Day 25 - Cinque Terre x 2

We got up at 7:30 so that we could hit the trail early before it got too hot. When i hit it with Faye we didn't start walking till noonish and I think it was the heat that killed us the most that day. It was definately worth getting up early cause it was a beautiful day and in the 30s by mid-afternoon. We walked it from south to north this time (opposite of me and Faye) adn it was MUCH easier. It seemed like me and Faye were always walking uphill, whereas the other way was much more downhill, although there were still a few tough climbs. The trail was also alot emptier because we were there later in the season adn on a Tuesday, whereas me and Faye did it on a weekend. Was well worth coming back again because its just so gorgeous. I'd say its a must stop when visiting Italy for anyone.

We got to the last town, Monterosso at just after 1 (4 hours of hiking in all), and had a beer and a sandwich on a patio looking out over the sea, and then went down to the beach and went swimming. Me and Rob floated around for awhile and then Rob went in and i was out there all by myself for awhile when this guy floats by and asks me where i'm from. Turns out he's Canadian too and told me i wouldn't know where he's from (ends up being somewhere near Jasper), and I say the same, that he wouldn't know where i'm from either, Iroquois Falls.

Well.

Turns out he was born at the Anson General Hospital and lived in Iroquois Falls till around 95 and knows a ton of people i know and was actually just there a few weeks ago for a family reunion. He even remembers Mrs. Boudreau from the public school...haha. His name's David Grant.

So we chatted for awhle and then we showered the salt water off and told him to come to Riomaggiore tonite for some drinks, but he said he was just gonna chill for the night and go to bed early. We took the train back to Riomaggiore, cleaned up, and i went down near the station to write in my journal a bit. All of a sudden i see Dave and he says 'Shit, i was thinking about it, and how could i stay home and miss out on a night out with a fellow IF boy'. So me, Rob, Anne, Dave, and two other Canadian girls from the west coast (both staying in our hostel) and an Aussie girl (also from our hostel), got a table and watched the sunset and drank a bunch of red wine for 1.50 Euro a glass (big glasses too). After the sun was gone, we headed for dinner. The 4 girls ate at one place and the 3 of us guys went back to La Lampara and we had a huge seafood feast. We got a huge appetizer, mixed seafood plate that had all kinds of crazy crap on it. I don't have a clue what half of the stuff i was eating was, but it was great.

Right before dinner when we were standing with the girls trying to figure out where to go, this really good looking lady standing with her husband and another couple (both men must have been rich cause they were both about 60 with 40 something year old wives; both hot and blond) stopped me and said 'Aren't you Todd's friend!?'. To which i blankly lied 'Oh come on...i can't believe you don't remember me! I'm insulted!'. And then she grabbed me and gave me a huge hug. I made sure i gave her a good squeeze just to see if THEY were real or not. After the hug, i stepped back and confessed 'I'm sorry, i don't know Todd.'. The look on her face was priceless and everyone died laughing. Lucky i didn't get smacked...haha. Then i apologized to her a few more times. Anyways, we ended up sitting right next to them at dinner and she kept bugging me about it saying that i owed her some wine. I told her i was just a poor student, but would happily giave her another hug.

After dinner we hit the bar with everyone. Was a great time, met a bunch of people, even two people who just finished Phys Ed at Queen's. Dave took off around 11:30 to catch the last train back to Monterosso where he was staying and then me and Rob had a couple more drinks and headed back for the hostel. We had to help the other 3 girls from our hostel back cause they were so drunk. They had a bunch of weird Aussie's hitting on them all night. The one Aussie girl was so drunk i basically had to lift her up the stairs to bed.

Off to Roma tomorrow!!!! I can't wait to go back there.