Read their Letters Home!
Chapter 16
Friday, April 27, 2001
And so, on Friday we left the Eternal City. What a magnificent city it is, filled with the chronicles of the Roman and Christian Civilizations; there exists in this one city a time period for anyone interested in history and art. From the Latin and Etruscan beginnings, to the rise and fall of the whole Roman Empire and the development of it's replacement, the Catholic Church, all can be had here in a completeness to satisfy the most discerning connoisseur. By the time we left we were both awed and numbed by the vastness that is Rome and were ready for some peace and quiet.
Making our way out of Rome was less difficult than reaching the coast, a mere 15 kilometers away. We got lost twice, the second time almost reaching Rome's city limits again before we could turn around, only to get stuck in an hour long traffic jam caused by road construction. Eventually we extracted ourselves from that and followed the coast south towards Naples. Supposedly a scenic route, we were pretty bored with most of it and perked up only when we first saw the Med again (I won the kiss, although the contest was disputed at first) and later, when passing Teracina we saw the giant remains of the Temple of Giove Anxur high above the town looking as massive as the Parthenon in Athens.
The drive was long with Italian drivers at their worst, making three lanes out of one and passing us while huge semis from the opposite direction bore down on them. We were safe but wary, Bruce feeling the strain more than I.
I think I have written about the need for small cars in Europe; the narrow roads, condensed city centers; but Italy takes the prize for small cars. Here we have seen the smallest vehicles yet: A darling little vintage Fiat looking like a miniature circus clown's coupe, stuffed with four occupants when two should max it. The Mercedes Smart car, a two-seater small enough to park perpendicularly, is more common in Rome than anywhere else we have been. In Assisi we saw a little electric powered car that really took the cake for minuteness. As common as fleas are little Piaggio 3-wheel pickups, some with only one seat centered in the cab and powered by motor scooter engines.
We got a lesson in prostitution along our route. Fairly often, on the side of the road in-between towns, we would see young women dressed very suggestively (short, tight spandex skirts, low neckline spandex tops and cleavage everywhere) sitting on chairs or standing by isolated, rutted, dirt side roads. Bruce thought they were hookers. I scoffed at the idea, thinking he was just being callous, but by golly, as we passed more of them, we saw men in cars pulling over and finally we saw two girls with their backs to us and skirts pulled up around their waist, shaking their bare butts at the cars. OK - I was convinced! We guessed they take the customers down the deserted road, service them and send them on their merry way. Watching them and speculating as we passed was good entertainment for a long, boring ride!
We are planning to head for Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast at the south end of the Bay of Napoli. From there we will visit Napoli, Pompeii, Paestrum and possibly Capri. It was too long a drive to make in one day so, consulting our Italian camp book we found a three star campground in Marina di Varcaturo, about 20K north of Napoli.
WOW! What a pleasant surprise! Every campsite actually has it's own toilet, shower and kitchen cleanup area. Do you know how long it has been since we got to do our bathroom business in private quarters? Almost a year now. While we have adjusted well to sharing toilet/shower blocks with other campers, this is sinfully luxurious! These even have a bidet - not that I know what to do with them but hey, we'll have the cleanest feet in Italy!
Ever since we hit Italy, Bruce has been seeing Mafia under every bed. The travel books have said that the organized crime syndicates have infiltrated even the most official organizations, especially in the south. He has "seen" evidence of criminal influence in museums' requirements for exact change in purchasing of tickets and in shops where the keepers don't ring up a small sale. I laugh at him just as I do when we identify pickpockets on Metros and he decides everyone who looks a little scruffy (which accounts for every student in the world!!) is out to rip off passengers!
After we settled into our new "home" Bruce took his customary bike ride to unwind from the drive. (I stayed in the bathroom and drooled over the luxuries.) When he returned he told an entertaining tale of his ride. Trying to find the beach he rode through the district, finally reaching it. Nothing happening there except for two girls riding their horses behind chariots on the sandy shoreline. While that was interesting, he thought to explore the neighborhood, which he found both empty and tough at the same time. Up ahead of him he saw several parked police cars. Always curious, he went to investigate. Across from the cars was a restaurant with several high dollar cars parked in front, a couple of Rolls Royce and some Mercedes. What really caught his eye though, was at each door to the restaurant were two policemen with headsets on, about eight policemen in all. Right next door to this place was a pink-painted building with cupids and hearts all over it, looking all for the world like a bordello moved from Las Vegas. He was thrilled! He just knew there was going to be a bust on Mafia leaders holding a meeting in one of their business establishments! As he related this story to me, a police helicopter flew over in the proper direction and that finished off his tale. We laughed and I teased him about searching for boogiemen under the bed. Now that we are in the south of Italy his observations should become even wilder!
The night was finished off with a small display of fireworks at 9 pm coming from the same direction as the restaurant. (We wondered were they fireworks or explosions!!!!?) Actually we thought we might be back in Spain, except we heard no bangers, that oh-so important, loud feature in Spanish fireworks.
Saturday, April 28, 2001
Bruce has earned a new nickname: The Flying Dutchman - Stefano Andretti Fitzmauricio.
For some insane reason I have yet to figure out, he decided we were going to brave the Napolise traffic and took us straight through Napoli on our way to Sorrento. What a gloriously crazy time we had! It was "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" all over again. We followed traffic through 3-4 lane intersections doubled in size by the cars and motor scooters jamming through them. We traveled down narrow one-lane roads maneuvering around idiotically parked vehicles. We ran traffic lights along with the rest of the residents. We jarred over cobblestone streets. We have snapshot memories of Vespas carrying three people speeding down streets; young couples cuddling on Vespas as they rode; people buying vegetables from stands balanced on the beds of 3-wheeled Piaggio pickups; outdoor cooks preparing lunch on rectangular metal grills right on the street curbs; narrow streets with clothes flapping outside window balconies, and lots and lots of traffic: We passed a funeral procession, family members weeping as they walked behind the hearse and blocking traffic for a block: At one point in the drive, cops were pulling over speeders and as we passed, we and the cops watched a rear-ender happen because the participants were too busy watching the police. We had a blast! It probably took us an hour and a half to get through Napoli - Bruce (Stefano) said if we kept the water to our right we couldn't go wrong, and he was right! We found the beach promenade and made lunch as we watched blue fishing boats float in the harbor. Families were walking the promenade and near us, a father was teaching his daughter to ride her two-wheel bicycle.
Looming over the city is Mt. Vesuvius, a beautiful cone-shaped peak; looking so benign it is hard to believe that it is still an active volcano.
Naples is the first city we have been in that feels like a living, breathing entity. You can feel the beat of the city through the noise, the honking, the pedestrians gesticulating and blocking traffic as they stand in the streets, the facial expressions, the constant Vespas beeping as they passed everyone in any manner feasible, all of this chaos taken in stride by the locals, and bewildering but exciting to us.
Napoli (which the Greeks named Neopolis or "new city") is pretty rundown looking, in desperate need of some paint. Hugging the Med at the Bay of Naples and expanding upwards into the foothills, it gives the appearance of terraced apartment buildings crowding into the sea. From a distance, with Vesuvius in the backdrop and the much needed paint jobs not apparent, it is a beautiful sight. I am very surprised at my reaction to Naples; I was prepared to hate it and instead am intrigued by this well-worn yet vibrant city. We don't expect to spend much time in Napoli, having just finished with Rome, but we do intend to visit the Archeological Museum here, housing treasures from Pompeii our real reason for stopping in the area.
We camped at Camping Fortunato in Sorrento surrounded by olive trees with fantastic views of the whole bay - Naples and Vesuvius right across from us. Location, location, location!!
Sorrento has Greek mythical beginnings. Supposedly the cliffs of the promontory Sorrento sits on are the legendary cliffs of the Sirens - those mythical beings whose irresistible singing charmed sailors to their deaths. Odysseus outsmarted them by plugging wax in his sailors' ears and tying himself to his mast. Strict orders were given that they not release him no matter what his reasons. According to the Sorrento legend he killed a siren whose body washed up on shore across the Napoli Bay. A temple was built there which in time, developed into the original city of which Naples is the "new city." I can't imagine why Odysseus was on this side of Italy without someone remembering the big bay for identification purposes, but at times I become a stickler for details that can ruin a good story.
Sunday, April 29, 2001
One year ago today we began or travels by landing in Amsterdam. It has been a glorious year and to commemorate our anniversary we thought we should spend the night sleeping in the bushes!
The National Archaeological Museum of Naples, and Pompeii were the objects of our affection today. Since it is Sunday and the museum's hours were limited we got up bright and early and took the train in to the city. We spent the morning in an extraordinary museum housing two excellent collections; the Farnese Sculptures and treasures from Pompeii. The sculpture compilation, from all over ancient Greece and Rome, was begun in the 1500s by Pope Paul III and his family members added to it over the centuries. It was an exciting collection of some beautiful pieces but our interest was in the Pompeii collection.
Exhumed from the rubble are mosaics and wall frescos of such fine quality that to save them, they were removed from Pompeii and put on display here. The finest mosaics we have yet to see; a floor scene depicting the victory of Alexander the Great that insured his conquest of Asia was the showpiece, but so many smaller and more finely created ones are here too. Using pieces of tile the size of rice (!) the artists created human portraits, theatrical scenes, wildlife and river scenes - they are astonishing in their artistic beauty!
Great wall paintings that decorated the homes of Pompeii are here too. For once we didn't see one saint's life (or death) story! Greek myths were the usual theme and it was a pleasure to view a painting and be familiar with the story!!!! We took the tour of the "Secret Room" a display of erotic art found in pre-Christian Pompeii and were ready to tear our clothes off by the time the tour was over. The museum was VERY satisfying.
That was all we saw of Naples, next we jumped the train to Pompeii and spent three hours exploring the extensive results of the most well known volcanic eruption in the world. Pompeii was quite a bit larger than we expected. To imagine a whole city being buried in a few days is amazing. New thoughts are that only 2000 of an estimated 20,000 population died in the disaster. (Somehow that is a relief to me, not that 2000 deaths isn't a disaster, but I thought there were no survivors at all.) Most anything worth looking at art-wise has been removed to the museum but the ruins were interesting. We saw a huge open warehouse containing all sort of artifacts retrieved and cataloged, including the molds cast from victims found in the covered ruins. These castings, made from the body indentations left in the ash, show the agonizing last moments of those poor people. The positions they died in confirm that agony.
Pompeii looks to have been a very rich city. Lots of marble was used and every building seemed to have been decorated with wall paintings, some more elaborately than others. Marble columns, triumphal arches, the remains of a brothel with eye-opening paintings (and stone beds - how uncomfortable!), an elaborate bathing complex which must have a beauty in it's day, amphitheaters, gladiator barracks, mansions which even in their ruinous state were obviously owned by VERY wealthy people. This was quite the community. I didn't know that Pompeii and Ercoleum were both wiped out by an earthquake in 63AD. Rebuilt after that earthquake, they only had 16 years before the final volcanic disaster.
We made it home to Sorrento by way of a packed train, then took a packed bus to the campground where after a quick dinner of salad and leftover raviolis and zucchini, went to sleep.
Monday, April 30, 2001
Ever heard of the Blue Grotto? It is a water cave located on the Isle of Capri just off the coast in the Bay of Naples. I have seen travel documentaries about the Blue Grotto but never in all my imaginings did I think to see this place. (In truth, I had displaced the Blue Grotto to the Caribbean and didn't realize my error until reading up on Capri.) The Isle of Capri has a current name for itself as a jetsetter's getaway, and infamous fame as the Emperor Tiberius' capital for running the Roman Empire in the last decade of his rule. He had a couple of villas built on the Isle where he held "orgies" and was pretty cruel to any inhabitants who displeased him (like tossing them off cliffs and things) so his legacy is not a happy one there.
Since Capri is so close to our current home, Sorrento, we decided our opportunity was at hand and made the most of it. To reach Capri you must take a boat, either a 25-minute hydro jet or hour-long ferry, from the Sorrento Port to the Isle. Checking the timetables we decided to get the 9:50 hydro jet (having gotten up plenty early on Sunday and not wishing to repeat that feat) and make a day of it on the Isle.
We took the bus into town then walked down this steep five-level set of stairs descending a couple hundred feet down a cliff side to reach sea level. From there we entered a square at the port entrance teeming with people.
What we hadn't figured on was that Italy celebrates May 1 as a huge holiday (Labor Day, although I am still not clear what that significance is). Because May 1 landed on Tuesday this year, the Italians "bridged" the holiday giving themselves a four-day vacation and I think they all went to Capri!! Bruce (bless his heart) sent me off and got in line to get tickets for the boat. An hour later and frustrated as hell, having been superceded by Italian holidaymakers butting in line or buying tickets in lots of 15-25 for other Italians tossing money at them, he met me tickets in hand but ready to tear them up and go back to camp. Of course we missed our 9:50 boat but the 11:20 was still open by the time he got to the window. After some confusion as to where the boarding gate was, we waited in line again and Bruce got more and more agitated as we saw people milling about (but not in line) because he was pretty sure they were all going to jump in and possibly make us miss our chance to get on board. He was not having a good time! To both our relief, when the ferry docked we saw it was a huge affair, and good thing because his concerns were right. A hundred people just jumped in line and crowded through the gate in a frenzy to get onboard. We crowded in with them. (Queue? What queue?) We found a spot outside on the upper deck so we could have a view, only there was no view, the day was so hazy you could barely see Vesuvius across the bay. (And believe me, it is hard to miss!)
A fast twenty five minutes later, passing the promontory that leads towards the Amalfi coast and jumping across a channel less than two miles wide (I think), we entered the Capri Port.
I expected Capri to be a low-lying island, lushly green with pretty sights. I couldn't have been more wrong. Towering, sheer cliffs, evidence of great tectonic action, make up this 4.5 x2.5km island with lush greenery capping it. At one point on each side the island dips to sea level and here are the two access points, Marina Grande on the north where we arrived, and Marina Piccola. I was surprised and delighted with the unexpected beauty of the island.
After debarking, our first order of business was to "do" the Blue Grotto. The port was so crowded with tourists (three other ferries had spewed forth day-trippers before we could even clear the docks!) that we were afraid the lines to get tickets would be horrendous so we opted to try our luck immediately. Our luck was holding because we purchased our tickets and were on a boat within minutes.
Now, how the trip to the Blue Grotto works is this, you buy a ticket to get on a motorized boat (ours carried about 30 passengers) at (10,000 each. That takes you around the island to the grotto. There, you transfer onto a rowboat holding four passengers only, which costs you (15,000 each. The rowboat takes you into the grotto and returns you to your boat for the return trip back to port.
Remember, it was a holiday...upon arriving outside the grotto we joined ten other motorboats waiting their turn to go in. About fourteen rowboats worked in concert, boat by boat, to transfer passengers to and fro. Ok, we have thirty passengers per motorboat, divided by four passengers per dinghy, equals about eight dinghies to empty one boat. So two boats could be emptied at a time by all the dinghies there. Ten boats, two empty-able at a time, 20 minutes round trip...20minutes times five - it was almost an hour and half before our turn. We had dressed appropriately in shorts and light tops, so we lolled in the sun marveling at the blueness of the water, leaned over the sides of the boat and teased little fishies as we waited our turn.
(Have we talked about weather recently? We need to. Finally we have found the sun we have dreamed about for a year! Our fuchsia, She, who has been so confused by the multiple climate changes we have experienced, is even confident enough in this warmth to start blooming! We are experiencing 80-85 degree weather and welcoming it with open arms. Finally! For the first time since this trip began, we are worrying about how to sleep cool enough at nights. We'll delight in that concern versus worries about warmth anytime!)
Finally the rowboats made for us. We clambered over the sides and settled into the bottom of the dinghy and paid the rower our Lira. He, in turn, rowed over to another boat and handed the money over, receiving a receipt that he gave us as "souvenirs." (We had wondered about this whole setup: It looked like the dinghy captains could be making a killing charging every passenger (15,000 to get in, but it turns out the government is making the killing by controlling entry charges and probably the poor dinghy dudes get minimum pay. And they work the hardest!)
Where was I?
All requirements met, we were rowed towards the little hole in the side of the isle. And I do mean little. The reason we were seated in the floor of the rowboat was we had to duck in order to achieve entrance into the grotto whose opening is only 1.3 meters high. We entered a cavern perhaps 100 feet deep and wide. The bottom of the cave is 60 feet below sea level and the only light is what shines through the opening. This creates a magical blue glow in the water that is responsible for the grotto's name. This was something! The boat rower serenaded us as we made one circuit around the grotto and then rowed us, ducking, back outside. Then he asked for, and got a tip for his singing. We figured, what the hell, he probably isn't making enough to warrant how hard he works, and his singing wasn't all that bad!
The bad part of this was that the time in the grotto was so brief we didn't really get our fill, but I am hoping that the overwhelming convergence of people onto the Isle overtaxed the resources for the day and had we picked another day we might have had some more time to enjoy the Grotto's truly beautiful beauty.
We finished that excursion, returning to port around 2pm and immediately decided we wanted a Pena Colada. Picking a bar close at hand, we settled in to enjoy our drink and people watch for a while.
Lordy, that island was crowded! Just swarms of people. Lines waiting for taxis to go up the hill. Lines waiting for the funicular to go up the hill. Lines waiting for buses to go up the hill. ("Up the hill" had the main town of Capri, remains of Tiberius' villas and some spectacular views of the area) Shops were packed with shoppers just dying to be parted with their money and people milling everywhere. Ugh! We saw two actresses, Sarah Jessica Parker and Laura Dern and asked for their autographs. Did you know Sarah Jessica speaks perfect Italian, and Laura has an amazing English accent? Well ok, it wasn't really them, but they could have stood in for them in a pinch!
The Blue Grotto was the real drawing card for us and having accomplished that, we felt no need to do much more exploring of the island. Perhaps we will meet someone who having explored it will tell us all we missed, but right then we were well satisfied with what we had seen. We walked out the length of the marina and back, looking at the boats and missing ours, then bought our tickets (in a much shorter line) for the 5:20 return ferry. We settled down on some steps to watch a little boy desperately wishing to play in the water but obviously given instructions that he MUST hang onto a rope secured to the boat ramp and about 3 feet shy of the water. His antics in trying so hard to reach the object of his desire without disobey the rules were so cute we shot about 10 photos of him but never captured the true spirit of his attempts.
Then we went back and had another Pena Colada and finally it was time to board our boat. Once again there was confusion about the boarding gate but we did make it onboard and returned to Sorrento. Instead of walking back up those 5 steep flights of stairs to the upper part of town we took a bus to the piazza and stopped at a bar for one more Pena Colada before we returned to camp for the evening. We had a very nice day. I didn't feel like cooking so since Bruce wanted to eat, he ended with chef's honors. We had steamed zucchini, fresh tortellinis with red basil sauce and pesto. Bon Appetite!
Tuesday, May 01, 2001
Since today was the actual Italian holiday, we opted to do nothing. It really felt good. Once we woke up, to a brilliantly sunny, but still hazy day, we decided we would walk down to the beach owned by the campground. We packed a lunch and around 11am started the rather steep but zigzagged descent to the shoreline. Actually it was a large rock ledge about ten feet above the water. Laying out our towel we joined about 15-20 other campers catching some rays. Sorrento is on the south end of the Naples Bay so looking across the water we had a fantastic view of (starting from our right) the cliffs surrounding the Sorrento area, then giving way to flat area built up with some community then back to cliffs following the curve of the bay to finally disappear into the sandy beaches of Napoli across the bay from us with Vesuvius rearing up behind. Two cruise liners were moored in our Sorrento bay and numerous fishing and ferry boats cruised by all day. We watched a fisherman reel in his extremely long fishing net getting only one fish and some shellfish for his labor. Then we watched him reel it out again and hoped he was just fishing for his own satisfaction because if it was for his livelihood, he would be in trouble come end of day.
We dived into the (still) wonderfully clear, blue-green Mediterranean and shivered with delight (or was it cold?). Used to playing for twenty plus years on fresh water lakes and with no waves to remove the fresh water illusion, we were reminded this was salt water when, resurfacing, water dripping in our mouths! WOW, what a shocker! But we had finally swum in the Med!
A man with a spear gun sat on the rocks below us and caught an eel (which at first we feared was a snake and they aren't our favorite animal - thought we may never get to swim the med again!), which he promptly killed and flaunted to everyone interested. And everyone was interested!!
After so many months of iffy weather, the sun felt wonderful. We lay out probably longer than we should, considering it was our first extended time since we left home. I used sun blocker so I am ok, but Brucie wanted to go home early 'cause he didn't. After about three hours we huffed our way up hill and washed off the saltwater, pleased that we had the need to shower!
As I found in Spain, I am enchanted with the Mediterranean Sea and could happily live on its shores forever. It is still the prettiest body of water I have ever seen and I am delighted that we will be spending at least a couple of months in countries that border it. Hopefully we'll get plenty of exposure.
That evening in camp, we met two women from New Zealand -Lynn and Gail, on a 9 week European tour. Delighted to speak English with someone who understood us, we invited them to share a bottle of wine with us and for a couple hours we regaled one another with stories of our adventures. They were two energetic, outgoing, very friendly ladies who gave New Zealand a good representation.
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
About five years ago I saw a movie whose title escapes me, about a girl convinced she was destined for a man with a particular name. She went to Italy in search of him and blah, blah, blah. The charm of the movie was the backdrop of Italian landscapes. She got to ride in a Ferrari (always a bonus!) along a beautiful coastal road, ending up in a picture-perfect village. At the end of the movie the credits told me the name of this town; Positano. That same year my girlfriend Kathi and I were at a craft fair in Fremont, CA and came across a photographer's booth with a gorgeous giant (about 4ft by 3ft) photo of Positano. Ever since I have wanted to see this wondrous place.
Months ago, on our Europe map book, Bruce (Stefano) and I found Positano, conveniently near Pompeii, on the Amalfi coast, a scenic route. We planned our Italian itinerary to include Positano. We were not aware of the Amalfi coast's reputation as one of the beauty spots of Italy until we arrived in Italy and started hearing all about it.
Today was Positano day.
The local blue bus takes you from Sorrento to Amalfi with a stop at Positano. Our plan was to take the bus to Amalfi, catch a ferry to Positano then rejoin the bus there and go home. We caught the 9:15 AM bus at the train station with Lynn and Gail, who were only going to Positano, and settled in for the ride.
We had heard that the towns along the Amalfi coast tended to cater just a little to the tourist and that the bus ride was the real attraction.
I'll say! Disneyland, move over, this is the ultimate E-ticket ride!
If you are prone to motion sickness, take your Dramamine. If heights worry you, be sure not to look up or down. If you are used to being in control of your destiny, let it go! This was a drive to raise the hair on your head!
The coastal road is carved into the cliff side of which the Amalfi coastline is made. It consists of hairpin turns wedged between continuous tight curves. The road varies in width between 1-1/2 lanes to one lane. Look down and you see the sea, look up and you see striated rock with scrub oak and pine clinging to it in much the same manner you feel the bus is to the road.
Going over the top, it was only seven kilometers from Sorrento to Positano. It was the longest 7K we have yet experienced! The roads were so narrow (and the bus so big) that at every curve the bus honked to let anyone in the other direction know we were coming. The horn was honking constantly! The driver was on a schedule and knew the road, so he didn't hesitate once, but kept at a quick pace that had us wiping around in our seats like a roller coaster! If it wasn't so scary it would have been exhilarating!!
Finally we reached Positano where half the bus got off - was it to escape the ride or see the town? - and we called goodbye to Lynn and Gail. We continued onward to Amalfi. The second, longer half of the trip I finally let go of my destiny, fear of heights, conquered my nausea (just kidding) and enjoyed the view. (I am not sure Bruce did). The bus stop in Amalfi was filled with tourist buses and so was the town. We wandered a bit, got a magnet and a couple of tea towels (never let it be said we do not contribute to the local economies!) and headed to the port, where we ate our picnic lunch and waited for the ferry.
Now that was the way to go!
We sat on the top for the views. A cool breeze kept us comfortable in the hot sun and we followed the coast back towards Positano at a leisurely pace. The coast was dramatic with the steep cliffs plunging into the sea; miniature bays sheltering tiny fishing boats, houses and small towns clutching at the cliffs for dear life. Positano came into view, looking like a gathering of swallow's nests stacked on top each other, higher and higher. It was quite picturesque but professional moviemakers and professional photographers have the knack of creating beauty out of picturesque, so I was a little disappointed. I tried for a gorgeous photo of the village but couldn't quite capture the perfect angle so you'll have to excuse the results.
Having neglected to get bus tickets back and unable to continue to ferry ride to Sorrento, we walked up the steep streets of Positano amongst the tourists and shops catering to them, to a café on the road where a bus ran. There we got our blue bus return tickets and took the local bus further up the hill to the coastal road and waited for the bus.
Now it was 1:30 and getting hot. We got on the bus and took the seats right behind the driver. Within five minutes on the road, we decided the best time to take this ride was early morning or after sunset. We had a hot, irritable driver whose patience was on a short fuse. He wanted done with this drive!
If the first bus trip was interesting, this one was a revelation! Anyone who pissed him off, he passed, and passing on a 1-1/2 lane curvy road in a bus is interesting, to say the least! His horn was a-blaring! His demeanor was a-glaring! The seven kilometers passed much quicker than the first time through. When we got close to Sorrento he opened the bus doors for some air and we quipped "Anyone want to jump?" to nervous laughter. When we finally reached the end of the line, we politely thanked him for the ride, got out and dramatically kissed the earth (the other passengers were amused)! Then we went in search of a Pena Colada. As wild as it was, I would recommend the bus trip to the Amalfi just for the experience. Whew!!
The Amalfi coast was pretty but we saw the Cinque Terra first, which has quite a similar look, so the Amalfi didn't seem as extraordinary as we expected. I think I prefer Cinque Terra to the Amalfi, but we have had the rare opportunity to see both on one trip, and people who must pick one or the other would be hard pressed to decide.
Thursday, May 03, 2001
A down day. We are preparing to leave tomorrow for Bari or Brendisi on the east coast, for our ferry ride to Greece. We are meeting my parents in Athens on the 14th and you won't hear from us until we arrive there. See ya next time!