A Little Surprise Tucked Away

It is kind of like finding the creamy filling in a Twinky for the very first time, unexpected, and delightful. We decided to have lunch at Portafino on the way to the Cinque Terra. What a beautiful town tucked away in a small harbor port. This quaint fishing village has little to do with fishing these days. It is more like a town that has been designed by a post card company. Very expensive and very exclusive. The harbor was crowded, but with a little luck we slip into a vacated spot by a just leaving sailboat. We are so pleased with our Dorris Day parking space. (A term referring to how in the movies, Dorris Day never had to look for a parking space. There was always one that just appeared right in front of where she wanted to go.)

Strolling around the marina, we decide on a small restaurant that gives us fresh air seating with a beautiful view of the bay. While we are ordering, a very authoritative man comes up to our table and asks if the Etesian is our boat. Turns out that this is a very private port and you can’t just tie up when a place opens up. He tells us to enjoy our lunch but to come see him at his office when we are done. Our waiter looks at us like we may be ordering our last meal. We try to enjoy the good cuisine, but kind of feel like a schoolboy about to meet some unknown fate at the principal’s office. After lunch we sheepishly walk over to the port office. In the end, all they wanted is money, so we throw 50 euro at them and they allow us to stay for a couple of hours amongst the “beautiful people”.

The shops are colorful and inviting. We stroll around recording the experience with clicks of our cameras. Rumors float around that Rod Stewart is there, but we see no site of him. There is a jewel box church perched on the hill. We follow the brick and cobblestone path partly for a closer view of the church and partly for a more commanding view of the village. There is a marble walled cemetery in the churchyard that records lives of those that once lived in this small port long before it became a tourist destination. Most marbled headstones have small black and white portraits to mark their lives. Maybe it is the same need to connect that I felt in Genoa that draws me to those that went before us.