I have to admit that I was crying mercy after the second city, but Kara made me go on. It was only fair since I had to carry her up all the stairs (hehe...kidding). But the hike from the last city to the first (most difficult to least) is breathtaking. You will find most people doing it the other way: Riomaggiore -> Manarola -> Corniglia -> Vernazza -> Monterosso...but those who want to avoid all the touristy walkers and want to survive will do it backwards and get all those steps out of the way early on. That way you cruise into Riomaggiore in the evening and roll into the gelato stand there. :-)