Santa Margherita Ligure...

Portofino is too rich for my blood, so I head to the next city down the road called Santa Margherita Ligure.  I find a great place run by a nice family, check into my bright sun filled room and head to the beach(the public beach in town is in an excellent location, fairly clean and not too crowded) to catch up on some sleep while getting some sun.

The town of St. Margherita is beautiful!  It is nestled on a cove and thr main road of the town hugs the coast.

present day railroads are 143.5 cm or 4 ft 8 1/2 inches wide because...

After a day of resting on the beach and a great nights sleep I head off for a bit of a hike.  Armed with a map and the advice of the hotel owner I take off for Portofino via the old roman road which winds its way through the mountains.

As often happens in my travels I do something and the book I am reading or a movie I see, or a person I meet is reflected in my activities of the moment.  i am presently reading the new Pablo Colhelo's (author of The Alchemist) book The Zahir.   In it, he describes that present day railroads are 143.5 cm or 4 ft 8 1/2 inches wide because the railways created today were initially created with the same tools used to make chariots and the roman roads were made to accomodate a chariot pulled by 2 horses and the horses and chariots of the time were 143.5 cm or 4 ft 8 1/2 inches, so our railways are the way they are because of something created thousands of years ago.  Apparently it even affected the design of the space shuttle as the fuel tanks were made in OHIO and had to be transported by rail and the tunnels could not take the tanks any bigger even though the designers of the shuttles would have designed them larger had they had the option....now back from the historical interlude...here I am following this old roman road over the mountains of Italy for about 10 miles to the next town.  Although parts of the path have been moderniyed, it occasionally still is formed by the original cobbles (no wonder they did not want to make it any winder than they had to, what a tonne of work).  As I walk along the path occasionally shaded by trees and opportunities for awesome ocean vistas I come across a beautiful little church in the hills, many people working in their fields and gardens, and the most beautiful walled in garden I have ever seen.  I arrive in Portofino and miraculously still have some energy so I climb up to the lighthouse and church on the cliffs above the town.  The ocean is so blue and again I am thanksful to have been blessed with a bright blue sky and hours of sunshine.

After my very active day I decide to stick close and explore the town of Santa Margherita and it's duomo and piazzas, finally resting in the afternoon on the beach.

At night there are fireworks in celebration of I don't know what, but who cares, I love fireworks!

Goodbye to Santa Margherita and Nuevo Riviera, Joe and his family.