otherwise only accessible by foot through the mountains. Known for a Jesus statue under the water at the port's entry, we were captivated by the natural beauty. So were 50 high schoolers on a field trip!
We took the next ferry back to Portofino to visit this upscale resort town.
The vibrant building colors and sweeping hillsides make it easy to see why this is a getaway for the rich and famous. Everything was priced accordingly! We took time to visit the local church as we have often on the trip (every church seems to be beautiful in its own way). We admired the 10 foot
bronze double doors protecting the beautifully carved interior wooden doors, an impressive entry for the splendid duomo.
The rain had stopped and the skies lightened, so we decided to hike back from Portofino to SML, and headed off on a well marked trail (or so we were told). We made it to the next little town after missing only one turn, and then headed away from the sea along the trail. In this case, away was the same as up the mountain. The path had stairs to make the hike easier ... 100 steps, 200 steps, more hundreds of steps, we were pretty tired of climbing when we came to an unmarked cross path, and decided not to take it but instead continue up more steps. After another long climb, we could turn to the left and still more steps, or turn to the right on a wide but unpaved path. The sign listed three locations to the left and one to the right, and none were SML. Knowing the sea was to our right, we took that option. Bad choice! It did get us back to the sea and the main road, but nowhere near SML, after we scaled down the mountain on loose dirt and leaves and rocks, weaving along property fence lines and not so friendly switchbacks on a narrower and narrower trail. Once we reached civilization again, we stuck to the main road for the rest of the hike back to the hotel.
We spent the afternoon catching up on email and watching much activity in the harbor from our balcony. The local fire fighting plane was executing practice dips to the sea to scoop up water, the dumping it once airborne. A lovely 5 masted sailing cruise ship (never seen a sailing cruise ship before) was anchored just offshore. Several VERY large catamarans have been brought here; apparently there is a regatta tomorrow. The local boat club was out again for practice, this time in one and two-person sculls. Lynne thought navigating the
James was tough ... Here they have to dodge ferry boats and the fishing fleet. We later wandered over to the far side of this port town, grabbing a happy hour drink and checked out the boat club storage shed as they packed up after practice, and gaped at some really nice sailing and motor yachts.
Ciao!
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Location:Santa Margherita Ligure
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