245: capri, italy

Day 13:

Salerno, Italy

{capri} 

Our last destination..Salerno, Italy. I knew from the get go what I wanted to do at this port. The last time we had been to Italy, we ran out of time and had to choose between Pompei and Capri. We chose Pompei, but I always wished we could have seen the Blue Grotto on Capri. This was our day! We took the ferry over to the island of Capri, then had to take another boat over to the Blue Grotto. Once there, we had to get on another little row bow to be  rowed into this tiny hole, carved into the mountain, that took you into the grotto. We had about 5 minutes in the grotto, but it didn't disappoint. The water was a blue color that I'd never seen before. Our rowboat driver sang to us, to make it even more authentic. It was pretty amazing! I can cross that one off my list. It wasn't something you necessarily need to do more than once. It cost a small fortune, with all your boat rides and then a 12 Euro cave entrance fee per person, but it was worth it.

We were one of the first boats to take off for the Blue Grotto, so we had the privilege of towing some of the rowboats. 

 You had to lay completely down in your boat while the driver held on to a chain and pulled you through the tiny cave hole. There was definitely a traffic jam of rowboats, outside and inside. It's got to be a great source of income for someone! 

I only wish I could have captured it perfectly. It was too dark for my flash to work, plus, a flash would have washed it all out.

 

Here's a little video that I captured to give you a small taste of the Blue Grotto.

I wish I could say everything about Capri was wonderful, however, the funicular to the top..Anacapri..was not working, which left crowds of people to use public transportation {taxis were next to impossible to catch}. After sitting in a very HOT line, for what seemed like an hour, we finally got on our bus. It took us to the chairlifts at Monte Solaro. Jim doesn't care for heights, but he trudged through this for me {he's waving behind me in the top picture}. 

Totally out of Jim's comfort zone..he spent most of the ride down on his phone. It made him terribly nervous that I was practically hanging out of my chair to take pictures.

 A random garden we saw on the way up..that's the fanciest scarecrow I ever did see! The Italians..they're all about fashion.

View of the Faragolioni Rocks

This water was insanely beautiful. We didn't bring any towels to go swimming because we didn't think we'd have time, but we had to make time. I had to go in. We found a little tourist shop, bought a towel, and made our way to the very rocky beach.  I had to say I swam in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was lovely!

We did take a taxi down from Anacapri to the dock..it was CRAZY! I think there were only inches separating us from the big orange bus.  Not to mention, the streets are so narrow there really should only be one car allowed. It's all part of the adventure on a small island in Italy.

 Mr. Sandal maker..how I wish we had time for you to make me a pair of custom sandals! So many colors, so many choices..I just didn't have 3 hours. Should have found him first thing, once we got there, but I didn't!

 The sea village of Amalfi, along the Amalfi Coast

Beach space is at a very high premium..I loved the red and yellow umbrellas.