Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast

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  Sorrento, Campania, Italy
Friday, June 27, 2008

Mood: happy but headachy.
 
Ahhhhh how I enjoyed the south of Italy. What a wonderful land full of history, sights and beauty.
 
So I set my base up at Sorrento, one of the cheaper towns (for backpackers anyway) at camping Santa Fontunata, part of the same group as the camp in Rome, but with different qualities. The facilities were pretty dodgy compared to Rome, and it didn't have the same vibe, but they were set on the cape overlooking the coastline along Sorrento, in really nice bushland, with views of the ocean from my cabin window. It was a 10 minute busride away from the township, so it wasn't too far away, and boasts to have its own beach - a lie - it's a flat piece of rock that resembles nothing of a beach, but I guess that's the closest thing in Sorrento that you can get to a beach

Pompeii ruins

. At least you can almost get into the water.
 
The whole Amalfi coast is cliffs, so being able to access the water is quite rare, and most of the bits that are accessible do not have sand and are utilised as ports. It makes a stunning view, but doesn't leave much for swimming and sun-worshipping. I guess that's what the campsite pool is for.
 
I booked a bed in a bed tent, and it was a lot nicer than the one I stayed in at Mykonos. For one, it was actually made out of a tent, not plasterboard. But it was also bigger, taller, and a lot more comfortable. I didn't have to share it either, they seemed to have a lot to go round. The area where the tents are set up is surrounding this small grassy common area, with huge big trees and a tiny little kitchen cabin with 2 fridges, some burners, pots and pans, and heaps of ants. There were also 2 long tables with bench seats, so you could chill out in the shade and eat your dinner and chat to fellow campers. Which is what I did my first night (Tuesday), I chatted to 2 aussie girls who I gave a little bit of grief to because they were from Wangaratta - haha. Made me think of all the grief I would be giving to Jess if I was back home.
 
Wednesday morning I got up bright and early as I wanted to go visit the site of Pompeii and didn't want to deal too much with the flocks of tourists and the heat

Theatre

. I caught the 7.30am bus to get on the 7.55am train to get to the site just as it opened at 8.30am. Man, I should organise tours or something, im that good. Pompeii was pretty incredible, and it was nice having the site to myself, at least for the first hour or so. I hired an audio guide so I could take my time, and started on their recommended 4hr selfguided tour. It was amazing to see buildings from 2000 years ago still standing and still boasting the decorations that they had before Mt Versuvius spilled its guts all over it. Before the eruption it was a port town, but now the sea is 2 km away due to the huge amount of lava flow. I got to see the remnants of houses, shops, theatres and churches. They had also done plaster casts of hollows that they had found when excavating the site, which turned out to be in the shape of people, who had been caught in the pumice and ash and died, with the rock forming around them, and over time, as their bodies disintegrated, left a huge cavity. The casts were so good, you could see the looks of pain and horror on their faces when they died, with their arms held up in front of their faces etc. Incredible. But the most popular thing there by far is the brothel and red light district. One house in particular is always swarming with tourists, as the artwork on the walls of the brothel is incredibly clear. Back when Italy became a nation, and all areas were trying to adopt Italian, the brothels would paint on the walls images depicting the different 'things' the prostitutes could do, so that the men who could not speak the tongue could just point at what they wanted. Needless to say, everyone was intrigued by the images.
 
I ended up getting lost in Pompei, which slightly perplexed me as I don't usually get lost and it was a pretty easy sight to navigate around. By the time I did though, I had already seen most of what I had come there to see and was getting overly frustrated by the huge groups of tourists on their personal guided tours

Pompeii street

. Some groups were over 50 people and they move at the speed of a tyre rolling uphill, it was impossible to overtake and were driving me insane as they took a million photos and videos. Seriously, who is going to sit at home when they get back and want to watch 4 hours of video of Pompei. Idiots.
 
I left the site at 12pm and bought a lemon granita, with real actual lemon juice in it (its like a slurpie, but better - mine had a pip in it so I knew it was real) which cooled me down, and I waited for my train back to Sorrento. My plan for the day had been to see Pompei in the morning, and then catch a bus and spend the avo down in Positano and Amalfi. But by the time I got back to Sorrento I was so disgustingly hot and tired that I decided that I had to have an avo of sightseeing off and I spent the rest of the day swimming and lazing around by the pool.
 
Before I caught the bus back to the campsite though, I went into the supermarket in town and bought some supplies to cook a delicious dinner of risotto with fresh mushrooms, and yogurt and milk for dessert. I also hung out on the communal table and chatted to some American girls from Pennsylvania, which is the same area from where the girls are that I met in my second group from Greek islands. We talked about how many aussies there were out here and the long lengths of time that we travel compared to the Americans and Canadians, and about the Topdeck and Contiki people who were sharing the same campground, and how different they are to backpackers.
 
Thursday I booked a boat tour to the island of Capri, which boasts one of the 7 natural wonders of the world (not confirmed, only what I have been told, but even if its not it should be!!) which is the Blue Grotto, a cave like thing which is only accessible by small rowboat through a tiny opening in the cliff-face, and only when the water is at a certain level

brothel painting

. So timing is everything to get in there. It cost me 10€ for like 5 mins in there, but it was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen. Once you get in there (after lying on the bottom of the boat and ducking your head so you don't get decapitated) its where the mountain goes into the water, about 20m deep, and the light reflects back inside somehow and makes the water glow a brilliant blue colour. It looks so amazing that it could be fake. The guys that row you in also sing to you inside, which echoes through the grotto, and creates an amazing atmosphere. Getting back out is a little more scary than coming in, as you can see the waves crashing through the entrance, and you feel like you are never going to get the right opportunity to get out, or get very wet doing it. But the guys have done it a million times, and so they get you out without too much of a soaking, and no missing limbs. I got lucky and had a good looking young Italian guy as my rower, and I think he took a fancy to me, trying to chat me up, wanting to get photos of us together inside the grotto and telling my captain that he couldn't wait to have dinner with me that night. Hahaha.
 
Although nothing else after that compared to the beauty of the blue grotto, the rest of the island was almost just as spectacular. Although coming down here I was picturing pretty much the same images as Santorini, I was pleasantly surprised by how different it was

brothel painting 2

. It comes as no surprise that this is the getaway for the rich and famous.
 
We got to spend 5 hours on the island, I spent it relaxing on the pebble beach, as it was way too hot to be doing any sort of physical exertion. I also spent some time wandering the town, and found out that lounger hire is like 13€ each - insane as I was paying 2€ on the greek islands! I didn't have much luck in buying any food, I payed 6€ for 2 dirty pieces of watermelon in some overpriced café, and then later on in a different store, ordered what I thought was a 'tropical' granite, which turned out to be a green-coloured icy goo that tasted like mint. Very gross. Luckily I had also made a vegemite focaccia and brought some biscuits with me, so I didn't go hungry. But I was a little disappointed.
 
I enjoyed the times on the boat though, especially because I was intrigued by this American family that was on-board. It was such a typical American family, the father with the big athletic body, the baseball cap, and holding the video camera, the blonde tanned wife in the black summery dress, the 2 young boys who kept punching each other and asking their dad a million questions, and the grandmother and grandfather who spent half their time doting on their grandchildren, half the time taking photos

Outer walls of Pompeii

. I don't know if I was bored, but they were so fascinating. Just by watching I worked out they were here because they were seeing where the dads parents grew up, taking their family on a weeks long vacation, and showing the kids the 'real Italy' - swimming and gelati. They were hilarious, and the dad had such a booming voice. Definite highlight.
 
We got back onto the boat at about 4pm and finished off our loop of the island, before heading back to the mainland. I brought an icecream from the minimart on my way back to camp, and munched on that to cool down, before reheating the rest of my risotto from the night before - I hadn't been able to eat it all the first night. I think it tasted better the second time anyway. I had a shower and went to bed pretty early, I was exhausted from too many early mornings, and I wanted to make another early start in the morning so that I didn't get into Rome too late.
 
So today to get back from Sorrento I had to:
Catch the public bus to the station (10 mins)
Catch the suburban train from Sorrento to Naples (1hr 20mins)
Wait for 1 hr until the next train left
Catch the regional train from Naples to Rome (1hr 30mins)
Catch the metropolitan train from Rome terminal station to Corniella station (25mins)
Catch a bus (after waiting about 40 mins) from the station to the campsite (15mins)
 
That's 5 different pieces of public transport

Capri coastline

. It was exhausting. The bus I had to get onto was packed to the max, it was very amusing but quite uncomfortable. Everyone was pushing so hard to try to get everyone in. I have never been on a bus that full in my entire life. I hope I never am again!!! So you can imagine by the time I got to camping Roma, I was very hot, frustrated and getting a huge headache. I also had to walk up a huge hill to get to my cabin, so I was dripping in sweat when I finally reached it. Thank the lord for the air con, I have it cranked at 16 degrees, and when I get back there better be icicles hanging from the roof or I am going to be very disappointed.
 
So now im back in Rome, chilling out and doing some washing, food shopping etc, before I leave tomorrow for Florence, the home of the statue of David and Italian leather products.
 
Seeing as I have broken the 1 month barrier, I thought I would continue with an updated list of my favourite and less favourite things so far:
 
Favourite place : Munich, Ios
Favourite food: Gyros, crepes, choc covered strawberries from Munich, gelati
What food I miss : lamingtons!!!

Blue Grotto

! Real lollies (they have shit lollies over here)
What I will be investing in when I get back: hammock, $600k super yacht
Favorite things I have done: Paros boat tour, bike ride in the rain, farewell dinner with Kylie and Jackie in Rome, Blue Grotto
Least fav things/places : Athens, mozzies in Venice, internet prices, crazy traffic/drivers
Funniest moment: getting soaked on the ferry on Venice
What I miss: my bed, reliable showers, driving, HAMISH AND ANDY!!!! - man I miss those guys. I have old podcasts on my ipod but I cant listen to them in public cause I crack up laughing and then everyone looks at me funny.
What I want to bring home: siesta!!! My wicked as tan
Favourite thing with me: ipod, vegemite, my short hair, thongs
Best investment while being away: cutlery, beach towel
What I have found to be like home : milk, watermelon
Looking forward to: Morocco, Spain, Africa, Switzerland
Best thing about travel: meeting people
Worst thing about travel : waiting, tiredness, tourists
 
Oh, if you hadn't noticed all the grammar, punctuation and capital letters in this entry, check it out. I wrote it all in word so it looks presentable!!!! Hahaha.
 
And by the way, it was my half birthday last week, and I still have yet to see any presents. If you haven't already, please send them asap. Post around here is crap. And takes forever. So the sooner the better. Thanks.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

me in rowboat	Blue Grotto 2	Blue Grotto 3	Blue Grotto 4
Blue Grotto 6	me and my italian rower	Capri coastline 2	Green Grotto - not as spectacular
Mountains on Capri	Village on Capri	Village on Capri 2	Village on Capri 3
Capri coastline 3	Archway	Arch off a mountain	Capri coastline 4
Farewelling Capri	Sorrento coast

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