The Amalfi Coast - continued...Capri

Sorrento is the jumping-off point to explore the rest of the Amalfi coast. We booked a boat to take us to the island of Capri and when we landed at the main port, we were engulfed with "all things tourist". But we could escape it all, as I had booked a hotel in the small town of Anacapri on the other side of the island. Included with our stay was a free transfer from the port to hotel. We decided to send our luggage ahead to the hotel and explore this more visited half of the island first.

Capri Harbour

The town of Capri itself is beautiful but tour groups and daytrippers have taken over, and designer stores line the narrow streets. We quickly walked through it all and hiked for about an hour to the Villa Jovis, a surprisingly well-preserved Roman palace built by a Roman Emperor, Tiberius, in AD27 (apparently he ruled his empire from here for a number of years, hiding from potential assassins). Later we followed a cliff trail and steep staircase to view the "Natural Arch", a dramatic rock formation. As we continued along the spectacular coastal trail back towards town, we were so happy to have avoided most of the tourist area of Capri town and to be able to see the postcard vistas of ocean and land that are the essence of this island.

Natural Arches on the Island of Capri

We had an even better hiking experience the following day. We took a local bus to the south-west point where a lighthouse or "faro" stands and from there we followed an amazing trail, called "The Path of the Little Forts", that covers the whole west coast of the island. The trail is carved out of steep cliffs, narrow staircases and rock ledges with sheer drops to the crashing waves below--in other words, completely unacceptable by North American standards for a public trail! It runs north for 5 kilometers, ending at the "Blue Grotto", a highly over-rated cave, which apparently glows blue from the angle of sunlight coming into the cave at certain times. Along the way we passed several abandoned "forts", built in the early 19th century as part of a coastal defence system. We ate our lunch at the second one, perched on the remains of an ancient wall, overlooking a deep chasm between the rocks where the waves pounded relentlessly. After about 3 hours we arrived at the Blue Grotto cave but it was closed due to the high tide. We sat at a bar overlooking the cave entrance, enjoying a well-deserved beer, and watched with amusement as a continuous line of tour boats came chugging up to the mouth of the cave, poked about for a bit, then quietly disappeared the way they came, disappointment clearly evident in the faces of the passengers for not being able to explore inside the cave.

Me with Ana at our favourite restaurant

One of our best memories during two perfect days on Capri is our experience at a recommended restaurant we were lucky to find. When we first walked into the homey and virtually empty restaurant, we were a bit worried that we had made a mistake--an empty restaurant is a sign of either bad marketing or poor reputation. The person serving was an older woman named Anna, who did not speak much English. However, with a few basic words of Italian and English and a lot of sign language from both sides, we were able to have an actual conversation. We learned that this family-run business has been going for many years, with poppa in the kitchen and wife and daughter out front. The food was simple and tasty. But it was Anna, a gentle soul, humble yet clearly proud of the family business, who endeared us to this place. She hovered over us like a protective mother, gave us a complimentary limoncello drink to end our meal and a huge lemon on a branch to take with us. We went back the next night and were treated like old friends. On both nights the food was very good but not spectacular. However it is the people who make a meal memorable….the word needs to get out (here I come, Trip Advisor) that there are restaurants like this, somewhat off the beaten path, that deserve more success.

Hiking Capri's coastal path

Before we caught the boat to leave Capri and head to Amalfi town for our next two nights, we took the tiny, single-person chairlift up Mount Solaria, the highest point on the island. The scenery was spectacular from the top--a 360 degree view of the island and the distant Amalfi coastline. As tour groups queued to take the short gondola ride back down, we decided to walk down the well-maintained path. It was on this hour-long hike, when Len went off for a short while to explore a small church and I chose to sit on a bench in the sun with an amazing view of the town and ocean spread out before me, no one around and silence save for the wind and birds, that I had a feeling of peace and pure content…

Our last stop on the Amalfi coast was at the town of Amalfi itself. While there are several other more well-known and, as a result, more touristy towns, I chose Amalfi because it was smaller, has a less sandy beach and is a good base for day hikes. We had only a day to explore and we took advantage of it by walking about the town, exploring a magnificent cathedral and a paper museum (Amalfi was one of the first paper making centers in Europe) and hiking straight up the hillside (a zillion steps!) to a nearby town for lunch and a view. Our hotel overlooked a tiny piazza, with a peek-a-boo view of the ocean and number of restaurants. One of the restaurants, recommended by our hotel, was another example of kind, caring service and we again chose to eat at the same place both nights.

Capri town

So far, our time in Italy has been beyond expectations..the food, the people, the landscape and the history and culture…we fell in love a second time!