The port town of La Speiza was our base for the next couple of days to explore Cinque Terre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre). Basically an amazing stretch of coast on the Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Between each village is a walking track and the railway so it is possible to walk and/or travel by train through all of the villages.

The trail is very popular and so when we caught the train to the northernmost village of Monterosso, a few hundred other people had the same idea. We visited all five beautiful villages and did three of the four sections of the trail (one section was closed due to landslides). Seven kilometres of the trail was very steep and scenic, following the cliff tops and weaving through vineyards. The final kilometre was super easy, flat and paved! The villages were super beautiful with multi-coloured buildings perched on the rocks above the pretty blue Mediterranean sea. Awesome!

We also visited the village of Porto Venere on the day we arrived, a nice little place with some amazing churches and a castle.