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Published: October 16th 2013
We bid Sorrento a fond farewell, and vowed to return someday, as the song says... We realized a few days ago that there was no way we were going to be able to make the transfer between Sorrento and our next destination, Praiano, on the other side of the peninsula on public transportation, not with all our luggage and accumulated odds and ends. So we hired a pricey driver for the 45 minute drive, but in the end he was worth every Euro. From the minute Maurizio loaded our numerous bags into his van, he was friendly and knowledgeable, pointing out sights, imparting historical, cultural, architectural, geological tidbits, to improve our understanding of this area, all while negotiating the road with amazing grace!
Once on the Amalfi Coast Drive, he stopped at an overlook, so we could properly appreciate the beautiful views and take some pictures (and so we could catch our breath from the wild traffic). Soon we pulled into the little driveway at Pellegrino Pensione and set to unloading our bags and checking in. Suddenly there was a panicked call from Dave, who was out by the van: "Do either of you have my camera?" And thus began
Breakfast with a View!
Where we started each day in Sorrentoan hour or so of sheer anxiety, looming depression and great mystery...
While unloading luggage from the van, Dave realized his camera wasn't in the case on his belt. He'd had it a mere 10 minutes earlier while shooting photos at the viewpoint we'd stopped at. Maurizio could swear it was in Dave's hands when he re-entered the van to be on our way. We all set about searching every nook and cranny of the van and all our bags. Then we did it again. We searched the ground around and under the van. Marizio kept acknowledging that the awful thing wasn't loosing the camera, but all the trip memories contained in the photos, and we could only nod dumbly in agreement. Finally, we came up with the unlikely theory that maybe when trying to slip the camera back into the case on his belt, Dave's hand had missed, and the camera had slid out of the open door of the van and landed on the pavement at the viewpoint. But wouldn't Maurizio have noticed as he closed the van door for Dave? Still, we had to go back to the overlook, or forever wonder. Maurizio agreed, and graciously
Rooftop Pool Area, Hotel Minerva
Which we were too busy to ever take advantage of! drove us back.
The 10 or so minutes back to the viewpoint seemed interminable, especially with the crazy traffic to be fought the whole way. Dave was despondent. Sharon was taking deep breaths, trying to stay calm. Sandy was back at the pensione, going through all the open grocery and souvenir bags once again, in case the camera had somehow dropped into one of them. Of course, there was nothing at the viewpoint. The fruit vendor there had not seen anything from his stand, but helped us search the van once again. "It's got to be in the van" was repeated over and over in English and Italian. A fellow driver Maurizio had seen earlier at the overlook was phoned--had he seen anything on the ground after we'd pulled out? No, nothing. The drive back to the pensione seemed even longer than on the way out, Dave berating himself for his carelessness the entire way.
Back in the driveway, we went over the van once more, Luigi, the owner of the pensione joining us this time. And then suddenly, while standing on the driver's side of the van, searching the floor, I happened to look up through the
open sliding door across the van out the opposite open door to the shrub next to which the van was parked--and I saw it! The camera was hanging by its wrist strap from one of the branches and dangling almost invisibly amongst the leaves!! How could we ever have imagined this scenario?!! We eventually figured out that as Dave walked by that bush, with hands full of luggage, the camera strap caught on a branch and was pulled out of the holder. UNbelievable!!
With much relief we bade Maurizio goodbye (and tipped him well, you can be sure), then headed up to the pensione's rooftop restaurant for our much needed "welcome drink" from Luigi--which turned into a "welcome snack" of hearty bruschetta, followed by incredible tiramisu! We dragged ourselves away in order to head over to Positano under increasingly cloudy skies. We knew that rain was predicted for the next couple of days, so wanted to get some of our sightseeing done before it arrived. Armed with a restaurant suggestion from Luigi, we took the shuttle bus to Positano and found ourselves in yet another tourist filled town. Despite the late afternoon hour and so-so weather, the streets were
full. We negotiated the streets down to the beach and also checked out the Duomo, before stopping for a drink at a beach bar to pass some time, since it was too early for dinner by Italian standards. Eventually we walked up one of the hills to a less tourist filled area of town, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Ristorante da Vincenzo. The icing on the cake was that Luigi sent his sister and pensione co-owner, Angela, to pick us up after dinner, since we'd missed the last bus for hours. We ended the day feeling so grateful for the generosity and kindness of the people of southern Italy.
Dave: GOOD THING--Finding the camera I thought I'd lost. BAD THING--Thinking I'd lost said camera and hundreds of trip memories.
Sharon: GOOD THING--Spotting Dave's camera dangling in the bushes. BAD THING--Crowds in Positano and the heavy traffic everywhere, including on the road outside our room at the pensione.
Sandy: GOOD THING--Our friendly and knowledgeable driver who gave us so much info about the area during our ride to Praiano. BAD THING--The almost lost camera.
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