Saturday, August 2, 2014

Portofino



This week I took a short break with the family in Portofino. As well as relaxing and doing some swimming, I managed to do a hike in the Portofino National Park that I have been meaning to do for a couple of years .
Portofino

Portofino
Due to the lack of parking Portofino does not get overcrowded in the Summer and it is always fascinating to wander around its nooks and crannies and look on with awe at the giant yachts of the super rich which anchor here.  It is also possible you might  bump into Berlusconi  who has a villa here.

Portofino

Portofino

Portofino

Portofino


Portofino

Portofino
We stay in a hotel that considering the fame of the place is not extortionately expensive and the beach is free, a rare thing in Italy.
Castello Brown Portofino

Castello Brown Portofino

Castello Brown Portofino

Castello Brown Portofino

For my hike I left very early in the morning to avoid the summer heat on the stiff climb out of Portofino. My first destination was Vetta di Portofino. This part takes you through Olive groves and then as you climb higher Chestnut woods. It is a pleasant walk but nothing special.
Above Portofino
 
Chestnut Woods Vetto di Portofino

Pietre Strette, Parco Natuale di Portofino

San Rocco from Vetta di Portofino

Vetta di Portofino

San Rocco

Genoa from San Rocco
 
From the Vetta I then descended back down to San Rocco perched high above Camogli to find a bar to have breakfast.  A big piece of Ligurian Foccaccia and a coffee got me ready for the next leg of my walk towards San Fruttuoso.
San Rocco
San Rocco

Now the fun started. On the map a stretch of the footpath between San Rocco and San Fruttuoso is marked as “EE” which on the Club Alpino Italiano scale means that it is considered difficult . I asked at the bar how the footpath was and along the way I asked a couple of walkers coming the other way if the footpath was really that difficult. No they all told me.  Just one little bit of a few metres where there is even a chain parapet.

The first part of the path is easy up to the point where you arrive at a complex of gun emplacements dating from the second world war.  The emplacements were built after the Royal Navy shelled Genoa . They were later modified by the Germans when they took over after the 8th of September .

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

Batterie, Parco Natuale di Portofino

I still had plenty of time so I decided to explore the complex which is quite interesting with two massive concrete gun emplacements still in place. I wondered how they came and went  and brought supplies as the position is very isolated.

Soon after the Emplacements the  path becomes “EE”  and one passes over a rock ledge with the help of chains.  If it is all like this I thought it will be no problem  nothing worse than I have met in the Apennines.
Parco Natuale di Portofino

 Parco Natuale di Portofino
Then I arrived at Passo del Baccio. This in English means Pass of the kiss where legend has it that in a rather Romeo and Guilietta type story two lovers whose parents refused to let them marry kissed here before launching themselves off the cliff.

Passo Baccio,Parco Natuale di Portofino


For several metres one must hang onto the chains fixed to the rocks and edge ones way along the ledge. It is best not to look down.  After getting up courage I took the plunge. Keeping my eyes fixed on the wall in front carefully I edged my way along. Finally I was on a normal footpath and I could afford to let my knees shake.

Done I thought, but as I carried on I found to my horror that there were other tracts just like Passo Baccio.
 Parco Natuale di Portofino

Parco Natuale di Portofino
Finally I arrived at Cala dell’ Oro where a 200 meter climb up and over a mountain ridge to San Fruttuoso awaited me. It was time for lunch. More splendid Foccacia and a refreshing tomato sandwich that I got prepared at the general store in San Rocco.

This last climb in the Italian summer heat was exhausting. Luckily one is in a shady forest  but it was hard work.  I then descended down to the abbey at San Fruttuoso.
San Fruttuoso, Portofino
On arriving at the bay of San Fruttuoso the first thing I did was to stop at the beach bar for a well deserved cold beer. I do not think I have ever enjoyed a beer so much.

San Fruttuoso can only be reached by footpath or by sea. I decided that I had walked enough for one day  and after checking the ferry times I visited the Abbey. As often is the case with historic buildings the building in its setting was far more interesting than the inside.
San Fruttuoso, Portofino

San Fruttuoso, Portofino

San Fruttuoso, Portofino


San Fruttuoso, Portofino

San Fruttuoso, Portofino

San Fruttuoso, Portofino

San Fruttuoso, Portofino
 
It was now time to catch the ferry and as an added bonus the fresh sea breeze dried my sweat  soaked shirt as on the spectacular cruise back to Portofino.

San Fruttuoso, Portofino

Faro Portofino
Was it worth it.? Yes I would say as the EE footpath is also the most spectacular, being the only one of the network of footpaths to pass through the lovely màcchia mediterrànea and have a clear view of the sea.





   

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