Italy - Capri and Positano, Aug 06

A boat trip around CapriOur next adventure was a day trip out to the Island of Capri, a popular scenic spot since the Roman times. We had a short half hour ferry trip from Sorrento out to Capri. The best way to check out Capri is by water as it has some amazing features along its spectacular rugged coastline, hard if not unaccesible by land.

Faraglioni the symbolic stacks of CapriThere was only a little shade on the boat and as we were the last on board we were out in the sun, it was hot!

The entrance to the Blue Grotto - yep hard to seeThe climax of all Capri's wonders is the Grotto Azzura or Blue Grotto and it certainly drew the crowds while we were there. To get in you must pass through a tiny opening in the cliff and once inside a massive cavern 40m in diameter opens out in front of you. Unfortunately when we arrived there was a one hour wait to get in. A row developed on our boat as half of the people wanted to wait, while the other half wanted to head back to the town. Mutiny was narrowly avoided and we headed back to the town.

The town of Capri We got back to Capri and the headed down to the local beach for a swim. After the swim we read Kat's travel book and discovered an interesting fact. The boat tours into the Blue grotto stop at 5pm and after then you can catch a bus to the road end, clamber down the cliffs and swim in. It was the best discovery we could have made and turned out to be one of the highlights of my entire travels.

The Blue Grotto - the forbidden cave We jumped off the bus, changed into our togs and dived in. We swam through the tiny entrance hole and found ourselves inside a truly amazing cavern. Inside the grotto the sea is lit from underwater, it is a magnificent fluorescent blue colour and hence its name. This is due to another opening to the grotto, completely submerged, and the limestone bottom. It allows the sunlight to enter and light the water from below. The water in the grotto is pretty deep, up to 30m. There is only one small ledge you could stand on and that is located at the far end of the cavern so you need to be a pretty confident swimmer. We were enchanted by the place and floated around in the fluorescent blue water for an hour. There were other groups of locals who swam in but they stayed only about 20 mins. I can recommend it to anyone who is on Capri and keen for a little adventure, it is free, no tourists and truly amazing.

Sunset dinner on cliffs above the Grotto After the Grotto we celebrated the end of a great day in style with a meal at one of the cliff side restaurants close by. That night Kat treated me to a night in flash hotel, our room had air conditioning and was luxury compared to the stuffy hostels we had been staying in previously.

Sunset over the bay of Naples
Capri and the Faraglioni from the Monte SolaroThe next day we headed up to the highest peak on the island, Monte Solaro. Its a long way up but the ascent was made a little easier by the chair lift that took us to the top. The chairlift ride was pretty awesome as we cruised up only meters above the canopy of terraced gardens and citrus orchards. Kat had a great time waving to the stream of friendly Japanese tourists who were coming down and shared her enthusiasm for greeting. Unfortunately there was a cap of cloud hugging the top of the peak which killed the views when we got there, so we sat down had a coffee and wrote postcards hoping it would clear soon. Well actually Kat wrote post cards, I have a reputation for being notoriously bad at writing which I was keen to uphold so I simply observed.. 5 postcards later our hopes came reality and amazing views opened up all around us. We could see all around the Island and across the bay of Naples to the Sorrento Peninsula and Mount Vesuvius.

Finding our way back down
We were keen for a bit of exercise so we headed off across country to find a trail down the peak. We headed over to a small cluster of houses as that seemed like a good place to pick up a trail. Amongst the houses we found a cute little church perched on top of a very large cliff, the views were stunning. I think the idea of placing a church up there is you are higher and therefore closer to the mighty one. It certainly was an amazing spot and I have a lot of respect for the people who go up there on a regular basis. Anyway, we picked up a trail and one hour later we were back at the base of the chair lift after stopping for another top picnic.

The crazy roads of Capri a tough place to be a bus driver

We returned back to the mainland that evening on a very crowded boat, the ride was fantastic though. When wondering around Sorrento after getting off the boat we bumped into our friend Mat, the crazy Aussie guy we met in Venice. We had no idea he was planning on coming to Sorrento so it was a total surprise. We grabbed dinner, drank some beer and then hit the pubs, it was another great night.

The town of Positano from the roof of our HostelOur next port of call was the little cliff hugging town of Positano on the spectacular Amafi coast. The average gradient of the town was about 45 degrees which ensured great views from every house but also made you think twice about nipping down to the shop.

Hanging out on the main beach Our hostel was located about 200m above the beach so it was a great workout to get home again. We spent most of the days on the beach with a good mixture of reading, drinking and swimming.

The town of Amalfi
Our last night together Kat and I had our last night together in Positano, it was a sad, but very good night too. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant on the beach and after that went out for a night swim. It was still and calm where we were but we watched an awesome lightning storm out to sea, the reflections off the water were amazing.. After the swim we went back up to the hostel where we sat on the roof looking over the lights of the town and drinking wine late into the night. The next day I headed back up toward Denmark as my 2 month rail pass was about to run out. After Positano Kat had a couple of days in Rome before heading back to LA. It was a very sad night but also a celebration of the amazing adventures we had together.