Kathi and I had been scurrying all over Italy; that was mostly my fault. I wanted to see everything. Before we left, Kathi made me promise we would take some time to slow down and take it easy once in a while. She had a long wait, but today was the day.
We were excited to return to Manarola and go for a swim. We had tried the night before to make arrangements with a snorkeling outfitter, but they were closed when we called after returning from San Marco D'Urri and did not open until later in the morning, after we would leave for Manarola. The fates were telling us something.
After a slow breakfast with cappuccino, we dressed in baiting suits, threw a credit card and some cash in the pocket, put two towels in a free string bag we had gotten at the airport, and headed to the train station - no phones. Freedom!
We got our train tickets at the kiosk, validated them, and hopped on the train. It was a short and pleasant train ride to Manarola; in my head I mocked the tourists with their busy schedules (although that had been us just the day before).
In Manarola, we made our way down to the harbor. We scouted for snorkeling outfitters in a last ditch hope that we might find one to book a trip. Failing that, I stopped at one of the small tourist shops in the village and purchased a mask for 10 euros. We walked the promenade to the ramp which led to the Ligurian Sea and laid our towels out to claim a patch of coveted, sunny space on the ramp. There were less than a handful of people present when we arrived.
We sunned for a while before getting up our nerve to plunge into the sea. Other people trickled in. The ramp was covered with algae and looked a little slippery so I jumped off the wide flat wall that bounded the ramp. The water was refreshing, very deep, and crystal clear. Tropical fish swam all about and having the mask was great. Kathi joined me and we swam about, found a rock to stand on, and explored the deep black water along the craggy rock coast.
We returned to our toweled real estate and lavishly baked in the sun. One group of young boys and girls amped up the chill vibe as they cavorted about in the water, primping, and admiring themselves as they took selfie after selfie.
There was a 7-8 meter-high perch above the sea that lent itself to big jumps so I decided to give it a go. This is when the selfie-lovers came in handy. Kathi asked one of the clan to take my picture as I jumped and email her the picture. She agreed. I crept up the narrow, jagged path to the top, steadied myself, and leaped! Kathi said they got a good shot.
In thanks for the photo, I loaned the mask to our photographer and more selfies ensued. At least some of their group did actually swim with the mask to look at the fish (its intended purpose).
We returned to our sun napping, swam some more, explored more grottoes; I jumped off the perch again. A large group of snorkelers and divers showed up, no doubt, to take advantage of the ramp access into the water, the fish, and the deep crevices to explore. Our little spot was now crowded, but not crazy. It still had a locals feel.
When we got hungry, we packed up our towels and gave the mask to an Italian mother with two kids but only one mask and snorkel. She was grateful and made her daughter come and thank us. We were just trying to share the fun we'd had and pass on the life-mantra of doing more to live, not just buying more things to have. That mask would have just sat in the garage with our other masks, so we were happy to give it another life.
We strolled back into Manarola and eyed the menu for a restaurant we had passed on the way in - da Aristide. It had an inviting covered seating area on the main square so we took a table. Kathi had troffia with pesto and I had gnocchi with pesto. We shared a 1/4 liter of the house blanco, frizzante, and some great local bread. It was a lovely slow meal and I would highly recommend the restaurant both for food and location.
After lunch, we hopped back on the train to Levanto to retrieve the car and head back to Fiesole for another repeat visit to a favorite town.
I have to say, this was one of our favorite days in Italy. We slowed it down as Kathi recommended, ditched the devices, and lived it like the locals. We savored our unhurried time together and enjoyed our food and conversation with leisure; these are travel tips and life lessons I will not soon forget. If only we had four more days to do the same throughout Cinque Terre! My hope is that we will find out way back.
P.S. We never did get sent that photo of me jumping off the ledge. Disappointing, but seemingly appropriate. No photos of that day; just memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment