When I was little and thought of Italy, I thought of Rome, the Pope, wine and a boot. Never did I imagine what beautiful scenery we had in store for us that morning. We disembarked the cruise ship like wandering cattle and finally found our bus. The ride to coast was uneventful but gorgeous. Our tour guide was wonderful and spoke with such a calm, melodic voice.
We drove from Naples to the gorgeous Amalfi Coast to get to Positano and Sorrento. The wide road began to narrow and suddenly there were steep cliffs clashing with the ocean waters below. Random gates that seem to lead to nothing but a drop-off signaled dwellings of olive farmers. The road narrowed more and more and switch-backs carried us through. The original road was built for mules and therefore intense construction commenced and literally a bridge-like road was built to carry cars and small buses over the arduous mountainside.
Everything was going smoothly until we got into Positano. The town is built on a steep, steep mountainside and houses are built on top of one another and everything goes straight down. The turns in the road went from semi-generous turns to hairpin 180 degree turns. Our bus driver took the first hairpin and it was too tight so he had to back up but he stalled the bus and we rolled up to the guardrail saving us from a catastrophic nose dive down -- PHEW! My heart began beating crazily and Mike looked back at me, validating my fears. The driver successfully backed up and continued on until the next hairpin and AGAIN stalled the bus, rolled forward to the guardrail, brakes screeched -- UGH!! The bus driver stalled the bus three times in total and we were happy to get off the bus to see Positano.
Positano is breathtaking. Gorgeous Mediterranean homes with open wood shutters, curtains flowing in the sea air and flower boxes colorfully painting the town. We enjoyed some wine and juice on a rooftop restaurant -- it was gorgeous and friendly. But our time was short and we, reluctantly, boarded the bus.
From Positano we (successfully) back-tracked and stopped in Sorrento. In Sorrento we visited the famous woodcarving shop. The work of the carvers is painstaking yet yields amazing masterpieces. It was a neat experience. We got to walk around and shop and, of course, have more wine and gelato. Hannah and Mason both got beautiful music boxes. On the way back to the bus I discovered a hidden castle. It was below the bridge that we were standing on. It was covered in vines, had a small river next to it and a small bridge, oh how I wish I could know it's story. It was super cool and mysterious.
From Sorrento we took a very short bus ride to a hotel for wine and lunch. The hotel seemed pretty posh and spectacular from the outside with gorgeous trails, bridges and greenery. We walked through the hotel out onto the veranda where there were preset tables and chairs. To our hearts delight the veranda was set on top of a steep, tall cliff with a million dollar view of Sorrento and the ocean. Below the cliffs were a manmade islands where the people were lounging, swimming and snorkeling in the crystal water. I have seen some pretty spectacular places but this was, by far, the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
We enjoyed our lunch with, seriously, a million dollar view, judging by the yachts tendered below and with full bellies we loaded the bus to head to Pompeii. The ride was long but the peak of Mount Vesuvius held our attention.
Finally, we were at Pompeii. Pompeii was a flourishing town that was completely covered by ash and pumice due to the colossal eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The ash and pumice preserved the town and the, almost-instant, death of the Ancient Roman inhabitants.
It was an odd feeling -- walking through the houses, brothels, bars, saunas and streets. They felt full of sadness and emptiness. The archeologists learned to penetrate the ash/pumice with plaster to fill the spaces of what was once a body and when it was dried they could dig around it. We saw a man with his hands around his face, a three year old child and a dog that was apparently chained up, unable to escape death. Another humbling experience.
Our day was long and full of beauty and wonder. We got back and slowly loaded the ship. Looking forward to another night's sleep. Our ship is headed to Barcelona, Spain and it will take more than 24 hours to get there and we are looking forward to a "down day".
As always, to be continued....
Pompeii...
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