Cinque Terre

Each terrace is supported with a stone wall.

Five litte villages along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Northwest Italy.  Peasant farmers have spent the past 1,000 years carefully building terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea.
Paths, boats and trains connect the villages.  Cars cannot reach them from the outside.
Dennis and I have been looking forward to this hike for quite sometime.  We weren't able to hike as much as we thought because of landsliding but the two hour hike we took was the toughest leg of the 4 hikes and gave us a good feel of the Cinque Terre.  The terrain was so steep I don't know if we could have done much more.  Our legs were pretty shot by the time we were done.

We must have been hiking right through the property of the many farmers.  Most of the crops consisted of grapes, olives, lemon and lime trees.
Most of the houses are what we would consider run down shacks with some evidence of life inside. It reminded me of what a hermit would live in.  There was a man on the banks of the trail selling fresh squeezed lemonade who looked like a mountain man and must have been mute.  I asked him if I could take his picture and he became furious with me, waving his hands and hiding behind a tree limb.  I felt awful.

There was a couple ahead of us that had two little pug dogs and the poor pups could hardly breathe.  The lady had to keep picking up the one pooch.  We were merely going up steps at a slow and steady pace and our hearts were racing. The path was narrow, not enough room to pass someone but finally there was a little space so we jetted around them and made some distance. When someone was coming from the opposite direction we would cling to the wall so they could pass.  The girls did great and of course Dennis, packing Raleigh, did amazing as usual. I would recommend this hike to anyone going to the area but it is important that you be in good shape and wear the appropriate foot wear.

We are still hiking and looking down at the village of Vernazza.  As you can see the water is a clear aqua.  Monterosa, the town we hiked from,  had a wonderful beach but this town did not. We were disappointed because we were looking forward to hiking and then playing in the water.  Lesson learned: If you have an opportunity, do it.  Don't count on doing it later because the opportunity may not present it's self again.

As we came down from the hike and into the town....

Life is good.....because of Him.

Thank you for all the prayers this week.  They really lifted us up.

We watched the sun inch down behind the sea.  Such an amazing scene to experience as a family.
It's comforting to know that even though we are so far from friends and family we still share the same sun, moon and God.