Day 13 - Portofino and Camogli, Italy

20/06/2016

I set off on the 13 mile round trip to Portofino, I was a bit concerned after the cycle yesterday into Rapallo which was only about 2 miles. After a while I kind of got used to the roads and eventually made it to Portofino, the first thing I saw was a gigantic sailing yacht. The coastal roads on the ride there were amazing and definitely worth the ride.

Huge yacht appearing through the trees as I got closer to Portofino

Once I arrived I quickly locked the bike to walk around and exited to use the slr. I immediately pulled it out and switched it on and read 'No SD Card'. I'd bloody left it in the van. The slr went back and I pulled out the GoPro and as soon as it turned on it switched off again.. the battery was flat. I threw it all back in the bag and took some snaps with my phone. I spoke to a couple form Norfolk who talked about their profession and strongly advised after I get my university results I become a Charted Financial Advisor which is certainly something for me to consider. 

View of Portofino from the hill that lead to a lighthouse

Whilst taking pictures of the harbour, a guy named Emmanuel approached me asking to a take some pictures for him and in turn he took some of me. We got chatting from there and turned out he was from Hong Kong, studying in Paris and was travelling in Italy. We wandered up the hills and up to the lighthouse where we discovered a bar with an amazing view. We had to sit down and get a drink, the bar was purched on the side of a hill and I could not stop staring at the view. Emmanuel told me about his love for karaoke and sang along to some of the tunes the chatty barman was playing. 

Emmanuel on the left, with the view from the bar behind us!

Emmanuel was kind enough to pay for the drinks and we decided to head into the next town Camogli, his host had suggested he visit. It was once again a beautiful little town with a harbour and we explored the back streets and climbed a lot of stairs. We found a spot under some shade to cover from the sun, it was almost unbearable. I don't know how I didn't burn as I left the sun lotion back in the van. 

Beautiful town of Camogli, Italy

It would have been ideal if I had a couple extra days in that part of Italy so I could have explored Cinque Terre. However a last minute decision to head to Rome tomorrow meant that I couldn't spare any more time in this part of Italy.