Relaxing on the Amalfi Coast
View of Positano from Road
We were sad to leave Florence but excited to go to a part of Italy that neither of us had ever been to- the Amalfi Coast. After the twisting streets of Florence’s old town, we are also excited to leave our driving adventures behind us and put the business of transportation into someone else’s hands: the Italian rail system. We hopped on a slick train at Santa Maria Novella in Florence and had an relaxing and scenic 3 hour ride into Naples. When we got off the train, we walked down the platform and found our driver, Francesco.
Black Sand Beach of Positano
Francesco is a warm and friendly man, who loves to speak with his clients. He calmly navigated Naples, through the interweaving lanes, the reckless and impatient drivers (who like to honk at a red light to remind you that it may turn green at any moment and you better be moving immediately when it does), and the piles of garbage strewn about the city. All the while, he practiced his (very limited) English with us. While his poor English generally made for the type of conversation one has with a third grader (“I like sports, do you?”) some of it made for some great laughs.
Church View Outside our Hotel Room
As we got to know each other, we asked Francesco if he had a girlfriend. He replied with “No, I do not like girls.” Now, being progressive Californians, each of us silently and simultaneously went through our own, nearly identical thought processes, which looked something like this:
Oh, he doesn’t like girls. He’s gay. That’s cool, we haven’t seen many signs of LGBT life out in Europe. I wonder if he has a boyfriend. I’ll ask him. Wait, maybe not a good idea, homosexuality may not be as much of an open topic here as it is at home…
Ravello Gardens Over Cliffs
After these internal monologues went on for a few minutes, Francesco surprised us both by completing his sentence: “I do not like girls… … …they make me cry when they break my heart.” Good thing we kept our mouths shut! Of course what followed in each of our heads was an imagination of the possible reactions he might have had to the question “do you have a boyfriend?” We were happy not to find out.
The rest of the drive along the dramatic Amalfi coast was wonderful. In broken English, Francesco did his best to point out various spots along the road that are important in Greek mythology. For example, he pointed out the Siren Islands (“icelands”, that took a minute for us to figure out), which made an appearance in Homer’s Odyssey.
On Top of the World
We arrived in the little cliffside town of Positano where we stayed in a beautiful hotel called Palazzo Murat, named after Napoleon’s brother-in-law who originally lived there. We walked to the picturesque black sand beach, and explored the town, getting glimpses of what it must have looked like before it became what is now, a beautiful shopping center full of tourists. Yes, Positano is a bit overrun with tourism. It’s a shame to look at all of the old buildings which have been re-purposed for tourist shops (there’s nothing else, only tourist shops and restaurants). However, the charm is still there.
Homemade Wine in Ravello
The second day we headed out to a nearby town by the name of Ravello. In contrast to Positano, which starts at sea level and is built up from there, Ravello starts at the top of a cliff and is built down. The town features two huge villas, one of which we visited The gardens and views were beautiful, and we had a great meal at a family restaurant. As is the culture in Italy, the restaurateurs could not have been friendlier, even giving us each a free glass of wine when we expressed our enjoyment of the bottle (“my father makes this wine!” he said as he poured more into our glasses). One note of warning to would be visitors to Ravello – reserve some time for transportation. While our 2 hours in Ravello were beautiful, the total travel time on the bus (and waiting for transfers, and getting stuck at a roadblock) was about 5 hours, to go about 40km, ouch!) We would like to thank our bus drivers, who showed more poise and skill in driving these huge buses along the tiny cliff-side roads than a Grand Prix racer in Monte Carlo. Not only do these guys navigate deadly cliffs, they patiently work their way around other cars, buses, stray dogs, pedestrians, etc. They even have a secret bus driver honking language which seems to get the job done, even when they are busy chatting with their girlfriends on cell phones.
The rest of the time in Positano was pretty relaxed. We took a boat ride, ate pizza on the beach while tanning, worked on this blog one rainy morning, and had some delicious meals. When the relaxation became a bit too much for us, we headed out on one great excursion – Sentiero degli Dei – “The Path of the Gods”. This is a wondrous and ever-changing walk from Positano to a neighboring town, Praiano. To get to the path, we walked up a series of stair-laden routes up the hill to the cliffs above, over half an hour of up, up, up. At the top of this is another small town (Montepertuso), with Ravello-like views of the ocean and towns below. We walked along the road for another 10 minutes to reach a small staircase down into the town of Nocelle. This town has no road, just a path connecting to it from Montepertuso. We walked down into the village and into its jungle-like corridors, complete with somewhat scary (but unseen) barking dogs. Finally, just outside of the town, we found the Path of the Gods and set out for another 10 km of inspiring cliffside views, some of which were absolutely terrifying. Actually, we had a few scary moments on the trail.
Cliffside Building
At one point, we rounded a corner to see a smiley, beautiful mid sized dog approaching us. After the scary barking dogs of Nocelle, this one just looked pleasant and nice, and didn’t worry us a bit. What did cause some concern, however, was the owner, following behind with a HUGE SHOTGUN strapped to his back. He smiled and accepted our nervous “ciao” with a casual yet friendly glance, and walked on, thankfully without killing us. We suppose he was a hunter, with his dog and gun, but can’t imagine what on earth he could have been hunting up there. Birds would fall thousands of feet below if you shot them, and we couldn’t identify any other game. We’re just happy we’re here to ponder it!
Another scary thing about this hike was the sheer drops of the cliffs. Sometimes the trail simply goes directly along an overhang. If you dare to look down, you actually feel as though you are floating in thin air.
Sophia Overlooking Positano
Finally, we were a bit late to get started, and as we hiked higher and higher into the mountains, we became nervous about getting back before sunset. We won’t lie, we definitely each had some unspoken survival scenarios running through our heads as the temperatures dropped and the light began to fade. Fortunately, after losing the path for 10 minutes, we passed the height of concern when we reunited with the trail and found signs of civilization, landing us safely down to Praiano.
Positano, Amalfi, Nocelle, Praiano… these beautiful seaside towns, enshrouded by the dramatic cliffs above them, are an inspiration to any visitor. Unfortunately the sheer number of inspired visitors is itself an inspiration to trinket vendors and purveyors of tourist restaurants. As is so often the case with places like this, it takes careful navigation (on both rocky paths and through tourist traps) along with a vivid imagination (to see what the places must have looked like before the tourist economy) to properly enjoy the region, but with these tools the Amalfi Coast can be (and was for us) a relaxing and memorable vacation destination.
In Love In Ravello
Well, it sounds like a wonderful ending. Did you take the small boat east along the coast to the private beach, probably down from where you walked above. The boat, as I recall, hung around the Positano Beach and had a large cut out of a mermaid on it for identification.
Great to have you back.
Hi guys – Congrats! Sorry to miss the wedding! It sounds like it was beautiful. Nice to read your post about the Amalfi Coast. Scott and I went there for our honeymoon also. We stayed at the Palazzo Sasso in Ravello for a week and in Capri for the second week. We loved Ravello and the whole area. Sounds like you guys had an amazing time also. Best wishes! Jen