The 2-hour hike straight up the mountain with stairs the entire way turned into a 2.5 hour “we almost made it” hike. In the end we had to turn around. Had we continued on the trail the hike would have taken another 2-3 hours.

The steps begin

The temperature was too hot and our water was gone. The good thing was the medics were already on the trail helping someone else. Evidentially a fellow hiker who passed Sue noticed her bright red face and hailed the medics down. Sue’s face was as red as a stick of dynamite and stood out from the masses.

As the volunteer team approached I told Suzanne I was going to ask them for water. When I did, they said yes we came to help you. What?!

Can’t wait to get down this mountain!

They shared water and a peach with her and insisted on sharing the trail with us down down down back into Vernazza. Before leaving the trail they took her blood pressure and checked her pulse. She was ok. They led us down to the town and we enjoyed a cold beverage and a shady spot to sit.

It takes a village…

A group photo was necessary to complete the day! Sue was even “fanned” by one of the medics. An accordion was playing somewhere in the background and he was singing about fanning her. Only in Italy! Sue says this heat issue might be the only way she can find a man. Next time let’s do it a different way:)

Lessons learned:

• We should have left 2 hours earlier

• Brought triple the water

• Wore a hat

#enjoythejourney