When we arrived at our accommodation in Riomaggiore, I was pleasantly surprised. I am not sure if it was a miscommunication or the girls trying to surprise me, but I was expecting to be staying in a hostel in La Spezia, which is not actually on the Cinque Terra. Our accommodation was actually a 3 bedroom apartment with two balconies, set back from the beach, but with a partial view of the sea. This and the excitement of meeting up with Ben and Steph meant I was really happy! 
After all four of us had settled we had a few drinks and Christine made some bruchetta for an early dinner. We then went for a walk along the first part of the Cinque Terra to watch sunset. The Cinque Terra is a series of 5 coastal towns connected by a coastal walk, but also a train line. The villages are amazing, colourful buildings built right on the edge of rocky cliff faces. We walked around to Manarola, only about 20min, along an easy footpath, with great views of the sunset and cliffs. In Manarola we ate Gelato before returning to the apartment.
Our plan to set off early the following morning was some what delayed, unfortunately meaning that
from the start of our walk we were in the heat of the day, probably low-mid 30's. We caught the train from our end to the northern end of the walk and the first town, Monterosso. The first two parts of the walk are the most difficult, the first section to Vernazza took was 3km and took about 2hr. We climbed up and over a cliff and mountain from one beach to the next. It was not super difficult, but in the warm sun, did get quite warm. The track was quite busy with people walking in both directions. The views of the towns were amazing, with terraced farms and vineyards in the foreground. 
When we arrived in Vernazza we were very pleased to see a fountain with drinking water, which was quite cold. I was amazed to see how crowded the beaches were, although I did expect this, and the number of people lying on hot concrete sunbaking.
After some fruit and a rest by the water We left Ben and Steph in town and headed up the hill on the next section of the track. This section didn't take as long but was a bit further, about 4km, and also the most difficult. It was steeper, with many steps to again climb over the cliff between towns. The scenery and views of the two towns were very nice, and we resisted the temptation of stopping half way for a beer in the pub high up on the cliff.
In Corniglia we met back up with the Porters who had taken the train around, and then grabbed
some Italiano Pizza for lunch. We then headed down to the beach which was bit of an effort, down a number of stairs. 
The water was cool and crystal clear, we had a swim and a rest in the shade. It was then time for more gelato, and to head to the next town.
The last two parts of the walk were much easier and did not take as long. The track to Manarola was mostly flat along the top of a cliff. This was the town that we had explored the night before so we didn't spend long in this town, we headed back to Riomaggiore.
Once back we headed down to the beach for a swim and to watch the sunset, on the rocky beach. The water was cool and clear, very refreshing after walking about 10km in the heat. Sunset was very nice, although not as spectacular as what we are spoiled to at Sandy Point. After a shower we cooked a big pasta and drank Vino to relax after a great day.
The next day Christine and I left Ben and Steph in bed and headed off on another hike to Porto Venere, basically along the coast in the opposite direction to where we had been the day before. This turned out to be the better of the two hikes, it was more challenging, had better views and was less crowded (we were seeing about one group of hikers per hour along the track). The first section was up to Colle del Telegraph, 515m above sea level (where we began). Along the way we say 2 baby possum like animals that could hardly move (they were that young) and didn't mind being patted. They were just sitting in a bush by the track. We got a number of nice views on the way up but the nicest was from a church, Monte Nero, where we could look straight down into the town we were staying in, and also along the coast in both directions. We could see much of what we had walked along yesterday, including the pub on the cliff and parts of all five villages, some were more prominent than others. Most of this was in the shade as the sun wasn't high enough to get over the hill, as we had left early today!
The nex
t part of the hike was through the forest along the top of the hills, so was generally fairly flat and cool. Parts of the track were actually an exercise circuit, with weights, hurdles and bars to exercise on. Damien got into shape, pumping some iron! (see attached video, below). We also discovered some rickety old scaffolding in the middle of the bush, which Christine had to climb, it was about 10m and had views in 360deg, above the trees. Some how she made it down safely!
When we arrived in Campiglia we stopped for lunch. This was a small town high on the hill with views of the sea below. The cafe we stopped at was amazing, it had outdoor seating, a lawn with free standing hammocks, playground and chilled out music in the background. The food was very nice, coffee and a potato foccacia.
The next part of the walk was long and hot. This took us over 2 hours along exposed coastal cliffs, in the heat of the day. The views and cliffs were amazing, but apart from a few short breaks we powered on, as we were both wanting to get to Porto Venere. For the second time in our journey christine found her self slipping on a hiking trail and ending up on her ass, miles from anything. Was not as serious as the last time in the rockies, luckily.
Porto Venere is a beautiful town with old forts and churches. It is on a point of land with water on both sides. It was very busy with tourists, many english, this may be one of the towns that they have bought masses of land for their summer holidays. We rested, drank water from the cool fountain, ate gelato and dipped our feet in the water, before catching the last ferry at 5.30pm back to Rioggamore. If we had more time there was a beautiful stone beach on the back of the town with a church above it and rock archway which you can swim through.
After all four of us had settled we had a few drinks and Christine made some bruchetta for an early dinner. We then went for a walk along the first part of the Cinque Terra to watch sunset. The Cinque Terra is a series of 5 coastal towns connected by a coastal walk, but also a train line. The villages are amazing, colourful buildings built right on the edge of rocky cliff faces. We walked around to Manarola, only about 20min, along an easy footpath, with great views of the sunset and cliffs. In Manarola we ate Gelato before returning to the apartment.
Our plan to set off early the following morning was some what delayed, unfortunately meaning that
from the start of our walk we were in the heat of the day, probably low-mid 30's. We caught the train from our end to the northern end of the walk and the first town, Monterosso. The first two parts of the walk are the most difficult, the first section to Vernazza took was 3km and took about 2hr. We climbed up and over a cliff and mountain from one beach to the next. It was not super difficult, but in the warm sun, did get quite warm. The track was quite busy with people walking in both directions. The views of the towns were amazing, with terraced farms and vineyards in the foreground. 
When we arrived in Vernazza we were very pleased to see a fountain with drinking water, which was quite cold. I was amazed to see how crowded the beaches were, although I did expect this, and the number of people lying on hot concrete sunbaking.
After some fruit and a rest by the water We left Ben and Steph in town and headed up the hill on the next section of the track. This section didn't take as long but was a bit further, about 4km, and also the most difficult. It was steeper, with many steps to again climb over the cliff between towns. The scenery and views of the two towns were very nice, and we resisted the temptation of stopping half way for a beer in the pub high up on the cliff.
In Corniglia we met back up with the Porters who had taken the train around, and then grabbed
some Italiano Pizza for lunch. We then headed down to the beach which was bit of an effort, down a number of stairs. 
The water was cool and crystal clear, we had a swim and a rest in the shade. It was then time for more gelato, and to head to the next town.The last two parts of the walk were much easier and did not take as long. The track to Manarola was mostly flat along the top of a cliff. This was the town that we had explored the night before so we didn't spend long in this town, we headed back to Riomaggiore.
Once back we headed down to the beach for a swim and to watch the sunset, on the rocky beach. The water was cool and clear, very refreshing after walking about 10km in the heat. Sunset was very nice, although not as spectacular as what we are spoiled to at Sandy Point. After a shower we cooked a big pasta and drank Vino to relax after a great day.
The next day Christine and I left Ben and Steph in bed and headed off on another hike to Porto Venere, basically along the coast in the opposite direction to where we had been the day before. This turned out to be the better of the two hikes, it was more challenging, had better views and was less crowded (we were seeing about one group of hikers per hour along the track). The first section was up to Colle del Telegraph, 515m above sea level (where we began). Along the way we say 2 baby possum like animals that could hardly move (they were that young) and didn't mind being patted. They were just sitting in a bush by the track. We got a number of nice views on the way up but the nicest was from a church, Monte Nero, where we could look straight down into the town we were staying in, and also along the coast in both directions. We could see much of what we had walked along yesterday, including the pub on the cliff and parts of all five villages, some were more prominent than others. Most of this was in the shade as the sun wasn't high enough to get over the hill, as we had left early today!
The nex
t part of the hike was through the forest along the top of the hills, so was generally fairly flat and cool. Parts of the track were actually an exercise circuit, with weights, hurdles and bars to exercise on. Damien got into shape, pumping some iron! (see attached video, below). We also discovered some rickety old scaffolding in the middle of the bush, which Christine had to climb, it was about 10m and had views in 360deg, above the trees. Some how she made it down safely!When we arrived in Campiglia we stopped for lunch. This was a small town high on the hill with views of the sea below. The cafe we stopped at was amazing, it had outdoor seating, a lawn with free standing hammocks, playground and chilled out music in the background. The food was very nice, coffee and a potato foccacia.
The next part of the walk was long and hot. This took us over 2 hours along exposed coastal cliffs, in the heat of the day. The views and cliffs were amazing, but apart from a few short breaks we powered on, as we were both wanting to get to Porto Venere. For the second time in our journey christine found her self slipping on a hiking trail and ending up on her ass, miles from anything. Was not as serious as the last time in the rockies, luckily.
Porto Venere is a beautiful town with old forts and churches. It is on a point of land with water on both sides. It was very busy with tourists, many english, this may be one of the towns that they have bought masses of land for their summer holidays. We rested, drank water from the cool fountain, ate gelato and dipped our feet in the water, before catching the last ferry at 5.30pm back to Rioggamore. If we had more time there was a beautiful stone beach on the back of the town with a church above it and rock archway which you can swim through.
The ride on the boat home was a lot easier than the walk to Porto Venere. It was good to look back at all the ground we had covered and to see the coast line from the water. Back in town we had a swim with Ben and Steph before another pasta and Vino for dinner. We enjoyed the second walk a lot more than the Cinque Terra walk, although if you are in the area, you would have to do the Cinque Terra, as its touristy (costs 5 euro). This is one of the most spectacular and beautiful part of Italy and I would highly recommend a few days here to anyone coming to Italy.
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