originally composed June 19, 2008
Back on Mainland Italy. We were in la-de-da Portofino for a few days. A highly over rated celebrity hang out, Portofino is a tiny pretentious village with little to do outside of the shockingly expensive restaurants. A glass of vino is 8 euros here, around 3 euros anywhere else. The good thing about it is that it is popular with yachts and I did get to socialize with other “yachties”. We will likely see a few of our new friends throughout the season. I made good friends with Captain Manuel from Genoa, Italy. He knows everything about the region, having grown up there and also has a degree in Marine Biology, making him a great tour guide. We rode down the coast on his vintage yellow motorcycle and did a lot of hiking and sigh seeing and visits to his grandparents. We saw real Italian prostitutes! I think a few were not really women, and his grandparents were extremely friendly and did not speak a word of English.
Portofino is very close to the Cinque Terre Villages- super cool! I spent a day hiking from town to town- the pictures barely capture the amazing sights. I hope to return to the area and kayak down the Cinque Terre Coast, back to my true love, Portovenere.
We did stop over one night on the way down and anchored off Portovenere, I didn’t get on land, but I did get to drive the tender around the island just off of the mainland- Great scenery and serenity. And I did get a quick swim in the Mediterranean ocean, the first so far, it is finally warming up! I am also sleeping on the flybridge now (very top of the boat, outside), the cool nights are perfect and I wake at the sunrise about 5am and can easily get back to sleep.
From there we cruised into Viareggio, known for boat building, home of Benetti and Mangusta boats- lots of boat yards. Although it was not a scenic stop, it was a lucky one- the air conditioning had stopped working. It didn’t take long for the captain to repair and I got a day off while there and visited Pisa and Lucca. Pisa is a tourist trap; I was there about 2 hours, delayed due to rain. I took the photos, had a coffee and back to the train. When I got to Lucca the sun had shown up and warmed the historic walled in city. Immediately I had a pizza and then rented a rickety bicycle for 2 euros and rode all over the village, i can't imagine a better way to spend the afternoon. In the evening I randomly found a youth choir singing Puccini. The town was in midst of the Puccini festival, he was inspired by the region to create his operas. To top off the day I shared a bottle of Chianti with a few locals, further evidence of how friendly Italians are.
The last 2 nights we were on the peninsula of Argentino at San Stefano and then Cala Galera, near Puerto Ercolas. All places I have never heard of and didn’t really get to explore. From what I saw it was beautiful. I had a few hours one afternoon to take a nap on a rock and a quick swim, tricky with all those fishermen around. Another evening I walked up to a castle, I am sure there is some interesting history behind it, I just enjoyed the sunset form the gate. In the King’s Bar I meet 2 American pilots. They have a similar life style working as private pilots for a gazillionaire. They were in Austin just 6 months ago, both of them really enjoyed it- the owner just went to play, no business.
Now we are arriving at Ostia, just for the night, then onto Gaeta tomorrow. Again, I know nothing of these places, but I am sure they will be wonderful.
Health Update: I have a bit of a flemmy cough, but the bronchitis is pretty much over with, lasting 2 months! i deserve an award. The rib is still painful, but my eyes no longer water when I cough or sneeze. The “Skin Cancer” has faded but left a mark, similar to a freckle. Now I am worried about my toe nail coming off.
Back on Mainland Italy. We were in la-de-da Portofino for a few days. A highly over rated celebrity hang out, Portofino is a tiny pretentious village with little to do outside of the shockingly expensive restaurants. A glass of vino is 8 euros here, around 3 euros anywhere else. The good thing about it is that it is popular with yachts and I did get to socialize with other “yachties”. We will likely see a few of our new friends throughout the season. I made good friends with Captain Manuel from Genoa, Italy. He knows everything about the region, having grown up there and also has a degree in Marine Biology, making him a great tour guide. We rode down the coast on his vintage yellow motorcycle and did a lot of hiking and sigh seeing and visits to his grandparents. We saw real Italian prostitutes! I think a few were not really women, and his grandparents were extremely friendly and did not speak a word of English.
Portofino is very close to the Cinque Terre Villages- super cool! I spent a day hiking from town to town- the pictures barely capture the amazing sights. I hope to return to the area and kayak down the Cinque Terre Coast, back to my true love, Portovenere.
We did stop over one night on the way down and anchored off Portovenere, I didn’t get on land, but I did get to drive the tender around the island just off of the mainland- Great scenery and serenity. And I did get a quick swim in the Mediterranean ocean, the first so far, it is finally warming up! I am also sleeping on the flybridge now (very top of the boat, outside), the cool nights are perfect and I wake at the sunrise about 5am and can easily get back to sleep.
From there we cruised into Viareggio, known for boat building, home of Benetti and Mangusta boats- lots of boat yards. Although it was not a scenic stop, it was a lucky one- the air conditioning had stopped working. It didn’t take long for the captain to repair and I got a day off while there and visited Pisa and Lucca. Pisa is a tourist trap; I was there about 2 hours, delayed due to rain. I took the photos, had a coffee and back to the train. When I got to Lucca the sun had shown up and warmed the historic walled in city. Immediately I had a pizza and then rented a rickety bicycle for 2 euros and rode all over the village, i can't imagine a better way to spend the afternoon. In the evening I randomly found a youth choir singing Puccini. The town was in midst of the Puccini festival, he was inspired by the region to create his operas. To top off the day I shared a bottle of Chianti with a few locals, further evidence of how friendly Italians are.
The last 2 nights we were on the peninsula of Argentino at San Stefano and then Cala Galera, near Puerto Ercolas. All places I have never heard of and didn’t really get to explore. From what I saw it was beautiful. I had a few hours one afternoon to take a nap on a rock and a quick swim, tricky with all those fishermen around. Another evening I walked up to a castle, I am sure there is some interesting history behind it, I just enjoyed the sunset form the gate. In the King’s Bar I meet 2 American pilots. They have a similar life style working as private pilots for a gazillionaire. They were in Austin just 6 months ago, both of them really enjoyed it- the owner just went to play, no business.
Now we are arriving at Ostia, just for the night, then onto Gaeta tomorrow. Again, I know nothing of these places, but I am sure they will be wonderful.
Health Update: I have a bit of a flemmy cough, but the bronchitis is pretty much over with, lasting 2 months! i deserve an award. The rib is still painful, but my eyes no longer water when I cough or sneeze. The “Skin Cancer” has faded but left a mark, similar to a freckle. Now I am worried about my toe nail coming off.
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