We get up with the sun and mosey over to our included breakfast. It was a pretty walk, through the very hilly forest including both evergreen trees as well as orange and lemon trees. It's in this glassed in room in the center of the camp and consists of rolls, jelly, corn flakes, barley expresso, brown orange juice. Typical small European breakfast, not what I prefer, but I've grown accustomed to. After breakfast we walk down to the water where we caught our ferry to Capri. It was a nice ride, the sun was out and took about 40 minutes.
The first stop was the Blue Grotto. Totally not what I was expecting! The ferry pulls up close to the side of a cliff and there are a whole bunch of older Italian men standing in these little row boats, slightly reminiscent of a much less classier Venetian gondola. We all hop into these row boats and they take us to this 4 foot by 4 foot hole in a cliff? He says duck down on three, 1...2...3...and pulls on this rope, contorts his body in a matrix pose so he's low enough to not have his head clipped and then we're in this pitch black cave. I look out at the water and it's an electric, indescribable, absolutely gorgeous, bright blue. The boatmen take you around in a circle while singing in Italian and it was such a cool experience. He said the water reflects into this tiny little hole, off the bottom and results in this unbelievable illumination of the water. So pretty, we were in and out of there in 5 minutes. We heard about an hour after we left, the waves were too high and they had to close it for the day. We were so lucky! On the way to the area of Capri we were being dropped off we also stopped at the Green and White Grottos. They were pretty, not as pretty as the Blue Grotto, and also not in a cave. Same thing with these, the way the water reflected onto the cliffs which were naturally tinted these colors, the water looked the colors.
Next we docked at Capri and got off the boat, we were to meet our tour guide at the top of the town. Okay... 40 minutes later we made it up! We trekked up some serious hills with random concrete stairwells interspersed and definitely got a workout. It would have been a little rough had the views not been SO gorgeous. It was such a unique town, like nothing I've ever seen. There were literally no streets form where we docked to the top where the center of town was. We were walking on people's "streets" but then there were stairs so there was no way cars could get down there. The views out to the water were beautiful and while we were more towards the center on our winding way up, the authentic homes looked very Greek with the white stucco exteriors, fun roofs and unique gates at their entrance. Not to mention all of the vegetation, fruit trees, pretty flowers and palm trees. Once we got to the top we were pooped and had to stop for these frozen ices we saw everywhere. I got melon, Jill and Jen got lemon, they were so delicious and refreshing. During the rest of the tour we learned about the natural architecture of Capri, how they had to figure out ways to build into the mountain. You know, something that wouldn't fall off the cliffs or be gone in a few years. Saw lots of shops, not as many churches, and the local buildings etc. Honestly, just looking around was mesmerizing, everything was so pretty. Our guide told us not to get too excited about Capri, and not to buy anything down here because at the top of the island was Anacapri where things were prettier and less expensive.
So, we take a bus to Anacapri. That alone was an experience. We buy our 1 euro ticket and are packed into this mini-bus, think sardines. The very rugged southern Italian bus driver gets in and we're off. I'm standing next to, or should I say on top of, an older white haired Italian woman who was lucky enough (and totally deserved) a seat. Begin ascent to Anacapri. It's steep, and winding, and steep, and winding... He's going fast. How fast? I peek over to the speedometer since I'm basically standing on the driver/the old woman next to me and well, OH! the speedometer doesn't work. Around some more turns, now we're on the edge. He's not slowing down though, taking these turns like a racecar driver, I look over the my friend the old lady and she's doing the sign of the cross, saying an prayer in Italian and closing her eyes. I wish I was kidding. 20 minutes of this insanity later and he finally stops and opens the door. I get off and apparently our faces said it all, the guide laughed and said he loved seeing people's faces the first time they take this ride up. It's starting to become funny now.
Now we're in Anacapri, we thought the views were gorgeous down in Anacapri, but here we're higher so we can now see more beautiful views. We're taken to a shop at the top of a hill and given a Limoncello and chocolate tasting. YUM. The regular Limoncello was much stronger than any I've ever had, the cream one was sweeter and the melon one was interesting. The chocolates were delicious, dark, white, milk, then all of those covering orange and lemon peels. Ultima! (delicious) The store also made homemade sandals. We investigated to see if they were worth it, they were of gorgeous very pleasing to look at but provided no support. As in, don't buy them and plan to walk around in them all day. The poor college students forwent the sandals and opted to eat lunch that day.
We were given some free time so we take the chairlift up to the tippy top of the island. So cool, it was a long ski-lift type thing but you had your own seat It took about 15 minutes each way of just a relaxing ride to see the entire island. At the top there was a little park with a cafe overlooking the Mediterranean. We vegged up there a bit, took tons of pictures, drooled at the sights, and then took the chairlift back down. So cool. We were a little hungry so we picked a cafe and had a quick lunch. Jill, Morgan and Jen tried the pizza because it claimed to be the original Neapolitan pizza (it is the next town over) but I opted for the Gnocchi Sorrentina. My gnocchi was delicious, it literally melted in my mouth. Their pizza was also delicious, thicker and greasier than Florence's, just how pizza should be. I love italian food.
We did a little shopping at the top and then took the bus, driven by a much calmer driver, back down to Capri. We hung out at the rock beach by the marina where our boat was to pick us up. Although it was rocky, we were just so happy to be at a beach and of course stuck our feet in the Mediterranean. So we spent the day in Capri and got our first taste of what southern Italy is like. The people were just so nice, nothing was rushed, we saw the coca cola scooter boppin down the street making deliveries where all the shop owners knew him by name, etc. i don't know how to describe it other than people just really enjoy their lives and don't mind working there. A very pleasant change from the frustrated-with-foreigners Florentine shop owners.
So we took the boat back to our campground for a much needed nap and shower. We met up with everyone and took the bus down to the center of Sorrento for a group dinner. We had the 3 course "tourist" dinner consisting of authentic minestrone, then a fish and tomato dish and chocolate cake for dessert. Of course it was delicious, after that we waddled back to our cabins where we passed out from exhaustion.
Saturday morning we assembled around 10 after our breakfast and got on the bus for Positano. We were on for about 25 minutes when they pull off into a big circle and inform us that tour buses are not allowed into Positano so we have to get off and walk for about "20 minutes" down. Right, so, it's cool that Positano is trying to keep it a less touristy town, I can certainly appreciate that, but this 20 minute walk was not 20 minutes, it was at least an hour. We walked up and down a windy road through the mountains. It was gorgeous to walk through, just not what we were expecting. We stopped at one of the many produce carts on the side of the road where we tasted a southern lemon. The thing was literally the size of my head and was the sweetest lemon I've ever tasted, not tart at all! Believe it or not, the most delicious part was the white rind. So we finally make it into town, but we're supposed to be heading to the beach. Another 30 minute walk down the steepest, oldest, most unique stairs. A lot of stairs, more than I think I would ever be able to convey to you via blog. Like, I wish I was told we were going to be doing this much up and down because I would literally have stretched first and now worn flip flops. Finally we make it down to the beach and it was so so so so worth the hiking, the view was gorgeous. This beach was sandy and of course as soon as we get down there the clouds roll in. Don't worry, we laid on the beach for hours anyway. I fell asleep for a good hour, it was so nice to just lay there in the warm sand.
It started getting chilly with the clouds so we decided to get a warm snack with hopes that it would clear up in the meantime. We found a great little garden cafe where we got cappuccinos and warm ricotta and pear tarts. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. We stayed in there for about an hour enjoying the warmth and the sights and it finally started to clear up. On the way back down to the beach we perused some shops, things there were expensive but so fun to look at. When we got back down to the beach we of course had to retake all the pictures we initially took because it was cloudy then and everything looked so much better in the sun. We hung out on the beach for a while taking it all in and then it started getting dark. Walked back to the top of the island to catch the bus back into Sorrento. After waiting for a while we decided a bottle of wine was necessary to pass the time. The little old man selected a white wine for us (taboo in Italy) and told us it was not only local, but the best one he had. It was so good..and only cost $3. Sweet.
Back to Sorrento where we cleaned up, took the bus back into the center of town and went out to eat. We picked an adorable little restaurant with a very authentic Italian feel down to the table clothes. I got Spaghetti and clams because Florence doesn't have much seafood to offer. It was delicious, we stayed there for a while after enjoying the atmosphere before heading back up to "camp."
I loved Positano but wouldn't like to live there for the sole fact that I could never carry my groceries up and down those insane stairs. Natives there must have legs of steel. It was probably my favorite beachy town to walk around and just look. It's amazing how the houses are arranged on these cliffs, most of them are even very old. It was a relaxing day where I really started to get a feel for southern Italy.
Sunday morning we checked out of the army barracks, i mean campground, and headed for Pompeii. We had an hour or two to walk around the area outside of the ruins, but there wasn't much to see other than the many tents set up by the overly aggressive Moroccans trying to sell you everything in sight. Our tour guide spoke great English, knew the ruins like the back of his hand and was incredibly witty. He was our favorite tour guide yet because he included all of the incredibly interesting historical information, literally painted us a picture of what it used to look like, but also made us laugh with his jokes. His common theme was comparing the past to today saying "nothing has changed." He also knew way more about American politics/pop culture than I did. When talking about where the hunters used to be, he said, "you know, the Dick Cheneys."
So, about the ruins. Pompeii had a population of around 20,000 and only about 2,000 died from the 79 AD eruption. Way less than I thought! Also, the city is 8 miles from Mt. Vesuvius so no lava ever made it there, all of the damage was from the suffocating fumes and the 16 feet of ash that settled upon the city. They say the eruption had to be somewhat predicted as only 2,000 were left in the city, but there were still those stubborn Italians who stayed. They found fresh bread in the oven, dogs tied up and bodies found in areas which suggest they were conducting "every day life" type of activities.
Vesuvius actually had another bad eruption during WWII in 1944 but I suppose the activities of the war overshadowed the destruction. A few towns were destroyed, as well as a US bomber group of over 80 planes. Since then the volcano has been very quiet, believe it or not this is really bad and people are worried. When a volcano has little activity, occasionally quaking and spurting things it means it is releasing pressure. Since nothing is happening they fear the pressure is massively building up which could cause a big blow. The tour guide joked that there are Italian instruments monitoring the volcano at the top, but then he said if they're anything like other Italian machines we may be in trouble. Sure they haven't reported anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean nothing is happening...
Our guide also did a great job at describing the way of life of the Pompeiians back in the day. He said they were a pleasure driven society between their purging and brothels, but were also ahead of their day intellectually. On the pleasure aspect, they were known to eat and drink until capacity, purge, and then come back out to do it again, all day long with company. As for the brothels, there were tons of them! We went into the largest one where they had stone beds (so they didn't stay too long!) with diagrams on top so you didn't even have to speak the same language, you could just point to what you wanted. Our guide said to us as we were walking in, "please, no flashing!" We of course all giggled until we figured out that these were painted on the walls as frescos so flash photography would have ruined them. Since we giggled he then proceeded to yell at us saying, "oh stop being so prude!" Such a jokester. So apparently the ocean used to be much closer to the city so on the main drag leading in they carved penises into the sidewalk in front of where you could find "nice, friendly women" for the sailors who had just returned. (ahhhem! don't get any ideas) Apparently morals were quite different than ours these days. They were the end of the Pagan era and were more of a social community than a typical Christian Italian city. Openly practicing homosexuality was not only widely accepted but almost encouraged: peace and love for everyone, homie. They promoted pleasure in everything, and were very open about all aspects of the pleasure in their lives.
As for intellectual and architectural accomplishments, the city of Pompeii was very advanced. It's such a shame it was destroyed, I feel like this would have been all over the history books. Not only was it so advanced, it was also all made of marble and frescoed everywhere so it was gorgeous. They didn't quite have street drainage systems (although they had the first form of sewage systems in their bath houses and aqueducts) so the sidewalks were much higher than the streets, and the city placed on a hill so the water would roll down. However, one still had to cross the streets so they were the first to invent the crosswalk. These were raised (2 feet-ish) large boulders placed sporadically across the city for the pedestrians to cross the street without having to walk in the sitting water on the streets. They also placed iridescent rocks within the cobblestone so light would reflect and illuminate the carriages way at night.
We also saw their town halls, museums (which I think were erected later on to house all of the artifacts they could save) and their bakeries which were also advanced for their days. There were over 40 elaborate stone water fountains which were used as landmarks in the city when people were trying to meet. It was a regular city with most of the things our cities today have, but it's crazy to think about how long ago the figured out all of the things we're still using today.
About two thirds of Pompeii is excavated and they have halted excavations. They're currently faced with some problems, they receive over 3 million visitors/year who touch and try to take home "souvenirs" so they're causing problems with preserving the ruins. They decided the best way to combat this is to leave the remaining one third preserved under the ash to keep it for future generations to remember.
While I loved the beaches, cruising on the boats, the funky shopping and gorgeous sights of Capri and Positano, Pompeii was amazing for the sights and historical aspect. Learning is so much fun when in Italy! Heh.
We got back on the bus for our 6 hour trip back to Florence Sunday night. We later found out that three hours before the earthquake we actually passed through that area. I was feeling so lucky to have experienced everything I saw this weekend, but then I started to feel much more lucky that the earthquake didn't affect me. My mom told me that when she tried to call my Italian cell phone it said, "we're sorry, the country you are trying to reach right now is unavailable." Scary! But we're all okay and had a wonderful weekend!! :)
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| 09-04-02 Sorrento, Capri, Positano, Pompeii |
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