Day Three

June 11, 2009 9:35 A.M.

I am in pain. Real physical ouches. We came to the Cinque Terra to hike. Little did we know what were in for. Apparently they've allowed mentally unstable people assess their ease of trail ratings. Two hour long paths, paths as wide as a ruler is long, rocks jutting up from the ground every which way, and stairs. Stairs for days. We shouldn't have purchased a treadmill in prepartion for this trip. A rugged stair climber would have been more beneficial. It was like beating your calves with bricks on purpose. Just when you seriously consider falling flat on your face, you turn around to see a poddle coming up the path behind you. What a blow to the machismo! We walked this torture for six hours on only two of the paths. From Monterosso to Vernazza, stopping for lunch and water refills. Then on to Corniglia. Of course we didn't know the ferry didn't stop in this city (of course it doesn't). We see signs for Marina and walk down even more hellacious stairs only to witness the ferry sail right past.

Eventually arrive back at the top of the stairs and wait patiently for the Ecobus to take us back to our apartment and collapse. Guess what? It doesn't go to Monterosso. The train station lies at the bottom of... you guessed correct... stairs. 365 of them. One. For. Every. Day. Of. The. Year. The train ride? Yeah, it takes ten minutes. Sigh.

Dinner was at La Bella Anchor du Tortuga under the Torre Aurora watch tower. Dinner was better tonight and we even tried anchovies, which the area is known for. Desserts on the menu are not very eclectic. Ice cream or sorbet. So we found the only open gelataria. Sorry, no limoncello tonight.