Amalfi Coast–30 April

Last day in Italy, so off to see where all the beautiful people holiday.

Early train to Salerno.  Very scenic 40 minute trip – 2/3 of it in tunnels that deliver you down to the seaside. We think of a coastline as sandy beaches.  This stretch of the Italian coat is sheer mountains dropping straight into the sea.  The only beaches are a few narrow coves at some of the waterside towns.   The entire strip is populated with privates houses, farms, hotels and eating places that hug the steep slopes and are accessed by tortuous narrow roadways.


After a wander around seaside Salerno, I took the ferry, a 40 minute ride to Amalfi.  This town is 100% tourists;  it hugs its harbour and has the worst traffic jam I have seen anywhere.  The Cathedral of St Andrew dominates.  There are a couple of bits of the saint there (reputedly); the older cathedral is now a treasury; the newer and more magnificent one is next to it, built in the 1500s after St Andrew saved the Amalfi folk from pirates (well that’;s as much as I could make out from the various latin inscriptions everywhere).
I enjoyed lunch in the square at one of the many cafes, watching the passing scene.

Having finished my exploring here, I went down to the bus depot at the harbour to take the 1pm bus to Positano.  With much waving of hands and shrugging of shoulders the various drivers and inspectors let us know that the Positano bus was missing:  no one knew where it was, when it would come, if it would run again!  By 2.30 I called it quits and hopped on a bus to Sorrento. This nearly 2 hour trip is not for anyone who suffers motion sickness.  The road climbs to the mountain ridges in an unending series of hairpin bends; the driver constantly beeping his horn to warn oncoming traffic around the bend he was coming.  The views are quite special though.  Have to admire how they make a living by farming on near vertical terraces.

Sorrento is back on the Bay of Naples;  a large town that takes quite some walking around even the old section nearer the water.  I opted to take the hydrofoil back to Naples rather than the train; quicker and different view of the country I had been through the previous day.  To my dismay, no buses from the port to where I am staying, so I had a 30 minute walk along the main shopping drag to get home.

I guess Naples has grown a little on me; but its nearby attractions certainly make a visit here worthwhile.  Have to be at airport at 5am tomorrow.  So will pack tonight and be ready to grab a taxi first thing.

Arriverderci Italia!

Today’s photos are here.