It was all flat and wide and there was even a wide and green bicycle path for me.
But the mountains were slowly closing in on the coast.
After a long time of flat cycling I had reached the point where the mountains dominated the coast. But this resulted in pretty towns in the bay areas, like San Terenzo.
After that it became really tough with elevation changes between zero and 600 meters above sea level.
It was the Cinque Terre region, where there is no beach but the mountains are right at the water. In these very difficult circumstances five towns have been created, one of them Riomaggiore.
The fascinating and stunning views made up for the exhausting conditions, and I stayed in Riomaggiore for the night.
The next day was even worse, it started with a climb up from the water up to 600 meters.
But soon I had the worst part behind me, and I was happy to go through tunnels to avoid the climbs, although they were lonely and scary.
Completely exhausted, I took a comfortable hotel.
Cooled and refreshed, I continued along the coast towards Genova, where all the traffic was going on.
Genova was very industrial, I just took a quick look and continued.
In the late afternoon I came to Noli, and I decided to take a room for 50 € at a beautifully located hotel at the beach, instead of going camping for 30 €.
It was a great decision, I was able to swim in the sea and had everything for myself because the other guests were already inside. So I jumped from the platform and swam with the fishes for one hour before having dinner.
