Our ship rocked gently in the swells as we cruised to our first stop, the picturesque village of Portofino.  Our excitement grew as our ship passed close to the rugged coastline near the entrance to the harbor.  The ship anchored and we headed down to the gangplank to board the tender.  The swells had risen and we were concerned about the boarding process.  The enthusiastic deck crew was confident that they could load us so we decided to go for it. They waited until the swell rose to the gangplank and swiftly picked Debi up and placed her on the tender as the swell dropped back down.  The passengers on the tender gave the crew a loud cheer and we headed through the choppy seas into the protected harbor.

     We strolled along the harbor and admired the wide variety of watercraft, ranging from multi million dollar yachts to small, classic wooden runabouts.  We enjoyed the view of the colorful buildings that rose right out of the water.  We explored the small shops and faced some accessibility issues, but  had plenty of opportunities to find souvenirs.  We ate lunch at a cafe on the waterfront and then headed up the road to explore the rest of the town.  Debi was inspired by the beautiful archways in many of the buildings and encouraged me to take photos so she could paint them when we returned home.  

     A heavy rainstorm moved in just as we got back to the harbor and we were glad to get aboard the tender.  The waves had risen considerably so the ride back was quite bumpy and exciting.  It was pretty scary getting back on the ship, but the crew did a great job again.  The ship rolled noticeably as we head out into the open ocean.

our