Italy Diary - 22 Day Globus Tour - Page 5

June 1999

Day 12 - Friday, July 2, 1999 - Excursion to Capri:

Up around 7 for breakfast in the hotel's dining room - what a beautiful view of the Bay of Naples from here. This hotel does everything well -- flowers on each table - everything is immaculate and tasteful. Breakfast is the usual: croissants, hard rolls, jellies, cereals, sliced boiled ham, cheese, apples, orange juice, coffee, hot chocolate, and bottled water - be careful, some is "gas," some is "no gas" and there's a big difference between the two! At this hotel our group is eating breakfast with other tour groups; in most other hotels where we've stayed the Globus tour group has had our own separate dining room for breakfast. We've assumed that each tour has negotiated a specific breakfast menu and different tours get different choices, some more elaborate than others. Members of our group were always attempting to sneak a peek at another tour's breakfast line to determine if they were getting more or better choices than we were but we were never able to come to a definitive answer. Some days, not all, I would put a hard roll or two with a slice of ham in my back pack for a snack later in the day. And since we always had a small refrigerator in our room, the snack was usually stored there until it was eaten.

Then downstairs and onto a small bus -- our tour bus cannot negotiate the sharp curve down to Sorrento's Piccolo Marina. Once at the Piccolo Marina we board our jet boat and embark for the Isle of Capri. After a 30 minute ride we arrive at the island, and get onto another boat, much smaller, to motor to the area outside the famous Blue Grotto. Here we wait for "negotiations" to be completed -- people have to be paid various fees. At last the small rowboats pull up to the side of our boat and our group is transferred, one by one, onto the small craft. Once full, each rowboat traverses about 500 feet and attempts to enter the Grotto through a very small opening in the rock.

Harold, Margaret, Kathi, and I each get into a small boat and our skipper tells us to lie as flat as possible in the bottom of the boat. We comply and he rows the boat to the mouth of the Blue Grotto - an opening which is only about 3 feet high at its maximum as the ocean waves rise and fall. Timing his move carefully, our skipper grabs onto a chain which is stretched along the top of the opening and runs inside and pulls hard propelling our boat and its passengers through the small opening and inside the cavern. Once inside the cave becomes magical. The Grotto is completely dark inside but the water beneath us glows with an irridescent blue hue. It's as if there were hundreds of giant flood lights below all pointing straight up. We were fortunate today, because there are times when the Blue Grotto is inaccessible due to high tides.

Nero used to visit the Blue Grotto when he had a summer palace on Capri two thousand years ago. After spending a few minutes rowing in a circle around the inside it is time to exit the Grotto through the same (and only) opening through which we entered earlier. So we four passengers lie down again as flat as possible and our skipper once again carefully times his pull on the chain so that we exit the opening with the maximum clearance and suddenly we're back out into the sun. A quick row back to our boat, another transfer from the row boat to the larger boat, and it takes us back to Marina Grande of Capri. Walking a short distance to the funicular, we travel up the side of the mountain and arrive at the town of Capri. Our guide, Pasquale, gives us a walking tour of the little town and eventually takes us to the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Looking down onto the rocks onto which Nero once had slaves thrown, we are amazed at the clear, azure blue water below. What a beautiful view.

After the tour is over Harold, Margaret, Kathi and I have lunch at one of the outdoor restaurants in the town's center. Kathi, of course, has to finish her meal with a dish of gelato. Harold tells a few more of his Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes which we enjoy hearing so much.

Our group reassembles at the appointed time and we descend the mountain on the funicular. Back on our Jet boat for the trip back to Sorrento, Kathi and I decide to sit on the top deck and enjoy the sun. Once underway, a young man circulates selling cold soft drinks at inflated prices. A few minutes later he returns, this time selling large beach bags bearing the name "Capri" stitched on the side. He circles the deck several times without any success attracting buyers. On his third circle of the deck, I remembered that we needed a present for our friend Barbara and motioned for him to come over. I examined his bags and decided they were a good buy so I bought two, one for Barbara and one for Kathi. Other members of our group who were also sitting on the top deck watched me purchase these two bags and hands went up as soon as the young man had finished with me. He then went from one person to another, eventually selling every one of his bags and had to go below to get more. He probably sold a total of twenty to twenty five bags on the top deck as a result of me purchasing the first two.

Chick, one of our friends in the tour group from Brooklyn, told the young man that he should give me a "commission" for instigating all of his sales. The young man came over to me and asked if I'd like an Expresso as my "commission" and I said, "Yes." He went below and returned with a small cup and presented it to me as a gift. I said, "Thanks" and gave it to Kathi. Everyone on the tour laughed about "my commission" and all the sales that had resulted from that initial purchase.

Back in Sorrento, we returned to our hotel. Kathi wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon getting some sun at the pool. I decided to accompany her and we eventually found two chaise lounge deck chairs - Kathi's in the sun and mine in the shade. I had my sunglasses on and I relaxed and observed the others around the pool. It didn't take too long for me to notice several ladies sans top. I had never realized that soaking up the shade around the pool could be so much fun. After an hour or two of sunning herself, Kathi decides to go in. We stand up to collect our belongings and I notice one of our friends from the tour group in one of the second story windows starring intently toward the pool area. I wave to him but can't attract his attention he is gazing so intently at people around the pool. Finally he sees me and embarrassed, takes off his glasses and makes an exaggerated motion of blowing and cleaning them. Kathi and I laugh and we return to our room.

After showers and dressing, Kathi and I decide to walk down the hill to the village of Sorrento and find a nice restaurant for dinner. Since the Italians normally eat dinner between 8 and 9:30 PM, we usually don't have any trouble finding a table at 7:00 PM. Locating L'Antica Trattoria on Via Giuliani, 33, a restaurant that someone in our group has recommended, we go inside and discover Peter and his wife Lainie at a table there. They ask if we'd like to eat with them and we readily agree. Peter and Lainie are such an interesting couple - they're from Phoenix, and we both enjoy Peter's sense of humor. We had a table outside under a grape trellis, lots of beautiful flowers and plants and classical music playing in the background. Dinner is delicious and the conversation is delightful. The dessert was Chocolate Tartufo - scrumptious! A wonderful evening. Later, after dinner, we four walk around the town center. Sorrento has many little shops lining back streets and is crowded with pedestrians strolling in the cool night air. Around 10 PM, the four of us get a Mercedes taxi cab to take us back to our hotel and then join Harold and Margaret on the terrace for some dancing. Another memorable day.

Day 13 - Saturday - July 3, 1999 - Excursion down the Amalfi coast to Paestum:

Up early and to breakfast in the Sorrento Palace's beautiful dining room with that wonderful view overlooking the Bay of Naples. We set the clock to get up early to see part of the group off to the airport, since today is the official end of the Globus tour - about 12 of us have purchased the 5 day extension in Sorrento and will therefore be staying behind. All along, this has been a very congenial crowd and we've all hit it off well. After breakfast we go downstairs to the tour bus to officially say goodbye to our friends. The ones leaving for home form a sort of receiving line to dispense goodbye hugs and congratulations on our engagement. Kathi and I are sorry to see them leave.

So now that our tour is over, and for the first time essentially alone, Kathi and I head off for a private "adventure." We walk about a mile down to Sorrento's bus station and purchase tickets from Sorrento to Amalfi (one way the fare is about 3,000 Lire - about $1.50). This is a one and a half hour ride along the Amalfi Coast: one of the most beautiful - and hair-raising -- drives in the world. No one told me, and I didn't stop to think, that since our ride would be south, the best seats would be on the right hand side of the bus. So, without thinking, we choose seats on the left side. Poor choice. Our driver really knows what he is doing. In some spots, there is no more than a 6 inch distance between the bus and the buildings on the side of the drive. At one point, our bus meets another blue SITA bus just coming out of a hair-pin curve. There is not enough room to pass, so our driver backs our bus about a half a block down the Amalfi drive - and doesn't even break a sweat. Shortly before arriving in the town of Amalfi, two small children sitting in front of us become ill from the extreme motion of the bus.

Fortunately for us, we will change to another bus in the coast town of Amalfi. With about 40 minutes to kill, Kathi has a gelato (es veramente!) and we walk over to the piazza. On the way back to the bus station, we are motioned over to a (clean) restroom by an old Italian sitting under an umbrella in front of a tearoom. The usual bathroom gratuity is given (about 500 Lire or 25 cents per person). The exchange rate during this trip, by the way, is very favorable to the dollar - around 1880 to 1900 Lire to the dollar.

We leave shortly after noon for Salerno, about an hour's drive south of Amalfi. In Salerno, we walked to a local bus station and found a little bus headed for Paestum, our ultimate goal. We are the only ones on the S.C.A..T. bus who speak English, the rest being simple country folk. In addition to the driver, there is a ticket taker on this bus who speaks not a word of English. Using the Italian I had learned in my Conversational Italian class, I am able to make him understand that our destination is Paestum and he is able to make me understand that he will tell us when to get off. Just before we exit the bus, I am able to ask him in my broken Italian, "What time will you return?" and understood him when he answers, "4:30." We have less than 2 hours to explore the ruins at Paestum.

The ruins at Paestum, we suspect, are seldom visited by the average American tourist. For one thing, this area is far off the beaten track and is in a rather remote location. Also, most tours that do get this far south in Italy concentrate on the more famous ruins at Pompeii.

Here in Paestum, there are three intact Greek temples in excellent condition. Kathi and I walk about a half mile from the bus stop to the first of the three temples and I begin my photography. For most of the time while we are here, we have the site almost to ourselves. We walk through the ruins of the ancient town, one of whose temples is a shrine to Poseidon. The inhabitants died long ago, victims of malaria.

After exploring the ruins at Paestum, Kathi and I quickly return to the crossroad where the bus is scheduled to return at 4:30. There is just no traffic in sight - I certainly hope I understood the ticket taker's Italian. Otherwise, Kathi and I will have substantial difficulty in getting back to our hotel in Sorrento. At precisely 4:30 PM, the small bus appears in the distance. The bus stops for us and we have a pleasant ride back through the countryside and on to Salerno. Once in Salerno, we once again wait for another bus which takes us back to the town of Amalfi where we again switch to yet another bus which returns us to Sorrento. We are back in Sorrento at 10:05 PM exhausted but fit enough to walk the two miles back up the hill to our hotel.