I caught an early bus from San Guistino to Arezzo and then a train to Rome and another train to Salerno. Let me take a moment to make a suggestion to people with children under the age of 8. It may sound romantic and fun to travel Europe with your kids. It won’t be. For you or for them. Traveling in Europe involves long train rides with nothing much to do except run up and down the aisles, sing songs really loudly and climb into seats that are not yours. And the kids really get in the way of the rest of us trying to do these things… I felt bad for the young family on my train to Rome. Obviously the kid was sick of being told to be still and be quiet…and really is it fair to ask a 5 year old to be still and quiet for 3 hours? And the parents were frustrated and embarrassed because their darling 5 year old wouldn’t be still and quiet. It’s just a bad situation all around. Don’t do it. Go to Disneyland on vacation. OK. Rant over. I made it to Salerno, where my guidebook told me you just cross the street and step onto one of the many buses running up the Amalfi coast. Interestingly (or should I say predictably)…it didn’t quite work out like that.
After investigating the 3 different types of bus stops around the train station I figured out which ones had the buses that ran up the coast. And also found out that contrary to the guide book you had to buy a ticket in the office (not once you boarded the train). AND, I managed to hit the one time during the day when a bus doesn’t show up every 25 minutes. AND it was hot. AND really sunny. AND I hadn’t technically “eaten” all day. Needless to say I was a joyful (read: grumpy)traveler. But the bus did come (an hour and fifteen minutes later) and it was blessedly air-conditioned. And we started the life-flashing-before-your-eyes-at-every-moment drive up the coast. All of the towns on the Amalfi coast are basically carved into the side of a cliff. (I’m not sure whose idea this was or how they managed to pull it off but it makes for some really beautiful towns…and some really steep, winding, narrow roads.) These roads were not designed for buses. I don’t think some of these roads were really even designed for scooter travel…but they drive buses on them nonetheless. The roads are so narrow that they actually have traffic guards who at certain points will stop traffic completely in one direction because the turns are too tight for two cars to get around…ai! Honestly I am amazed so many cars on the coast still have their side-mirrors. But the view is fantastic. You know that swoopy light-on-your-feet feeling you get when you see the ocean for the first time in a long time…I definitely had that going on. The little sly smile that creeps onto your face when you look out and see the sparkling blue water all the way out to the horizon. The natural relaxing of your shoulders and softening in your chest…yea, I had that going on. And I must comment here on the water. It Is Blue. A kind of blue that I haven’t quite seen before…not the aqua-blue of the Caribbean, not the gray-blue of California…just really purely and completely gorgeously blue. Wow.
When I could tear my eyes away from the ocean I was also amazed at the lemon orchards. First of all that people would think to carve houses into a cliff…. but then to actually carve out land to grow things…amazing! The lemon orchards are on these giant steps (probably each 6 feet high and 4 feet deep). There can’t be much soil to support root structure so they build these intricate wooden cages around the trees to support more branches…and the number of lemons and the size of the lemons…it takes your breath away. They look like bunches of yellow grapes until you get close and realize each grape is slightly larger than a softball…wow. So, the bus stops in Amalfi and everyone gets off. But I am supposed to go on to Positano…oops, guide bookforgot the mention you may have to switch buses. Finally I ask one of the bus drivers standing around smoking… “Scusi, quale autobus per Positano??” He points to the bus I am standing next to “Questa, con me.” I should take that bus there! With him! He indicated with a huge smile. Ahh... relief, I am almost there. Another side note here: I have noticedt hat the Italian people are extremely helpful and patient whenever I have needed assistance. (I actually had a woman once walk me over to the platform where I was supposed to go). It must be tiring to them to be constantly assaulted in the summer months with hoards of helplessly lost and clueless tourists. But if you just ask them “Does this train go to Rome?”“Should I get off here?” “Am I the stupidest American you’ve ever met?” They almost always give you a big smile and as much help as they can… how pleasant. I hope that I can return the favor if I ever see someone struggling in a new place.
I had arrived. 9 hours after starting out. Tired, hot, hungry and exhilarated to my hostel in Positano. Here is the amazing part of traveling on your own…you just make friends with everyone. I had a fantastic chat with a guy named Justin (from LA, who wants to get into yoga more) on the train to Rome. I commiserated and compared strategies with a group of 4 from Houston while waiting for/trying to figure out the bus situation in Salerno. As soon as I had settled into the hostel Susie from Hungary asked if I’d like to join her and 2 of the other guys form the hostel for dinner. How fantastic. And these people all give you great tips… Venice is a must see, don’t bother trying to see the Mona Lisa in the Lourve, the way to the beach is down there…crucial stuff. So I headed out to dinner with Susie, Ravi and Lon. Had margarita pizza and salad…it was really quite good. And of course, the view from the restaurant was fantastic. Then I found out that this happens to be apart of Positano’s summer arts festival. And this week was the celebration of music…so there was free music every night down on the beach. We trekked down and down and down… and got there to see some of the“traditional” Mediterranean music. I must to say I had never seen a tambourine solo before…and it was quite spectacular. Also had a glass of Limocello, a lemon liqueur the area is known for. Remember those gigantic lemons?? And then we had to climb back up and up and up to the hostel. A lot of hills and a lot of steps in Positano. Whew…but we made it up just before our midnight curfew and all was well. The hostel really was rather clean and the staff very nice…but it was small. No where to put your stuff, hardly enough room to turn around in the shower…I guess that is what you expect when you pay 22 euro a night…and honestly I was so exhausted that I managed to sleep just fine on my itty bitty bed. Well, I think that is a long enough post for now. I will post again very soon with the rest of my time in Positano: a day trip to Capri, more new friends, fantastic food, stairs…Hope everyone is doing well,
Love and Blessings,
KNL
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