Climbing the Mountain

Italy appears to me to be organised and things pretty well runs to time... the service in restaurants has been almost faultless, the accommodation peeps have been welcoming and happy to help, people in shops and the street add to a positive vibe,  and even the train system here is much more reliable than suggested. Re-opening the Cinque Terre appears to be more of a challenge. The full Le Cinque Terre walking track has been closed since the 2011 landslides. Today I walked the part of the track that is open between Monterosso and Vernazza. 

Southern end of Monterosso

The last of the line of  5 Terre villaggios is Monterosso. It is the beach village where the focus appears to be on sun, sand and... clear water. Its the closest we have seen to sand, most beaches are rocks. At Monterosso  its the full commercial deal of paying for a patch of "sand" and a lounge with sun brolly... that, I just couldn't do. Seemed wrong. I know, build a bridge and get over it... sigh. 

Anyway, I was there to walk the track, not work on my tan. The track is a challenging one and the steep steep climb goes on for a good 30 minutes or according to the oracle of stairs and distance... the fitbit... about 90 flights of stairs... Could have blown down quite of few porcine houses with the amount of huffing and puffing I was doing. Failed to take a snap of the massive incline. Did stop for the view occasionally...

Monterosso is waaay down there....

However, I did take a snap of the easiest part of the track... for some reason.

The easiest part of the track...

The standard statement is that it is a two hour "walk" from Monterosso to Vernazza. It must have been my gazelle like fleet of foot both up and down the mountain side that even with compulsory panoramic photo snaps (just breathe Don... just breathe...) it didn't take more than an hour. Perhaps it was the power of the aqua minerale con gas or aka "frizzante" with which I have developed an obsession... okay we are  in love... that bootled me along. The weather was still hot though slightly cooler than yesterday but the sweat factor was indeed high. So, it was with pleasure that this view came into...er... view.

Vernazza!

As it turns out whilst I was taking this snap, Anne was below waiting patiently yet again for me, sitting next to two nonnas  in an artisane gelateria enjoying a mint and cinammon gelato and the air conditioned comfort.