even uncle Ls fitness tours couldnt have prepared us...

Today Sister D and I chose to hike all seven miles of the Cinque Terra. We took a train to Monterroso and hiked the hardest leg first. Monterroso to Vernazza was beautiful, but full of stone stairs that went up straight for long stretches. Its a good thing we did this first or I may not have had the energy later. (Im also hoping this squelches Sister Ds fetish for stairs...)

The path was narrow and led you right along the cliffs edge. We made a rule that neither of us was allowed to fall as the other couldnt manage to carry two suitcases home.

This is a photo I took as we hiked into one of the small towns, where you can see another in the distance. Sister D took most of our photos on the hike, so they are all stored on her camera.

Vernazza to Corniglia did not have me excited. After the first leg I was pooped. As we climed 200 or more stairs up out of Vernazza to the trail head I stopped. Beyond the trailhead all I could see were stairs leading straight up the mountainside. That little voice inside my head was suggesting an afternoon of swimming and not climbing. I couldnt help but listen. Im not gonna lie, my senior age of 30 was starting to catch up to me. My knees constantly reminding me that Im not in my spry 20s anymore like Sister D. After an internal debate with myself I chose to continue, and was glad I did. While the next several legs of the hike were tough, they were far easier than the first from Monterosso. I just stopped a lot and made friends with the over 50 crowd. Sister D wont admit it, but secretly I could tell she was just as excited to stop and rest each time I did.

Each leg of the hike wound us up and down the mountainside. What makes these towns unique is that they farm the steep hillsides. We wound through vegetable gardens, vinyards and lemon tree groves. I cant imagine how labor intensive harvest time must be, packing out all the goods.

This is a picture of Vernazza where we stayed. Its beautiful here! Late one night Sister D and I bought a bottle of wine, grabbed two dixi cups and sat out here on the dock. She did a watercolor of the church tower, and I well... drank.