The Lonely Hunter

At the height of the season, Portofino is teeming with wild life. During the warm months of summer, the picturesque town on the Italian Riviera is home to scores of predators hunting for the objects they need to sustain their lifestyle.

But come the cooler weather of November and the rainy season, and the trophies sought by the large hunters migrates to better climes. Soon there are only tell-tale signs that once this place earlier teemed with Ballys, Maxmaras and Ferragamos. And with their departure, soon the big hunters - the Yachties and their predatory Yachtwives, the Emptor Maximus (Biggest Spenders) and even the parasites that live on these beasts are not to be seen.

Portofino's off-season has begun. And though a few stragglers remain - the large-eyed Rolex, the brightly colored Hermes - they are sparse and offer insufficient reward to tempt the biggest hunters to remain.

And so it is that today we observe a lonely shopper roaming the nearly empty byways of Portofino. Emptor Lindicus (the lindashopper) hunts slowly and diligently, but with little apparent chance for success amid shuttered doors and rain-swollen streets. As is typical of the species, it is the female who hunts as the male stands by helplessly.

Our lindashopper ignores the low-quality pickings on offer at the souvenir shops. It is early in the off-season, and there is no need to resort to desperate measures. She passes by a shoe store, glances casually in the window, and walks on.

But 100 yards further on, the lindashopper circles around. Slowly, she makes her way to the shoe store again. Standing totally still to the side of the window, she eyes the wares carefully. Lindashoppers are notorious for being attracted to earth tones and muted colors, but in the off-season, it is brighter, more flamboyant colors that catch her attention.

With a slight flare of the nostrils and a widening of the eyes, she gazes intently at a pair of orange shoes. Then suddenly, for a reason that can only be explained by the centuries of DNA that have gone into creating the lindashopper, she pounces. She is through the door of the small shop so fast, the clerk has no option but to wait on her. Decisively the lindashopper moves to the orange shoes and the clerk scampers up a ladder, bringing down a box that seems to satisfy the hunter.

There is more commotion, more pointing. A second box is brought down, and soon the lindashopper leaves with her trophies. It may be off-season in Portofino, but the lindashopper has ensured she can accessorize well into the winter.

To see photos of the shopping fields of Portofino, please click here.