Day 2 levanto, Punta Mesco, Monterosso, Vernazza

Train journey to Levanto about 20 minutes, arriving about 9 am. Hard climb from coast up on to the Punta Mesco to walk to Monterosso. Hard climb up steps, but worth it to see the views. Passed this well on the pathway.

Difficult descent into Monterosso where we had lunch and a very hard climb up to access Sentiero Azzurro (the blue path) part of the Cinque Terre walkway leading down into Vernazza. Blip shows why it is called the "blue path" absolutely stunning views for most of the way. This blip also shows the town of Vernazza. It took about 2hrs contouring the hills and descending into the town.

Third blip, Ian and Martin patiently waiting for a beer after a hard day's walk.

Everyone found today's walk very challenging, mainly due to the brick and stone steps. 14 km and again 650 m ascent and descent. One couple left the walk at Monterosso and got the train back to Sestri. We were glad when it was over even though the views were great. One other problem was that because the area is so popular, there were lots of walkers - in both directions. Much of the path is narrow so a lot of stopping to let people pass.