#4: Santa Margherita and Portofino

"The Italian Riviera"

When we planned this trip, the main reason for including Santa Margherita was so we could walk the Cinque Terra, (the five Villages along this coastline). The walk is reputably quite stunning and can be completed comfortably in a day although many take their time and spread it across a few days and really take in the amazing scenery. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we were informed that parts of the walk had been washed out by recent storms and you could only walk certain sections, and we would have to bay hop the rest by boat.

Mary had not been feeling that flash and her energy levels not high so based on this we decided to change our plans and use our 3 days here to rest and recover before heading onto our cruise. To be honest I don't think we could have found a nicer place to put our feet up and relax. Out hotel, (The Hotel Laurin) was right on the waterfront in Santa Margherita itself with a beautiful pool and views out over the bay, very idyllic!

Santa Margherita was the perfect location to rejuvenate after nearly two weeks of travelling. We arrived by train from the bustling stations of Milan, stepping off into a town that welcomed us with pastel-colored buildings stretching alongside the waterfront.

The days began leisurely, with mornings on the terrace of a small café, espresso in hand. We'd sit under a striped awning as locals passed, nodding politely or greeting each other with the easy charm only seaside towns seem to hold, (a smile and a nod alleviates any problems with the language barrier!) Being a fishing village, the harbor in the mornings was a hive of activity as the fishermen are getting ready to head out for their days work. At the end of the day, I wandered down as the fishermen were returning with their day's catch. They all seemed happy with their days work, this is their daily ritual and they'll all be back out there tomorrow and the day after and the day after that! It must be a hard life for those unaccustomed to the rigors of commercial fishing but to these hardy souls I'm sure they wouldn't trade it for anything else!

Exploring Santa Margherita was typical of all the villages along the Italian Riviera with their cobblestoned streets wrapped around the town like a cozy labyrinth, leading from one hidden corner to another but all seem to end up back at the harbor. All the shops are up market boutiques, no department stores here that is for sure.

On the second morning we decided to get the ferry around to Portofino, the ferry trip was only about 15 minutes, which was long enough for Mary who still wasn't enjoying the best of health. Portofino is another one of those "must visit" places and our first impressions as the ferry cruised into the bay were just how stunningly beautiful this place is. Both sides of the bay entrance are flanked by high rocky cliffs with castle-like structures that I can only imagine were designed to protect the village from marauding pirates back in the day? At the end of the bay is the harbor and township and high up on the left is another huge castle.

Jacqueline and Elaine were keen to explore the town, but Mary was determined to get up to the castle. We started off on the trek to the top and I could tell that Mary was struggling, a couple of times I suggested that we turn around, but she was having none of that! I was dead keen to visit the castle as well but not if it was going to have too much of an ill effect on Mary. Anyway, we made it up to the castle and man it was worth the effort!

The Castle had been owned by Baron Von Mumm, (the Champagne family!) and had views over Portofino to die for. We only had to pay a gold coin donation to enter the castle, (it has probably changed now?) and we wandered around at our own leisure without anyone else around. The walk back down was obviously a lot less taxing on Mary which was a relief. We met up with Jacqueline and Elaine and had a wonderful lunch over a couple of hours in a beautiful little outdoor cafe overlooking the bay. We sat a just "people watched" for a while and took in atmosphere of this delightful little village.

Back in SM we stumbled upon the Basilica of Santa Margherita— as ornate as it is grand, its interior a world of cool marble and solemn quiet that made even a whisper feel sacrilegious. It is nothing too stunning from the outside, but for a reasonably small village the interior is unbelievable.

The next morning Jacqueline and I went exploring and took the coastal path toward Portofino. The walk wound along the cliffs, each turn opening up to a new view—brilliant blue coves, rocky beaches, and yachts dotting the horizon. We reached Portofino a lot quicker than expected and we got a close up look at what we had seen from the ferry the day before. That afternoon was spent in the sun around the pool at our hotel, deckchairs out and cocktails in hand looking out over the Italian Riviera. This was another one of those "pinch me" moments when you have chances to sit back and reflect on how lucky we are to be alive and experience some of the wonders of the world!

The Hotel Laurin has a fantastic reputation for their cuisine so on our last night in town this was always going to be our dinning destination. We all chose the local fish, (that we probably watched been filleted by the fishermen on the wharf that morning). The entire meal was delicious and paired with a selection of local wines. We were wonderfully looked after by our waiter Nemo who Mary thought was lovely, and she did her best to try and hook Nemo and Jacqueline up. From memory they did go out for a few drinks after dinner but there wasn't much chance of that going anywhere as we were leaving in the morning. He did own a nice yacht though that was moored in the bay.

The next morning was again tinged with sadness as we have to depart another beautiful spot that we have fallen in love with 😢 We are getting used to this though and we accept that it's all part of travelling. Today is an early start to pack up and head back to the railway station for last of our six train journeys while in Italy. We have a 5-hour 40 min train down to the port for Rome, Civitivecchia. Here we meet up with Jacqueline's friend Ellen and her mother Marie from Brisbane who will be joining us for the cruise around the Mediterranean.

By the end of these three days, Santa Margherita felt like home, a home with stories of the sea, of hidden alleyways, of slow mornings and wine-filled evenings. As I boarded the train back, I carried with me more than just memories but a sense that time can, in the right places, slow down and be savored like a quiet sip of something smooth and perfectly aged. It felt like a place that you could of just left me behind to spend the rest of my days. The "smile and a nod" system seems to work fine so I probably wouldn't even need to grasp the language properly! 😁

We finally arrived in Civitavecchia and met up with Ellen and Marie who had arrived there the day before. This is a port centre so we didn't really plan any sightseeing as we only had one night then onto the ship the next morning. For the next two weeks I'll be the only male, travelling with 5 women! Some of you may say "brave" and some may say "stupid" and I can only say that you would both be right! 😁

Next up.....Cruise life begins again!