 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
When we sailed southward toward Portofino, we saw a craggy promontory that, unlike the rest of the coast of Liguria, was nearly empty. We discovered later that much of the land overlooking the Mediterranean Sea is now a national park with protected marine areas, and much remains undeveloped simply due to its inaccessibility.
 |
Our guidebook told us that a Wehrmacht official instructed to bomb Portofino's bay had been so enchanted by the village that he did not have the heart to carry out the order. Instead, he listened to an elderly German noblewoman's plea to save the village. Today's Portofino bustles with jet-set vacationers, and its shops represent the finest in European and worldwide design: Hermes, Gucci, Armani and others. We watched a European reporter scurry her crew around the town, discussing the art and architecture. One of the most-photographed places on the Mediterranean, we wouldn't be surprised to see TV crews there every day. |
|
One day, we hiked along well-marked but steep trails from the resort town of Santa Margherita Ligure to reach the 10th century monastery at San Fruttuoso di Capodimonte. For our efforts, we were rewarded with views such as the one shown at right. The monastery is tucked into the cove you see here. There is no access by road to the monastery. You can get there by hiking to it as we did or you can get there by boat. Judging from the numerous sunbathers we saw at the small beach at the old monastery, the boat method is probably the most popular. |
 |
 |
Camogli is a fine example of a fishing town bounded by mountains. The houses are as tall as they can be in the small area near the sea. It's common in these villages to see many tiny commercial fishing boats like the ones in the photo. Typically, we see them out close to shore, one man in a boat, using nets to catch fish that are too small to fillet. They bring the catch to shore and sell them right at the dock or in the open-air fish markets. We have seen large commercial fishing boats as well, but these small open boats are by far the most common sight on the Mediterranean Sea. We had lunch that day at a restaurant whose grapevine-covered terrace is visible at the right of the photo. Dozens of men sat indoors staring at a Grand Prix Formula I race going on in Nuremberg, obviously a passion in the home of Ferrari. We even saw a man listening to the auto races on the radio at the beach. |