Friday, 10 April 2015

One good turn deserves another


Both of us above Positano 

Today we traveled from Sorrento to Positano and Amalfi on the spectacular Costiera Amalfitana thankfully with Pepe driving. A very narrow road, on a small bus, on the edge of cliffs, with Italian drivers - now there is something to get the heart racing. NO way that I would drive that road - yes I do have great respect for the engineers who built the road and even more respect for Pepe and his band of other merry bus drivers who battle tourists and each other to get from point A to B. If there is a spare 5mm on each side of the bus then there is plenty of room. Given that the bus actually takes up the entire road going around some of the hairpin corners the warning horn on the approach is vital - unfortunately some tourists don't know the system and then have to try to reverse out of the road of the bus. 
Santa Maria Assunta Church Positano
from the beach
Once we got past the fear of plummeting into the Tyrrhenian Sea 200 metres below the scenery was just awesome. 

The water was crystal clear and that amazing aqua colour you hear about. A stop overlooking Positano was the first opportunity to get out and see the sights before we made our way to Positano itself. After marveling at the what appeared to be DIY electricity wiring on the buildings we investigated the black rocky beach - not exactly the white sand of Queensland and surprisingly the water was not absolutely freezing. Not warm enough to entice us in however.
Fiordo di Furore on the Amalfi Coast

On to Amalfi and the chance to get on the water to see the coast line from a boat. Got to have a look at Villa Amalfi - Sophia Loren's house which apparently has its very own Funiculare (we know what that is now). From the water you could really see the stepped houses that hug the cliffs. How they are built there defies logic and the persistence of people over hundreds of years to live and build on these rocky cliffs is amazing. I'm sure the fishermen from a hundred years ago would be astounded at the tourists flocking from around the world to visit their little patch of paradise.

Stepped houses of Amalfi from the water
The devotion to Mary in this part of Italy is quite amazing with the grottos in all sorts of nooks and amazing churches. How people managed to get the materials to build these ornate buildings is astounding.

We resisted the temptation to stay at the Hotel Il San Pietro di Positano for 1000 Euros a night and instead headed back to Casa Consy in Sorrento. Tomorrow we head to Florence (it is just amazing to type that) for a few days after a visit to Pompeii. In Florence we will have the chance to get to Pisa and Assisi.

It has been an amazing couple of days on the Amalfi Coast and special thanks to Bianca for convincing us to have time here!

love S and E.xxx

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