Our Wakes: 2016
From Cannes to Italy: (30 April- 1 May 2016)
The trip from Cannes to Italy was easy and we encountered no particular issues except that the
fish refused to be caught. Some friends already said that I had better go to the fish shop in the
morning so that I can eat fish at the end of the day.While moving eastward we were surprised to
see how much the scenery has changed. In France you have many villa’s on the mountains with
apartments in the city like Marseille, Toulon, Cannes and Nice. Between the cities the dominant
color is green. Once you arrive in Monaco you are faced with an ugly spot full of concrete
buildings. Not a single tree is left. Afterwards it is Italy, the first part, 'till you pass the city of
Imperia has no charm when seen from the sea. All kinds of construction is allowed and what is
not built on is covered by greenhouses. After Imperia, the coast is luckily much more pleasant to
look at. No buildings and greenhouses, but nice little apartment buildings of 2 to 3 floors colored
in brown that are well surrounded by vegetation. After Imperia, we decided to move directly to
Portofino as we had received so much positive feedback about this harbor. We left Imperia early
in the morning, but arrived only late in the evening in Portofino. The weather forecast was right,
except for the direction of the wind. The wind forced us to take many tacks but despite the new
sails we managed to gain 10 miles towards the target after 3 hours. In view of the distance we
still had to go (more than 50 miles) we decided to use the engine. Finally at 10pm we arrived at
Portofino and dropped the anchor close to Portofino. Only in the morning did we visit the harbor
often called the St Tropez of Italy. The place is very nice and has managed to keep its charm
despite this place being full of visitors in the summer. The day after we headed South towards
Spezia and had a first glimpse of what is called the 5 grounds. Those villages located along the
steep slopes of the coast a big tourist attraction and seen from the coastline are unique and was
on our to do list for the next day.
The Ligurna Province.
While we were cruising along this Coast, we did take some time to visit some places that the
guides recommended to us. The first place visited was the caves of Toirano. In the past they
were below water level but today they are around 300 meters above sea level. During the 70
minute tour, the guide did show us some very impressive stalactites and stalagmites that are all
over the place. The guide will also showed us some prehistoric footprints as well as skulls and
bones of bears that probably died during their hibernation. If you visit this region, I can only
recommend that you stop by and visit the Caves. After the caves, we returned to the nearby city
of Loano. The city is well preserved and currently many buildings have been restored and the
facades are nicely decorated with paintings.
fish refused to be caught. Some friends already said that I had better go to the fish shop in the
morning so that I can eat fish at the end of the day.While moving eastward we were surprised to
see how much the scenery has changed. In France you have many villa’s on the mountains with
apartments in the city like Marseille, Toulon, Cannes and Nice. Between the cities the dominant
color is green. Once you arrive in Monaco you are faced with an ugly spot full of concrete
buildings. Not a single tree is left. Afterwards it is Italy, the first part, 'till you pass the city of
Imperia has no charm when seen from the sea. All kinds of construction is allowed and what is
not built on is covered by greenhouses. After Imperia, the coast is luckily much more pleasant to
look at. No buildings and greenhouses, but nice little apartment buildings of 2 to 3 floors colored
in brown that are well surrounded by vegetation. After Imperia, we decided to move directly to
Portofino as we had received so much positive feedback about this harbor. We left Imperia early
in the morning, but arrived only late in the evening in Portofino. The weather forecast was right,
except for the direction of the wind. The wind forced us to take many tacks but despite the new
sails we managed to gain 10 miles towards the target after 3 hours. In view of the distance we
still had to go (more than 50 miles) we decided to use the engine. Finally at 10pm we arrived at
Portofino and dropped the anchor close to Portofino. Only in the morning did we visit the harbor
often called the St Tropez of Italy. The place is very nice and has managed to keep its charm
despite this place being full of visitors in the summer. The day after we headed South towards
Spezia and had a first glimpse of what is called the 5 grounds. Those villages located along the
steep slopes of the coast a big tourist attraction and seen from the coastline are unique and was
on our to do list for the next day.
The Ligurna Province.
While we were cruising along this Coast, we did take some time to visit some places that the
guides recommended to us. The first place visited was the caves of Toirano. In the past they
were below water level but today they are around 300 meters above sea level. During the 70
minute tour, the guide did show us some very impressive stalactites and stalagmites that are all
over the place. The guide will also showed us some prehistoric footprints as well as skulls and
bones of bears that probably died during their hibernation. If you visit this region, I can only
recommend that you stop by and visit the Caves. After the caves, we returned to the nearby city
of Loano. The city is well preserved and currently many buildings have been restored and the
facades are nicely decorated with paintings.
