Last night I ended up paying for a bit of Internet so I could post the blog update. The girl working there was Brittany. No she didn't tell us any p this information herself but during our time in the Internet place we pieced it together. She is from Dallas but was living in lower California. Up until 4 years ago... When she met her now husband and moved to Vernazza... Um.... So I know Rick wrote about cases like this but... Really? How does that happen???? Ugh.
Anyway... After that, I bought a pizza and we sat by the rocks watching the sky turn dark. At around 9:30 we came back in and it was still no completely dark... But we were beat.
This morning started a bit later at 9:30. Goal: Manarola and Ripmaggiore. Ok... Side note. I'm pretty sure I butchered the names of the cities yesterday, but I don't have the Internet access to fix it. Sooo here they are: Riomaggione, Manarola (my new favorite), Corniglia (on a hill or mountain depending how in shape you are), Vernazza (tiny and perfect), and Monterosso al Mare (closest thing to a beach resort).
So at 9:30 we headed down, filled our water bottles at the little water thing on the street, and got breakfast. This time we picked a little juice bar where I got fresh squeezed apple, orange, and pineapple juice! Maia got a plane focaccia and we asked for the code for the free wifi. But... It wasn't working today! Hehe. We walked to the train station and got our tickets to Riomaggiore (there and back=4.40 euros each). Since the train wasn't coming for another 30 minutes, we headed back to visit brittney. Hahaha. While sitting outside on the steps, my juice man came up to us and said, "excuse me ladies, you didn't pay!" To which I said, um yes we did. So he was like sorry and walked off. This gives you an idea of the size of this town. Tiny. The train was late so we got to people watch.
When you think one man can't make a difference. Think again. I'm pretty sure Rick Steves single handedly brought tourism to this corner of the world. People walk everywhere with his guidebooks... He is the topic of conversation at train stations... One guy said "oh so Rick got you too!!?!? Hahhaha!" Too funny.
Once on the train... It was packed!! The heat was obnoxious. So instead of riding the extra minute to Riomaggiore, we got of at Manarola. So I might have come in super excited for this one, but it did not disappoint. Right off the train we climbed to this little area that was built in the early 2000s to create a playing space for kids. It was lined with white plastic chairs, where older locals sat and talked and people watched. It was precious. Past that we walked down hill though the main road to come to a drop off into the water. Lines with rocks and with huge rocks in the water separating swimming spaces, we found the best deep sea swimming spot. It was perfect and we hadn't brought or bathing suits which were still wet hanging out our window. From this water, we headed up a very very steep hill and followed the precious main road. Half way up we found a water wheel and a LOT of Asian tourist. I had never notice how many there are ... But after one rudely cut me in line this morning at the train station... Their umbrellas to cover themselves from the sun an the obsessive picture taking has become obvious. Clearly not all... But I think they might outnumber the Americans sent here by Rick.
Anyway... Continuing up the hill we came to another square with older locals talking, two churches, a bell tower, and an amazing view! From there we headed back down a few feet and started the most incredible trail through one of the mountains surrounding the town. One of the main reasons I fell in love with this place. From the trail we could see the town, the colorful buildings, the sea, the few jelly fish (yes they were huge. Yes the water in so clear that you can see them from that high up), and the people diving into the deep water from the really high rocks. Most importantly, this hike was through vineyards, lemon trees, and countless flowers. The hike ended with an incredible playground and a cemetery overlooking the sea and the views Manarolo and Corniglia. Amazingly breathtaking. After finishing the hike, we sat by the water with jealousy as others jumped in from the VERY tall rocks. Sooo peaceful. We relaxed there until we gave in and made the hike to the station. From there to Riomaggiore. But this train ride was sooo strange. As we get in a little Chinese teenage girl (yes I understood three words so I know she was Chinese) starts screaming and won't let go of this Italian girl's arm. The Italian look petrified as the other girl yelled in Chinese to the rest of the 10 family members in this tiny train cart. Clearly the girl was yelling that the other girl had stuck her hand in her purse and taken something. After they made the poor terrified Italian teenage girl open her purse, they finally let go of her arm. Sooo strange.
Upon arrival at Riomaggiore we looked through the mural Rick writes about. Painted by Argentinian Mario Benedetto. Then we looked for an elevator he writes about that would take us to the top of the town. Nowhere in sight..... Sooooo we climb and climb and climb. These towns are awesome butt work outs! Rick only had 1 page for this town and it indicated to take the elevator and look at a church and the view. Sooo we walked, got a diet coke, and an olive focaccia. Oh my gosh. I love olives sooo much. Ok... Side tracked. Where were we... On yeah hiking. The views were amazing. I promise when I get home or somewhere with better Internet I will post the pictures. For now, if we are Facebook friends, go look there! After walking a little train circling the town we walked down to the marina. Again... More people swimming.... And we still had no swim suits. Hahha. Oh we'll! We settled for a cono piccolo of gelato and people watched. After that... We headed to the station.
At the entrance to the station, there was a crowd of 20-30 Asia tourists. So Maia and I went further and sat at a bench enjoying the view. A few minutes later comes an Italian woman on the phone carrying a pack of rice cakes. She was on a mission!!! It sounded like she was reporting an event on the phone saying where she was and times etc. a few seconds later I finally understood. She pulled another Italian aside and told her what I understood as: did you see them? They are there in the crowd of tourists, I called it in. Then as the train pulled in she began yelling at the tourist crowd: "attention to your wallets they get you when you are boarding." We entered the near empty wagon with her, since the crowd of tourist entered the first ones and left the middle and last ones empty. She continued to tell everyone to watch out and stuck her head out the window several times to see what was happening. Too funny.
Then... One station down... One to go and the screaming in Italian begins. All I saw was a shirtless guy with an accordion. The train worker kept saying in Italian either you pay 18 euros or you get off the train. (Italian sometimes is sooo close to Spanish that its super easy to understand). After two days here... I think I picked the wrong language to study!! Back to the story! The yelling continued and the lady from the train station got up and went to help the train worker to tell the accordion guy to get off the train. It was surreal. Oh... And then she stuck her head out the window called some guys she knew at the station and they came and finally talked the screaming man out the train. He kept saying "why are you treating me so bad. I felt bad... But like let's get this train moving. After getting to Vernazza (now 3:45) I was in need of some of this amazing air conditioned room! We arrived to find our room clean, bed made, fresh towels, and bathroom spotless. It's like a private hotel!! I love it here. I showered, washed clothes, and enjoyed the air while Maia went down to the water took a dip and laid on the rock. Now it's five o'clock and the plan is to stay around Vernazza for today. And perhaps tomorrow too... We are thinking of exploring to see if there is anything else aside from this main road! Then.... Lay on the rocks, soak up the sun, get in the water and enjoy. One big seafood meal will culminate our time here and then we will purchase our train ticket to leave this paradise Friday Morning. But that is a long ways away!!!
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