Jagged cliffs thrust in every direction.
Massive rocks rise out of the water through the swells.
The beaches are stony and unforgiving. Some of the ports are not much bigger than an Olympic-sized swimming pool, hedged in by boulders and cement wharves. Yet Gianni Giobatta steers Lola, his 24-foot wooden motorboat, to a tiny jetty at the town of Manarola with little concern and great expertise. He speeds straight for the cement jetty, then jams the boat into reverse to pull in precisely and let his clients disembark. It's nothing like Portofino or Portovenere.