This is why I hate not having internet. In Siena, internet was painfully slow, so we were selective about what we used it for. In Perugia, the apartment had no internet, so the moments we spent in the stinky internet cafe down the street were only to take care of pertinent personal stuff. So, we get back to Slovakia today to discover the massive devastation that occurred in Vernazza, and that it happened only a mere day after we left! Yeah, I'd noticed a headline or two in newspapers that people were reading that vaguely mentioned some flooding in the Cinque Terre region, and I'd made a mental note to look it up on the internet, but I hadn't imagined that it was on such a massive and destructive scale, and that Vernazza was hit so hard. Google it if you haven't already, the photos and videos are horrifying. Or, just go here: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/. Vernazza's main drag is submerged in what looks in places to be over 10 feet of muck and debris. Watching footage of one of our very favorite towns laid to waste, with cars, boats, and a wall of mud gushing down the road is truly depressing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPtVoqCUDS0&NR=1
http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/1111/cinque-terre-aftermath-slideshow.htm
And here I was, writing away on my stupid blog, stupidly unaware of what had happened literally the day after we left for Siena. This is really tragic news, and it's left both me and Terezia feeling completed gutted. I hope that Vernazza's residents have the resilience and resources to rebuild their beautiful town.
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