These lizards are leapin'... or falling...

One of the great appeals of 5terre is the hiking. It is a national park right on the sea, so the trails are pretty awesome. There are all sorts, from a 20 minute stroll down a flat, flagstone pathway between Manarola and Riomaggiore called la Via dell'Amore, to a 12 hour trek on craggy, wooded hilltops from Monterosso to Porto Venere.

One of the first things I noticed while hiking was an abundance of lizards. Seriously, these things were everywhere - little brown ones and very brightly colored green ones. When the sun is out, the paths are littered with them, and if you come suddenly around a bend you might catch a glimpse of one as it runs away - otherwise, you're constantly surrounded with the sound of them rustling through the leaves.
These lizards do this funny thing. When I first saw it, I thought it was just that one silly lizard. It was resting on a wooden handrail as we came down the path, and started running away down the rail. We kept walking, it kept running. This continued until, quite suddenly, the little guy just fell right down to the ground. It was very clumsy and very noisy, not graceful at all. But I kept seeing it happen, again and again. One was sitting at the end of a tree branch as we approached, and after fumbling around in the leaves for a moment, crashed to the underbrush. I would have sworn these were, in fact, leapin' lizards, if they had but a bit more finesse... but no. They're just falling lizards.

This morning, while hiking from Monterosso to Levanto, something happened about an hour in. We hadn't seen anyone, then all of a sudden there was a convergence of at least 4 different groups of people. We all greeted each other - hello, good morning, bonjour, buon giorno, whathaveyou. And one man laughed, waved his hands in the air, and said all of the above in English, Italian, French, and German. Clearly not an American (he hem), he made a good point - when you encounter someone on one of these trails, who knows what language they speak? This is such a popular tourist destination, people come from all over. Not to mention the fact that this is becoming more and more of a global world, where you can live anywhere if you have the means and the will to do so. Who knows any more? I know some guys who are Russian, live in Colorado, and may be working in Ghana someday. Really, who knows? But my point is this: I had been greeting people with a smile and a cheery buon giorno, because we are in Italy after all. But I didn't stop to think whether they would understand me or not - it doesn't really matter. The intent behind a friendly greeting is clear, regardless of whether you understand the language being spoken. A smile goes a long way.

Something else I noticed was an abundance of small children on the trails. And I'm talking really small. From infants strapped on backs to toddlers being helped over rocks, these parents are not afraid to tackle a 3 hour climb with a kid in tow. I applaud them and their well-behaved, enthusiastic children!

Insects also abound, and have the courtesy of perching on flowers purely for my benefit, I'm convinced. I stopped to take a close-up photo of a bug so many times, I talked myself into the need for a macro lens for my camera in one short afternoon.

It's the season for flowers here as well. Summer is coming later than usual, the water is still a bit chilly, but the flowers are still in full bloom. Jasmine seems to be particularly popular around here, and it's just amazing - you're walking along, and suddenly this heady smell just surrounds you, almost overpowering but perfectly balanced by the fresh smell of sea air.

The views from the cliffs, the bugs and flowers and cute children and, best of all, the cold birra Moretti on tap waiting for you at the bottom of the trail, all come together to make 5terre one of my very favorite hiking spots.