The Cinque Terre — a series of small, connected coastal villages — has been on my, admittedly rather long, list of places to visit for some time, but when I first flew out to Tuscany I didn’t quite know how achievable it would be. Sure, Google Maps said that it would be a two hour drive from the villa, but I wasn’t completely sure that I was using the right address and I have been late several times when relying on directions cribbed from the Internet.

Like many people, I take the vast majority of my pictures outside. Yet, how do you get across the greatness of outdoors? I wanted the picture to show the scale and grandeur, the exhilaration of being in the middle of nowhere. It was a tall order so instead I picked this image which was taken on the walk from Sermano to Corte in Corsica.

The alarm call comes much too early at 1am. I head down for some tea and then to the mini-bus for the short ride to the start of the walk up Mount Sinai, the location believed by the three major religions, to be where Moses received the ten commandments from god. No such grand scheme here: by leaving at this ungodly hour I should see the sunrise from the top.

A friend, far more well travelled than I am, told me that her favourite place on Earth is Wadi Rum so to say that expectations were high for this part of the trip would be an understatement. Of course viewing the world through someone else’s eyes can be a curse as well as a blessing.

The day started from Petra in four wheel drives, rumbling along tarmac for a while. We nipped off road a couple of times to take in some views and the tame conditions just off the main road made me question how rough things were going to get.

Today really marks the beginning of the end as I return to Ajaccio in preparation for the flight home tomorrow. It’s kind of odd not to have to get up early in order to cram in five hours walking, but, given this is a holiday, it?s also rather welcome. (Well, I could have gone for the early bus to the capital, but I decided to relax in laid-back Porto instead.)

Today is the last day of walking, and is a relatively east stroll from Evisa to Porto via Ota. The first half is, according to the guidebook, one of the highlights of this part of Corsica.

I’m not entirely convinced, though. Mostly it’s descending through pine forest, which is pretty but not stunning. I’d probably have been more impressed had we not experienced the scenery on the first couple of days. I cross a couple of old bridges. Pretty and something that I’ve not seen yet this week but I’d hesitate to call it a highlight of my week here.

I “cheat” on the walk from Calalucca, starting a taxi ride away. The basic idea of the tour so far has been to do the Mare a Mare Nord starting from Sermano heading towards to Porto. My walk up to Lac de Nino meant that I skipped one part.

As it turns out, I find the walk easy, at least in comparison with the last couple of days. I arrive at the hotel mid-afternoon and just mellow out until dinner. This is easy to do as the location is great, looking down the valley and over the hotel pool.

In a change to our advertised programme — mainly the Mare a Mare Nord — I decide to walk up to the Lac de Nino, as recommended by the lady running the hotel I’m staying in.

The walk starts in a pine forest a ten-minute taxi ride up hill. The path begins fairly gently but soon consists of large rocks. As I ascend the rocks get smaller and loser. Walking gives way to scrambling and a little climbing. I realise that I’m lucky to be heading upwards as the opposite direction looks to be almost impossible for people as dextrous as me.

Today was a significant tested for me.

First there was the endurance. I set off around eight and arrived after six, with lunch the only significant break — and that was less than an hour. The terrain was steep, with both climbs of over a thousand meters and descent of the same, meaning that it wasn’t just the distance that was battering my feet.

The first day of walking was to take me from Sermano to Corte. I was driven to the start by taxi along the scary, narrow lanes that surround Corte.

It doesn’t take long before things start to go wrong. Crossing a stream I manage to put my whole foot in the water, fortunately only fleetingly and so I am not completely waterlogged.