I am visiting Cinque Terre on the advice from my daughter, Shauna. Getting from Catania to La Spezia was a no brainer. Bus was 65 euro and takes 12 hours. Train was 70 euro and takes 9 hours. Flying is 79 euros and takes 1.5 hours. So flying it is.
The flight takes me to Pisa, then a short 1 hour train ride to La Spezia.

My host for the week has offered to pick me up from the train station. The apartment is a short drive out town, in a nice quiet area. Once unpacked i head back into town to have a look around. Its a nice little town, with a pedestrian mall and a nice piazza.

Today is a glorious day for a hike, so i head into town and take the bus to Port Venere. The bus is packed with tourists, and the drive is very scenic as we hug the coast. Once in Porto Venere i start the hike to Riommaggiore. It follows the coast for some of the time, offering spectacular views. The path heads inland and climbs up to the top of the mountain ridge before heading down to Riomaggiore. Unfortunately the path has quite a few ups and downs. The hills are terraced for the growing of grapes, Must be hard work come harvest time.

The little village of Riomaggiore is really nice, Built into the cliffs, it is not very big. Plenty of tourists here. After giving the legs a rest i decide to walk to the next town, Manarola. It is only a few ks away, but boy is there some climbing up the mountain to be done. Then once at the top its down a really steep, narrow path with lots of loose rocks. Was tricky and you did not want to take your eyes off the path.

Now with the sun setting it doesnt take long to look around this little village before heading to the train station. The train is running late and the sun has set, and its getting cold and all i have on is jeans and a T shirt.
Once back in La Spezia i put the feet up for a well deserved rest. I left home at 9.30am and did not return till 7pm. It was a long and enjoyable day, and according to the pedometer i walked 27ks. No wonder i feel a little tired.

Today is a recovery day, so i just explore the town of La Spezia, which i have found to be one of the nicest and cleanest cities in Italy.

Another day of hiking. I take the train to Monterosso and start the walk back to Manarola. The coastal trail offers some wonderful views, but the climb up the hills is long and hard, some 600 plus steps. I would hate to be here in the high season, as its pretty busy along the path, and the path is only 1 person wide. So it is slow going when people decide they dont wont to let you pass.
So having walked from Porto Venere to Monterosso this completes the cinque terre hike, although porto venere is not included in the cinque terre as such. Total of about 50ks of some of the most beautiful italian coast.

My last day is spent seeing more of La spezia, and with the weather still being almost perfect, it makes for nice long walks

The next part of my journey is to Marseille in France. Will be a long travel day, train from La Spezia to Genova, change trains, then Genova to Nice, change trains, then train from Nice to Marseille. The first train leaves at 9.10am and i dont get into Marseille till 6pm.