Rapallo, May 29, 2023
Jun 10th, 2023 by rallyadmin
A few times during the night the dog would come to the front door of the yurt and stand up to try to open the door by pushing down on the door handle. We finally had to lock the door so that she wouldn’t actually open the door and come in to jump on the bed and join us for the night. With the door locked, she would eventually lose interest and head back to her pups.
Later, we hear a scraping sound along the back wall of the yurt, which tuns out to be the donkeys grazing about finding some succulent new growth of grass/weeds to munch on. It’s a good thing that we knew about them or life would been a bit disconcerting. I was surprised that they didn’t try to get in the yurt, too.
Finally, things got quieted down and we got some sleep. Of rouse, making the 50 meter trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night was now a bit more exciting but there were no more encounters.
Up about 7:30 and back to the promenade for a quick breakfast. Purchase tickets at the tour boat for the ride to Portofino and San Frattuocco and load for a 0:30 AM departure.
The boat only has a few on it when we leave but at the next stop, Santa Margherita, on the way to Portofino the boat fills up. From the boat, Santa Margherita looks like its more popular and a lot more touristy than Rapallo and the number that get on the boat confirm that. Another 20 minutes and we dock at Portofino.
Portofino and San Frattuocco are only accessible by boat. There is a road there now but you must have a permit to use the road, hence, the crowded boat. We arrive at the dock and nearly everyone disembarks. It’s a short walk to the main square and the ever present gelato and souvenir shops. Barbara has forgotten her straw hat and it a brilliantly sunny day so we stop at crafts table (“all goods made by local craftsmen”) and buy her a hat. Then up the hill to the first church, take some pictures and back through the main square.
There is another church that we want to visit that sits on a saddle overlooking the town on one side and the ocean on the other. Up, up, up the cobblestone streets. We’re getting our steps today. While we’re climbing to the church a helicopter keeps flying back and forth across the island.
We notice on one of the flights that the helicopter is carrying a sling with cargo in a net and on the return flight the sling is empty. There must be construction somewhere at the end of the point of land thar marks the end of the harbor. But we can’t see where that might be. WE are sure that at least the transportation costs are going to make it a very expensive site.
The church is a small but lovely building. The doors to the church have these marvelous cast bronze panels depicting religious scenes. There’s one of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Then another Cain killing Abel. Real upbeat Old Testament stuff. On the other door, a bronze of St. George (a patron saint of Portofino) and the dragon. Inside a diorama of Bethlehem and the mnger.
I take some photos of the scenery on both sides of the col that houses the church. Then we continue the climb up to the Castelo. The walkway to the Castelo a very narrow cobblestone path that is almost complete covered by beautiful vines and fruit trees. Finally, the ticket booth and the last climb into the Castelo itself.
The castle was only built to oversee the town. It had an interesting history over the last 200 or so years with a lot of the later period having to do with the 1930’s and 40’s. And then, oddly, in the middle 50’s, Portofino becomes a popular vacation place for the celebrities of the age.
There was a local photographer who was probably the first paparazzi. He followed all of the visiting celebrities with his camera and left a trove of photos of famous – Rex Harrison, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, etc. One wonders just how these people ended up at this little town with the recent war just a decade past.
Back down a switchback path to the harbor and find a seat to wait for the boat to carry on to San Frattuocco. There’s a small park facing the harbor with a number of amusing sculptures. Unfortunately, it closed but many of the sculptures are visible from the promenade around the harbor.
Back on the boat for another short ride to San Frattuocco. San Frattuocco is a very small town in a small cove. WE dock a small jetty and hike up the stairs to a restaurant overlooking the rocky beach. We get a table looking down on the beach and the people swimming. An excellent lunch and then out to the medieval monastery next door.
The monastery is considered to be one of the best preserved examples of medieval construction. Along side the monastery is a climb up to a bell/watch tower. The tower is closed but the views are spectacular. Then back down to the harbor to wait for the boat and return to Rapallo.
Back on the promenade, we have to walk back into town to retrieve the car which had to be parked about a 15 minute walk up along a river channel. We weren’t sure whether or not the car could park where we left it. There were signs that I think said that the parking was reserved for residents.
On the way back to the car, there was always the chance that the car had been towed because the car wasn’t legal for where it was parked. But we had checked the other cars in the area for special parking stickers and found nothing. And, when we got to where we had left the car, it was still there.
It was still too early for dinner so we decided to move the car down to the promenade, get a gelato and then order takeout from the restaurant that we ate in last night. Along the way to the restaurant we stopped in the wine shop to praise the wine choice from the previous night. But the gentleman who picked the wine wasn’t there.
As we walked into the restaurant, the waiter from last night recognized us and, excitedly, told us to have a seat, he had surprise for us. A few moments later he returns with a brand new bottle of Jameson. He brings me a drink, we order takeout and chat with the waiter for a bit.
The food comes. We pay the tab and thank the waiter for the Jameson. Back in the car and up the hill to for the night. The last climb up to the yurt. Takeout dinner on the small table outside the yurt. And the end of a long day. Tomorrow Levanto.
Obi-wan