We’ve established a routine, where we have a light breakfast at the apartment before heading out. This is usually followed by a stop at a coffee bar along the way, where Jon launches into full “Spanglish” (his mix of Spanish and English…I’m still not sure why), made worse by me trying to recover the situation with my very poor Italian. Neither approach seemed to work, but as always, neither of us is willing to concede that our method might be flawed. The girls, however, seem to be enjoying the experience.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve chosen not to hire a car, mainly because it seems far more practical to visit the key coastal areas by sea. The port is about a 20-minute walk from the apartment, and we booked our ferry tickets online to avoid any queues, especially since my timekeeping has never been one of my strong points.
We boarded the passenger ferry at 9:30 am. With a capacity of 120 passengers, it wasn’t particularly busy, and since we were among the first to board, we headed for the top deck and found seats comfortably at the front of the seating area. The sea was calm, and the coastline provided plenty of interest during the hour it took to reach Amalfi, our first stop to drop off and pick up passengers.
Amalfi is spread across opposing mountains and serves as a key hub for tourists looking to explore the region. Soon enough, we were on our way again. It’s always appealing to see these colourful Mediterranean houses with their terracotta roofs huddled together, often with barely visible roads carved into the mountains. What’s especially interesting are the small and large buildings that appear completely marooned, with no obvious access to road or sea.
Another 45 minutes later, we arrived in Positano, a dramatic, pastel-coloured village clinging to a steep cliff face. It’s a busy tourist destination, but as you wind up through the stair-laden streets, the crowds seem to thin out. Eventually, you spill onto narrow lanes filled with charming boutiques and small restaurants.
We spent the day wandering, topped off with a great lunch recommendation. The restaurant, Buca di Bacco, didn’t have the best reviews online, but the locals clearly knew better.
The next morning, after the usual coffee ritual, we returned to the ferry port, once again heading in the same direction. This time we travelled beyond Positano and around the Sorrentine Peninsula to Sorrento, where the larger townhouses appear more evenly laid out along the sheer cliff face. Sorrento sits in the Bay of Naples, with Capri visible in the distance.
The town itself didn’t have quite the same charm as Positano, but we stopped for a long lunch at a restaurant with truly impressive views across the bay. Afterward, as we’ve done throughout this trip, we were content to amble around and take in what the town had to offer before heading back to Salerno.
Feeling the need for a slightly more relaxed day, we once again boarded a ferry, this time to the village of Maiori, 30 minutes away, for a day on the beach. We chose Maiori knowing that after dinner, we had tickets booked for that evening to see a violin virtuoso performing with her ensemble, in the beautiful Chiesa di San Giorgio. We had all been looking forward to it, and it did not disappoint.
On our last day, Jon and Jo took an early ferry to visit Capri. Rachel and I, on the other hand, discovered that a local train strike had been scheduled for the day of our onward travel. This meant we needed to find and book an alternative route. Hey ho.
Dream Chasers 