Wednesday, May 18 – Again, we enjoy the day hanging out around the deck / pool. We go for a walk in the opposite direction toward Altrani and Amalfi to buy bus tickets to go into Maiori tomorrow. Oliver is going to take us out on his boat to tour the coastline – a price of $350 Euro which Mark does the double take, but I agree with Oliver that we’ll do it. Might as well spurge a little. Jeffrey chimes in with “Dad, if we can afford to stay in this apartment we can afford to do the cruise with Oliver”.
He backs out and we’re on our way further south. We see a number of towers along the coastline as well as up on the ridges which were used for communication purposes hundreds of years ago watching for enemies. They would signal to other towers that the enemy was coming! Today some are inhabited by people as homes, some are restaurants (with awesome sea views!!) and some are abandoned and in disrepair. There are some amazing places where people have built as well as great lengths people have gone toward building steps down to the water!
We have a wonderful time boating south until we reach the tuna fishing port of Cenaro – southern point of Amalfi, where we turn around and head north as far as the resort town of Positano. All along the way we see homes and estates perched on the terraced hillsides. This area is best known for growing so many lemons, but there is also a thriving cheese, pasta and wine industry. We have been enjoying all of these immensely. We even have J eating buffala mozzarella! We pass various towns nestled within the close hills making them appear as if the buildings are stacked one atop of another. Within each town there is a beautiful church with magnificent domes and cloisters of bells, which tower over the other buildings. We pass Minori, Maiori, Altrani, Amalfi, Furore, Praiano and finally Positano. We enjoy conversing with Oliver, asking questions and enjoy his wonderful on board hospitality with lots of different beverages to choose from. He gives J the opportunity to pilot the boat for about 25 minutes, a highlight for J! Now he wants M to get us a boat!!
We anchor in a bay close to Positano for lunch. J and T go in for a very refreshing dip – neither stay long, but it does feel great! Oliver prepares a wonderful lunch for us – fresh buns, buffala mozzarella with a tomato, cucumber, gerkin, onion and corn niblet salad – absolutely wonderful as we sit at a set table with chilled white wine and a coke for J. Dessert is fresh pineapple and strawberries. What a great way to spend the day we say to one another!! We are now fully fortified and quite warm, M decides its time for a feet dangling in the water cool down. Once out of the harbour, J takes over the helm for about 30 minutes as we make our way back to Maiori. We pass 5 star resorts which play host to big name people, giant caves, Sophia Loren’s villa, and some great views of the roadway which at some points is built on the outer ridge of the cliffs! We arrive back at the Maiori pier around 4pm, fully enthralled by the day. We attempt to take the bus back to our place, but finding a tobacchi with bus tickets to where we want to go is elusive. Meanwhile, J and M snag a gelato while mom searches for the bus tickets. We confer and decide to walk the distance. It really wasn’t much further than the walk from Minori, maybe an additional one km.
Friday, May 20 – We decide to use the bus tickets purchased earlier in the week to take the bus up to Positano – a place recommended to visit. We must wait for our laundry to finish in Oliver’s machine. The machines here seem to take longer to perform the wash cycle… today it seemed like it was never going to end! It finally does and we rush down to the street below to catch the bus. We are waiting along the oceanside of the road when a bus approaches – the driver sticks his head out and shouts he’s full there is another coming behind him soon. Well, another arrives about 10 min. later, only to drive by as well!! We are not impressed!! Anyways, another family consult –“ What do you want to do mom?” Reply “Let’s walk into Amalfi and if we come across a bus to go to Positano, we can catch it there.” We walk along the road for approx. 3.5 km and actually find a bus leaving within 5 minutes. It is again standing room only, J managed to snag a seat for the 35 min. ride but M and T hang on doing their best to stay upright for the journey with its many curves.
It was neat traveling on the bus. Looking down to the water, there is plenty of opportunity to do so along the route, we were able to see where we had been the previous day. The bus toots its horn as it approaches corners, and at times, come to a stand still when the roadway narrows. There are times when cars nearly scale the rock walls to provide room for the busses. Even though there are these times of slow progress, we note that the busses remain fairly true to the published schedule. Having never been to Positano, we do not know that you can not get down to the lower townsite and beach by bus, the lanes are too narrow. We miss the first stop, but T pronounces, let’s get off at the next place. We manage with the help of someone across the roadway, who hears us discussing where to find a staircase which will lead us down, we are able to find our way toward the water. We arrive to narrow roadways, basically a bit wider than a car width lined with shops. We quickly realize that this is far too crowded for what we want to experience. For those who have gone on a cruise and shopped at a port, you will know the scene. Lots of tiny shops, fairly narrow roadways with lots of people to dodge. The town itself is very picturesque with its colorful buildings perched along the hillsides, but just too crowded for what we have been experiencing in the other towns along the coast. We have come to realize that we much prefer the slower pace and atmosphere of the smaller towns. M and J decide to find a pasticerria (a pastry shop) and T goes about for a quick shop in search of a bathing suit top. Mission accomplished on both parties, we decide to search for the bus stop and catch the next bus back to Amalfi. While waiting we converse with 4 young adults from Sask. Canada. We often strike up conversations with people and really enjoy the chats and hear about their experiences along the way. The bus arrives, we decide to get on the rear of the bus and avoid some of the crowd attempting to get on the front and find seats this time! YES!! During the bus ride we have a chat with some folks from Portland Oregon. We arrive back in Amalfi and decide to not wait for the bus headed to Minori, and walk home. By the time we are home, we all want a refreshment!! Tonight, Oliver and his wife have invited us for dinner. M agrees to and 8 pm date as 9 is pretty late for J. We arrive upstairs from our apartment to their part of the villa, the view is even more spectacular. We are greeted with the traditional double cheek hugs and welcomes. Candles are lit on the patio and we will dine al fresco. Oliver likes to cook, he has prepared two Amalfi dishes – pasta with pepperocini (red chili peppers) and squid in olive oil as well as a local fish topped with a thin layer of mashed potato baked in the oven. Both dishes are outstanding. Piero also joins us and we have a delightful evening of laughter and conversation, great wine and great food. What more could we ask for! They have made us feel very comfortable and have truly added to a wonderful Amalfi experience.
Oliver even pulls out his acoustic guitar and performs a few songs for us. It brought back memories of being a child at family picnics and the uncles would sing Italian songs with gusto and enjoyment – very nice! It was just another one of those experiences of living in the culture of the locals – which we want to do on this trip.
Saturday, May 21 Our last full day on the Amalfi Coast. We decide to walk into Amalfi today to see if there are any art galleries. As we walk along the road we notice a cruise-ship in the bay at Amalfi – could be busy…. Once we arrive in the main courtyard of the town the crowds are evident. It is less crowded than yesterday at Positano, and we are on a mission. Amalfi coast is also known for its ceramics – dishes, vases, as well as decorative tiles. There are many shops with wares for sale, however we are not interested in that stuff today. The clothing stores are cruise-ship wear which we are also not interested in, and the gallery we find does not have paintings that catch our eye, so we leave the shop area empty handed. We have a gelato each – at a whopping price of 19 Euro – an extra $2 to have it in a bowl rather than a cone – perhaps the serving size was bigger – not clear…. Obviously we are experiencing the tourist prices. The cathedral in Amalfi is very beautiful and up a steep set of stairs in the main courtyard. The streets are again very narrow and lined with shops but as the roads ascend the number of shops decrease and apartments increase.
We return to our place to enjoy the view and pool. Out in the bay is an ultra sleek yacht. Clearly news of the Shaw Adventure is getting out, as we learn from Oliver/Piero, that Naomi Campbell is on the yacht – obviously aiming to hob-nob with the Shaw’s now that we are back in Minori. As it happens, Brad Pitt, Angelina Joli, and Leonardo Di Caprio are also in the area (Oliver’s wife works at the 5 star resort in Ravello where they are staying), again likely seeking to be seen with the Shaws – but luck is not on their side today as we decide to just hang at the villa and enjoy the view. Oliver arrives from visiting his zio and zia and tells us he has some crepes for us. He goes upstairs and bakes them and returns about 30 minutes with a container of piping hot crepes filled with soft cheese and prosciutto (chunks of ham) absolutely divine!!! Tonight M is cooking carbonara pasta, with J as the sous-chef, and T has prepared veal cutlets, as we aim to finish off the groceries bought earlier in the week before we leave for Hamburg, via Napoli and Geneve tomorrow.
We are likely without good Internet for the next weeks - so posts may be seldom.
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