Today we got an early start and drove to Santa Margherita Ligure to catch our private charter to Portofino & San Fruttuoso. What a beautiful day to be on the Mediterranean! Our captain was a jolly old Italian who was happy to tell stories of his years on the seas as we motored along to our first stop, Portofino. Santa Margherita Ligure is located about 35 kilometres south of Genoa and is a bustling port that is used for both tourism and fishing activities. The town presents like a calm impressionist painting. You wouldn’t want to change a single detail of its picture-perfect seaside prime date, where elegant hotels with Liberty facades overlook yachts in this fishing village turned retirement spot. It’s decidedly less bling than Portofino, with some affordable hotel options and a surprisingly workaday town behind the waterfront. The skiff we hired was a beautiful wooden sailing boat with just the two of us and the journey to Portofino was a mere 2o minutes. Portofino is also a fishing village on the Italian Riviera coastline. Pastel coloured houses, high-end boutiques, and seafood restaurants fringe its Piazzetta, a small cobbled square overlooking the harbour, which is lined with super yachts. From here we sailed to San Fruttuoso, one of the most unique and special places in all of Liguria, and definitely warrants a visit if you are vacationing in the Tigullio Gulf. It is tucked away in a tiny, pristine bay between Camogli and Portofino, surrounded by lush vegetation. To add to its exclusiveness, you can only reach it by sea or on foot, hiking the nature trails of the National Park of Portofino. The charming Abbey, which has an interesting and rich history, from being a monestdry to a pirate’s den to a humble fisherman’s home and then to the residence of the Princess of Doria. 90 minutes later we were on our way back to Santa Margherita Ligure sailing among a pod of porpoises. It was magical.
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