Originally Posted on: Oct 27, 2016
1. On the train from Florence, passing by less touristy towns, I noticed that all the houses were still color beige/yellow and had red rooftops.
This made me want to build a house in Florence with aqua blue walls with a neon green roof.
2. Cinque Terre is the collective term referring to the 5 coastal villages in region – all of them major tourist spots. And it is human nature to wonder, ‘what is so special about each village?’
The 2nd village has the best view. The 5th is the most accessible (since it is the flatest/least stairs). The rest are unremarkable.. I think the term here is nakisawsaw nalang.
3. Looking at the houses in Cinque Terre, the “Cheerleader Effect” (popularized by How I Met Your Mother) comes to mind. It is basically an “illusion” that makes average looking individuals look more attractive when in a group.
Looking at each village as a whole, it is a postcard worthy shot. But when you look at each house individually, some houses of informal settlers in Manila look better.
I guess it’s okay that the homeowners of Cinque Terre made an association or union to make their houses all color beige with red roofs… Now they are a tourist spot!
4. After a long day of just walking around Cinque Terre, we just wanted to relax.
We went to the grocery to buy a packet of fresh strawberries, and went up to a view deck overlooking the ocean. (Yes, it was a chick-flick movie moment).
While eating the strawberries, Mae said, ‘Medyo may konting asim na ito.”
I replied, ‘Malamang, kanina pa tayo naglalakad eh. Maasim1 na talaga yan.‘
5a. In Cinque Terre, hiking across the 5 villages is very common. Each route typically lasts for 1 to 3 hours of trekking.
Mae and I thought that these would just be easy trails, gently sloping along the coastlines so we decided to walk from the 5th to the 4th village. But after 20 minutes along the coast, the trail went towards and upwards into the mountains. The ascent was non stop for a good 30 to 40 minutes. Then a gentle upward slope for a good 15 minutes, and a steep descent towards the next village the rest of the way. It took us a total of 2 hrs and about 15 minutes.
Very exhausted, we went to the nearest open resto for lunch. We ordered sandwiches and a coke.
It was the best tasting coke we’ve had in our lives.
5b. Expecting a casual hike, Mae was caught unprepared. She was wearing jeans and plain rubber shoes and a cotton-y sweater.
In my mind, I knew she could do it since she was in better physical shape than me. So I was more interested on how she would react to the mud, dirt, steep trails, and the general discomfort of hiking in a mountain.
Ano kaya reaction ni Mae kapag wa-poise2 na?
Well sorry to disappoint, but she was still prim and proper throughout the hike.
No complaints and all smiles. Did she get sweaty? Yes.
But after the hike, she still looked pretty as ever.
I am a lucky man.
5c. Mae is now sleeping beside me while I’m writing this. She is sleeping soundly (read: snoring).
It will be the next day already when she reads this. But it is my birthday tomorrow so I get a free pass on this post.
I am a lucky man.
Footnotes:
1 “Asim” literally translates to sour. It’s also used to describe someone when they are extremely sweaty and stinky.