Stumbling Upon Lively Positano’s Spiaggia del Fornillo

My 24-hour SITA bus pass was set to expire at 10:41am, so I got up for breakfast earlier than usual this morning. Tim and Tony had already eaten by the time I arrived, but another new couple came on the breakfast terrace just as I was leaving. I ended up seeing them as I was waiting for the bus on the way to Amalfi. Although the bus was late, I didn’t need to be anywhere particular at a certain time, so I didn’t mind. Crowded to almost full capacity, the Ravello-Amalfi SITA bus is popular with both locals and tourists alike. I stood the entire trip and learned the art of holding on during the weaving and sometimes bumpy bus ride. I really didn’t have a particular plan for today, but thought that I would visit the first town (coming from West to East) on the Amalfi coast.
I bought a roundtrip ticket on the TravelMar ferry from Amalfi to Positano. The ferry ride took less than 30 minutes and it was the most picturesque ferry ride I have ever been on. I must have taken 50 pictures on that ride alone, but the pictures definitely don’t capture the indescribable beauty of the endlessly spectacular coastline. I am learning that many of these villages are made up of the same key characteristics: a main piazza complete with a duomo, endless beaches full of colorful umbrellas and beach chairs, marina-front restaurants, back alley shops and eateries, and countless boats (and in some cases, yachts) docked just off the shore. As the ferry pulled into Positano, I did notice that the cliff side buildings were a little more colorful than some of the other villages. Other than that, Positano had all of the other staples to make it truly an Amalfi Coast town.
Of course, my first stop was at the Duomo. The exterior of Positano’s duomo is nondescript and basic compared to Amalfi’s Duomo. The interior, done in Baroque style, was more basic than most European Baroque churches. The tour and short prayer didn’t take long, so I kept on walking up the main street as it winded closer to the top. While visiting these coastal towns, I’ve found it helpful to visit the information/tourist center as soon as I get there to get a map of the village. I couldn’t find the one in Positano, so I really had no idea where I was going. The trail I was on did have a handful of tourists walking back towards me, so I figured there must be something interesting at its end. As the hill continued to elevate, the views continued to improve. Then, the trail began to decline and I started to see posted signs pointing me in the direction of Spiaggia del Fornilla. I followed the arrows until the smaller, more laid back, and definitely less touristy beach came into view. I tried to use the Internet Point that I found at the first beach restaurant/bar, but was unsuccessful. So I headed further down the beach, until Guido (I kid you not, that was his real name) asked me if I wanted to rent an umbrella and chair at this bar called da Ferdinando Bar Bagni. Ten euros later I had my own beach chair, umbrella, and beach towel for as long as I wanted that day.
For lunch, he brought down a margherita pizza and a strawberry daiquiri. Basically, I had a really lazy day today, but it was very relaxing. I almost finished reading my book, slept alittle (of course), and just enjoyed more people-watching. Although there were a few groups of foreigners here and there, for the most part there were a lot of local Italians as well. According to Guilio at La Limonaia, August is the most popular month for Italians to take their vacations on the coast for the summer. I made sure to give myself enough time to walk back to the marina, this time via the other more direct route, and caught the TravelMar return ferry to Amalfi. It was almost 10p and nearing dinnertime, so I walked over to Atrani and found Le Palme Restaurant (which Claudio recommended). Coincidentally, the couple, who I saw at breakfast this morning, just sat down to eat as well. They invited me to join them for dinner. John and Patty are from Salem, Oregon (I think I remembered that correctly), big-time scuba divers, and both work as grant researchers at Western Oregon University. They have been on the Amalfi Coast for the past two weeks, primarily for Patty’s 21-year old daughter’s wedding. Cute story…her daughter and her now son-in-law met here in Italy while her daughter was studying and working abroad. The son-in-law is just finishing up college in Italy and once finished, they will both move back to Oregon so that she can finish university. John and Patty told me all about the big authentic Italian wedding, and it sounded just like I would picture an Italian wedding to be. At the end of dinner, John and Patty walked down to Amalfi for gelato, and I walked back up to Ravello for a good night’s sleep.

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