

barriers ...

here.

This is a ...

nice spot ...

for ...

photos.

We are ...

snapping away.

A short distance away, we saw this sign.

Ahh. A cafe. 

You want coffee?

Do -- I -- want -- coffee???

 

Don't you know me but at all?

 

How cute is this?

This is our view ...

from here.

I was busy taking shots whilst ...

Bryan got the coffees.

Some shade ...

at last.

Awesome.

People watching ...

could be my thing.

Sip sip sip.

It's true that the ocean has therapeutic properties.

Cheers!

They served in mini cups for some reason.

Good idea. 

No facilities nearby.

Check out the ...

sky.

I was getting hot with my t-shirt ...

beneath my swimming top.

Let's ...

move on.

Big steps ahead.

We reached this ...

flat trail.

We were so happy.

The worst was over.

12.10 pm

Structure No. 3.

This stretch is ...

doable.

I can do this.

Oh dear.

Narrow and rocky.

 

I didn't like this.

 

We passed that ...

and reached ...

a nicer trail.

Steps to climb.

I was on all 4s to be safe.

We are so ...

close to ...

the ...

edge.

 

I walked ahead, 

 

and made sure I did not look to my left.

Crossed that challenging bit ,,,

and now up the steps again.

We saw a group of hikers on the opposite side.

Onward ...

we marched on.

Our view then ...

on higher ground.

The next trail.

 

Looked good.

We greeted one another, we hikers.

Elderly lady is so fit.

Look at her go.

Step inside. Don't step on the greens.

Ah. A house.

We feel a sense ...

of accomplishment.

Corniglia is ...

that way. We are on the right track.

This part is all ...

nice and good.

We saw a nice garden ...

belonging to this house.

We stopped to take ...

a few photos.

Then, we ...

moved on.

Be safe. Tighten your laces.

OMG. What have we here?

We were gonna be ...

walking through ...

a forest.

I tried not to think ...

about ...

this and ...

that.

The sounds in the jungle did not ...

make it easy.

I started to say my Hail Marys ...

 

to distract myself from the 

 

creepy insect sounds.

 

Hail Mary, full of grace.

 

The Lord is with you.

 

Blessed are you among women,

 

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

 

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

 

pray for us sinners now,

 

and at the hour of our d ......

 

Oh, no no no!

 

That won't do.

 

... and at the end of our trail.

 

I replaced the last verse.

 

Mother Mary will understand. 

Soon, we saw ...

some hikers.

12.51 pm. The sign points to Corniglia.

Bryan suggested that ...

we rest for a bit.

He asked me to sit down.

 

I was like, "Where?"

He pointed, "Here."

What?? Here?? How to sit here??

Everyone is sitting down, he said.

I was not convinced.

A few minutes later,

we continued ...

the ...

trail.

Ahh.

This fence part was nice.

You feel safe as you hold on to the rails

 

as you walk ...

 

... until it ended abruptly.

Aww mann. Back to this.

Narrow lane. Don't look over the edge.

 

I didn't.

 

Not once. 

Finally, we saw the sea.

We were so happy to have reached the next trail.

Look!

We spotted a village. Manarola? Corniglia?

Let's ...

move ...

on.

Big steps down.

I was very careful ...

going down this part.

We were not wearing hiking shoes.

Our shoes were not made for hiking.

 

This part here was nice.

Corniglia. That way.

We can do this.

I didn't feel that motivated.

True, it was comforting to see the village.

We walked ...

on.

See the path that we just took.

Soon, we came to this part of the trail.

Looks easy, but far from it.

Thank goodness, there was a wire fence ...

all along the trail - path.

These senior ladies were hiking ...

so ...

effortlessly.

Up ...

and ...

down they went without a care in the world.

The same cannot be said ...

about yours truly.

I walked very carefully ...

step by step.

Never mind that others have ...

overtaken me and went on ahead.

I did not want ...

to take the risk ...

 of slipping off a rock and twisting my ankle.

Slowly and steady. 

The village is nearby.

We were ...

almost there!

My look of disbelief.

We saw a brick hut.

We have reached Corniglia.

2.28 pm. 

We took 4 hours and 45 minutes 

to walk the trail from Manarola to Corniglia.

 

Yup, we were from Manarola.

Funny how there is a church ...

at the end ...

of the trail at ...

each village?

Truly, Mother Mary was there ...

at the end of each trail. 

The trail to Volastra and 

 

the trail to Corniglia.

 

We are walking into Corniglia town.

The feeling was unbelievable!

Gelato for the achievers.

We couldn't stop high-fiving each other ...

and we only stopped ...

because we almost dropped our ...

ice cream.

Ah, the colourful houses on the rocks.

Truly, nothing ...

is impossible.

It was a good feeling ...

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we did the trail ...

but I doubt  ...

I would do it ...

again.

I'm not that ...

adventurous.

What a beautiful view.

Look at the colourful fishing village.

It's like a postcard.

The sky remained glorious.

Here, we are taking the steps down ...

to Corniglia train station.

We passed Mother Mary here.

We took a photo and sent it to Justine.

Her name is on it.

3.16 pm.

We were just chilling.

There is the train station.

We walked down the steps.

These kind, we don't mind.

What a nice change ...

of pace.

This flight of steps ...

connect the Corniglia train station ...

to the village center.

There are 33 flights of steps ...

383 steps altogether.

We are almost there.

We are quite impressed with ...

leg muscles. 

3.36 pm

Towards the ...

train ...

station.

We got into the train and got off at Monterosso.