No More Troubles
BY: MARIA MERCEDES CORREDOR, FIU SUMMER 2023
Finally! Now this feels like Italia. The one I have seen on movies and social media. After three weeks of intense tourism, today was the first time I actually felt in Italia. The sea air and the beaming sun helped a lot, but mostly it was the homey and authentic feel of Cinque Terre. This area on the coast of Italia is formed mostly by 5 small towns in the mountains by the sea. These 5 towns form the five lands, or the Cinque Terre. The clear waters and the amazing food will call you here, but the people and the scenery will make you want to stay. This is, without a doubt, my favorite part of our trip so far.
When we arrived here, we went straight to the beach. I was determined to have fun and make the most out of these last weeks. It is only 3 days later, and I am already so happy with the outcome. These three days, we stayed in a sanctuary on the top of a hill and the tranquility of it healed my soul. We spent the first day doing a hike. The groups’ goal was to hike the entire 19 miles that cover the 5 villages. My personal goal was to give the day my absolute best and get the most of it and obviously, have fun! The first part of the hike, towards the first village, was rough. I was at the end of the line and since we were going downhill, it was hard of my knees. But I managed to finish by playing motivational music on my headphones and admiring the nature around me while blocking everything else. I realized that if I distanced myself from the group, it would be easier for me to hike. This was because the complaints of the people around me made me want to complain too and if I started feeling sorry for myself, I was never going to make it! (And we as a group do complain a lot! – especially me, don’t get me wrong). But by the second piece of the hike, I had it figured out and the next two towns flew by and even seemed easy!
Once we got to the third town, Corniglia, I was the first one there and went straight to the beach. The cold and clear water seemed to heal my body and felt so relaxing that I didn’t realize I spent 3 hours in the ocean! By the time I got out my classmates were already hiking, and I had not even had lunch. The same thing happened to my friend so we both decided to grab lunch before we continued hiking. We found a nice restaurant and we were set on trying the authentic pesto from Cinque Terre. After a wonderful meal we could not bring ourselves to continue the hike and decided to call it a day. We took a train back to the main town and within an hour we were back at the hotel. Even though I did not finish the hike, I sure had the time of my life! According to my smart watch, I ended up walking 10 miles! Way more than I thought I could do.
The next two days after the hike, I was constantly reminded of my success by the pain in my legs and muscles. And I loved it! I went to the beach on multiple occasions and swam in the Liguria Sea. All my troubles melted away.
Pictures by Maria Corredor and Ana Ferreiro. From Left to right, top to bottom: Me and friends in the middle of the hike. Me admiring the view and my success at getting at the top of the mountain. Me and friends (if you look close enough you can see stress leaving our bodies). Me bathing in the Ligurian sea.
