Today we started our morning with a nice breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Dany. Shortly after, we got on the bus and headed to the train station. We took the train to Cinque Terre as it is quite difficult to access the town through other modes of transportation. Cinque Terre is a national park that consists of five villages in Liguria, which is a region in the Italian Riviera. Homes and businesses are built off of the mountains, creating an oceanfront view for all. Marco, our FUA professor, gave us the option to get off at stop 3, 4, or 5 depending on how much you wanted to hike. A group of us got off at stop 3, Corniglia. We were greeted by a beautiful view of the sparkly blue ocean and luscious mountains. After finding the trail, we began our journey. Little did we know, this would be one of the most breathtaking (literally and figuratively) hikes of our lives. The path transitioned from upward and downward stone steps to uneven rocks to slippery slopes. It’s amazing that the trail did not have many railings! We stopped at the fourth town, Vernazza, to enjoy a refreshing soda and a moment to soak in the view. Listening to the waves crash on the rocks was so relaxing. We quickly realized that fresh lemons and seafood were a staple of Cinque Terre. The streets had boxes of squeezed lemons sitting outside as well as several ristoranti (restaurants).
Tourists and locals were enjoying the cool ocean breeze and sunshine. After our rest, we got back on the trail to continue our adventure. The next trail was a lot more treacherous than the first trail. The slopes became steeper, and the trail became narrower. However, I’m glad we were in a group so we could look out for each other. We met different people from the United States, France, and of course, Italy. Some people even shouted “boiler up!” when they saw us sporting our Purdue gear. These moments make you realize that it really is a small world. We love practicing our Italian, especially “ciao” (hello/goodbye), “grazie” (thank you), and “prego” (you’re welcome). Although the locals know that we do not know the language completely, they appreciate our spirited efforts.
After a total of approximately two hours and thirty minutes of hiking, we made it to the fifth town, Monterosso al Mare. Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to cross an official finish line, but the picture-perfect view was rewarding enough.
To end the day, we enjoyed dinner on the beach and celebrated Maddie’s 21st Birthday with a variety of seafood and dessert, and a candle the restaurant was able to find as we sang happy birthday (in English, though our instructors tried to sing it in Italian). I’m looking forward to continuing this incredible experience.
[This post was written by Kathryn Jamieson, a sophomore studying Nursing.]