This weekend we all went to the Cinque Terra (or the five lands). It was about an hour and half train ride from Pisa. We left at around 6:30 a.m and arrived around 8-ish, hungry and cold from the light rain that drizzled on us all morning. But once we arrived at Monterosso, the first of the five lands and saw the vastness of the open Mediterranean Sea, our appetites faded and we went down to the beach to explore.

The Mediterranean Sea

Monterosso

Just like it was relief to see grass at the Boboli Gardens in Florence, it felt great to see the lapping water, the crashing waves of the blue wide and the feel of sand underneath our feet. We all stood at the water's edge for quite awhile, absorbing in the new surroundings, skipping rocks, dodging the tide and climbing tall rocks.

After we left the beach, we ascended a staircase that took us up one of the many mountains of Monterosso and we scaled the narrow ledges and got a view of the sea from higher ground. We found some very interesting things along the way including a church dedicated to coffee, colorful flowers, a cemetery with cactuses and a set of stone boxes built into the side of the mountain.

Rain rain, go away.

The beach below is where we started our day from. By the end of the day we would be far from it.

It was hard to tell where we were exactly considering none of us had a map or any knowledge of the Cinque Terra, but much like our first night in Florence, we took advantage of this new land and explored it with rigor. These roads would eventually lead us on a journey that none of us would forget.

We found out that the town of Monterosso was beneath us so we descended the stone pathway and went down for a cup of coffee and some morning fruit to rejuvenate our spirits. The town was very quiet, casual and many storefronts and cafes to offer. It wasn't long before we ended up separating from each other and taking our own paths to different destinations.

There were dozens upon dozens of orange and lemon trees in people's backyards and out in the mountain ranges. 

Jamie and I went out in search of Vernazza, the second of the cinque terre. Not knowing which way to go, we took the path of the long highway, thinking that it would lead us to a town sooner or later. Here is the first photo of our hour long ascent into the mountains, on the side of a busy road. The town below is Monterosso, the trees next to it are some of the orange trees I mentioned earlier.

The higher we went, the more private gardens we saw and early morning farmers picking their crops and planting their seeds. This was one of the off-limit areas that we stumbled across on our highway escapade.

Much like Illinois, from afar you can see the sections of plains that make up the whole area. The only difference here being that the vineyards and gardens are stationed at the side of a mountain and are right next to the salty sea air. I imagine that it would be quite pleasant to wake up every morning and see the glistening water outside your window.

From here you could see the rock that we climbed during our arrival at Monterosso. 

The left side of the picture shows the highway we had been walking (for almost an hour now) to no avail. 

The Long Highway

Monterosso from way up in the mountains.

We eventually got so high in the mountains that we saw a current in the sea that was visible. 

Defeated by the upward hill of the highway, and with no other option but to turn back, we descended from our hard journey back to Monterosso. It may have been a hard walk that didn't take us to our destination, but we did see many beautiful sights that we didn't see anywhere else and we really got to scope out the rest of the area. Soon, we found a tourist path that would lead us to Vernazza and our knowledge of the land above us would help us in the dangerous journey ahead.

The highway we took on our first attempt to Vernazza. After we took a quick breather in the town center, we called Josh to see how he was handling the torrents. Like us, he had taken a different highway, but had wound up in the woods scaling the dirt and rocks to get a good view of where he was at. After numerous scratches and failed attempts, he found a path that was designated for tourists and headed in that direction. When we called him he had been hiking for an hour and was still in the thick of it. So we tightened our backpacks and headed east, holding onto nothing but our hopes that we would end up somewhere and ascended into the mountains.

One of the first fascinating things we stumbled upon was this tree, hanging from the side of the mountain. It looked pretty secure considering someone had tied a shoe out on one of the branches. This might have been an omen telling us that we should have gone back, but without fear, we carried on.

Waterfall at the cliff's edge. There was no ledge or railing to protect you from falling over so you had to be very careful stepping across the stone walkways. The funny thing is that this tourist path was approved by the Italian government and Prime Minister Burlisconi.

You would think that following a path would be easy, but when you're climbing a mountain it becomes a completely different matter. We got lost a few times. Our checkpoints were red and white stripes painted on the side of the mountain and after awhile, we stopped seeing them, giving us reason to worry.

Soon we were dropping into the thicket of bushes, branches and thorns that tangled our scarves, scratched our skin and left us with no cobblestones to walk on. 

Once we found ourselves in a dirt covered area of trees, we figured out that we were completely off the map.

This mound of dirt was where we fell into after searching for the stone pathway. We actually had to skid down this hill into another region of land. It was fun and exciting, but we were very confused, as you can tell.

So like any great hiker will tell you to do, we retraced our steps, hoping to find someone or some way to lead us to Vernazza.

To insure that no one else would take the wrong path like we did, we left a note for future hikers that would tell them to stay clear of the upcoming path.

Soon, we found the path that we had missed (covered by a hidden cove of branches) and we saw our red and white markers, leading us up up and up.

Along the way, we met Drew, another American student studying in Milan who was hiking to Vernazza as well. We were glad to have him along and hear his stories of snowboarding in the Alps.

Sometimes the pathway was so narrow that it was hard to believe that they let people on this trail! One misstep and you would go tumbling down into the mountain trees and land on a bunch of rocks. 

Here was a bridge we had to cross (secured only by a red and white piece of banner). Again, it was incredible that we were taking this hike, but the conditions it was in made it seem like it wasn't the ordinary everyday American tourist trap. We really felt like we were exploring new grounds on this mountain trail.

It wasn't too long after we crossed the log bridge that we could see Vernazza in all its colorful glory.

Vineyards along the way.

The last leg of the path.

Into the town's entry limits.

Down the staircase...

... and tada! Vernazza! With it's bright pink buildings and crashing waves! We couldn't believe we had made it and were laughing as soon as we arrived in the town center. We looked back at the mountain trail we had just climbed and slapped each other on the back in congratulations. It really was a life time experience that I will always remember.

The mountain we climbed for almost three hours.

We celebrated our hike with an expensive lunch on the seashore. I had penne with shrimp (de-li-cious) and baked anchovies. We had a bottle of white wine and a two hour conversation entailing our journey from the early morning hike up the highway to the backwoods that sent us almost over the edge of a cliff. What a day!

This shrimp says 'See ya later'!