Cinque Terre
 
 
 
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The Cinque Terre

Corniglia

 
That seems really far away, doesn't it? We walked there
Strength = 70 %
Shoe Integrity = 72%
Water supply = 2 bottles
Calendar supply = 1

As predicted, the hike to Corniglia was just about as hard as the previous hike. But we were only starting out at 70%, and reserves were giving out fast. But the unbelievable views from up on top of the mountain made you forget how much it sucked trying to climb up and down the cliffs. Around the top of the mountain (we had to climb back up from Vernazza, since Vernazza was at sea level again) we were totally wiped, and we were down to 1 bottle of water. Luckily we found a small bar up there...actually, it was quite odd, now that I think about it. There was maybe 1 or 2 houses there, but it was a 45min walk/climb to get to either Corniglia or Vernazza...How'd you like to be the delivery guy?

 
That's a window, not a picture.
We stopped in, and ordered a Gator Aid and a Lemon Aid. I'd have to say, they had one of the better views of any bar that I've been in. The rest did us good, and we continued on, beginning our decent. On our way down to the city, some people coming up asked us how much further to the top. It only seemed like 10min to me, but I padded the estimate by a 1/2 hour. They, of course, said it was another 45min down to the town, but I don't think it was more than 15 minutes before we got there. We did explore Corniglia for about 1/2 an hour, and we had some of the delicious Italian Gelato while we sat on a bench, resting our feet. We were pretty beat at this point, and we had to restock our water.

Back to Manarola

Strength = 50 %
Shoe Integrity = 61%
Water supply = 2 bottles
Calendar supply = 1

Somehow the gods of marriage looked down upon Young Al Bonney, and they did cause the wife to volunteer to take the backpack for the last leg of the journey. Even though everyone in the party knew that it was only passed once we got to level ground, it was welcome relief nonetheless. It was getting near sunset, but the last trail from Corniglia to Manarola was pretty flat (except for the 250 stairs we had to climb down to get from Corniglia's city to its train station).

 
I've seen at least three other pictures on the web from this angle
We were kept alive by even more stunning views. Around 6pm we rounded a corner, and there before us was beautiful Manarola. We paused for some pictures, and then dragged ourselves into town.

FINAL DATA
Strength = 25 %
Shoe Integrity = 52%
Water supply = 1 bottle
Calendar supply = 1

After getting cleaned up in our room, we headed back to the restaurant area (yes, our hotel was at the top of the city, and the restaurants down at sea level). We were luckily able to get a table in a packed seafood restaurant, and soon after we sat down and got wine, a group of four Canadians came in. The wait staff were very nice and made an effort to get a table for them, and they sat down. But one of the couples, after looking at the menu, just got up and left, leaving the other couple there. The wait staff looked a little miffed, but everything was cool. We conversed with the remaining Canadian couple throughout dinner. They were very nice people, but a tad on the loud side. I was really starting to wonder why Canadians sew flags on their backpacks to differentiate themselves from Americans while in Europe. At least we were trying to speak Italian to the waitress...

Once again an early bed time. Next, we have to somehow cross the border with our rental car, because we are heading to Southern France. A six hour drive awaits!

  Hey, I carried the backpack in Vernazza.
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