Enjoying the views...and the boys!

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We woke up to a rather cool, brisk morning. Our hostess, Tiziana, had breakfast served to us on our balcony, allowing us to take in the early-morning view of Positano freshly lit by the morning light. Chonsa and I ate breakfast first, while Liliana stayed asleep until later.

We were supposed to go to Capri today on a boat tour with a group called Cassiopea, but I asked Tiziana to call them to ask if the tour was still on. On Saturday afternoon, I had spoken to Roberto, one of Cassiopea’s owners and he had told me that the weather forecast predicted high winds, which meant there was a strong likelihood that we would not be able to go to Capri. As it turned out, he was right. While it is relatively calm in Positano, the winds and waves are higher around the exposed island of Capri. Only one of the hydrofoil boats operated on Sunday because of the weather conditions.

Because the boat tour was cancelled, we ambled into town later in the morning, getting to the marina at around 11:30. There I spoke with Roberto again, and he said that while Capri wasn’t possible, we could possibly do a tour along the Amalfi Coast in the direction of Naples, going around a couple of small, privately-owned islands and then have lunch in a small fishing village. I asked the girls what they wanted to do, and they were up for going on the boat, even though the sky was slightly overcast. (Later, our captain remarked that only people from Hawaii, who are used to the sea would consider going out on an overcast day like that -- but we were all happy we did it!)

So while we got a coffee in a beachfront bar, Roberto had the rubber boat prepared and then we were off! It was actually pretty perfect. Even though the sky was overcast when we started, it cleared up during our three-hour trip. And “choppy” in the Bay of Naples does not even begin to compare to the choppiness of the Pacific -- it felt pretty calm to all of us!

The coastline North of Positano is very rugged and beautiful, with only a few fishing villages along the way. A large part of the coastal waters are part of a protected marine reserve, so most of the fishing villages are used as gathering places for people who want to sunbathe after hiking down the steep cliffs leading to the beaches.

We stopped at the private islands so that the girls could snorkel. They jumped right into the water, gasping with the cold, and then paddled around for about 15 minutes before their skin became numb and they were ready to get out.

Then we stopped at a beautiful cave along the coast. Stefano told the girls to jump in the water again and swim into the cave. They did so and said that it was fabulous. This cave gives a similar effect to that of the famous Grotto Blue in Naples, where the light coming from the low arch of the cave illuminates the water to a bright, clear blue. The girls stayed in the cave for about ten minutes before coming out to the boat again.

Our next stop was lunch. Our boat pulled up to a little dock and a waiter helped us onto the dock and led us to a beautiful table at the corner of the lanai. The restaurant was full of locals, and it featured some delicious foods. We ate some amazing friend “fiori di zucca” (zucchini flowers) and then had pasta. It was very satisfying.

Afterwards we zoomed back to Positano, with the wind at our backs to push us along.

When we pulled into the harbor, our captain, Stefano, said to the girls “And now you will meet my nephews.” These are two 16-year old cousins who work for the family business. And guess what? They were nice boys and the girls liked them! Francesco even speaks English pretty well, which made it much easier for Chonsa to communicate.

The girls stayed on the beach helping the boys for the rest of the afternoon. They met me back at the hotel at 7:15 and asked if they could meet the boys for dinner. I agreed, so we went our separate ways for dinner. I ate at a nice little restaurant in the busy marina, and the girls had a picnic on the beach with the boys. They came back home punctually at 11:30 and we all went to bed. They said they had a great time and were looking forward to seeing the boys again today.

Now it’s 8:10 am on Monday morning, and we have another boat tour of the Amalfi Coast, this time heading towards Sorrento. As Roberto said, the tour from yesterday featured more wild/primitive landscapes, while the tour today will have more towns.

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Comments

[Donna]

What fun!
Beautiful pictures. Brought some my joy to my heart. Aloha!