Today was the Amalfi Coast by sea. We chartered a beautiful Itama 38 name "Gaga" with a local skipper, Alfonzo. The boat is an Italian classic with plenty of room for a family and capable of getting us anywhere we wanted to go. We hopped on at the pier in our local town, Praiano, and headed toward the island of Capri.
On the way, Alfonzo showed us a few local sights including our first stop, the island of Gallo Longo. It is best known for once being owned by Russian ballet star Rudolf Nureyev, who spent the last years of his life there. Also, according to legend it was Homer's inspiration for the island of the Sirens where Odysseus was waylaid for a while in the Odyssey. It is one of three small islands grouped closely together and jutting out of the Mediterranean that guard a chunk of blue water that is only 40-50 feet deep compared to the rest of the area's 200-1000 feet of depth. We all swam for a while off the boat and then saddled up and headed off.
Our next stop was a sea-side cave on the island of Capri with a giant heart naturally etched into the rock. After briefly exploring the shallow cave by boat, we floated off shore and swam off the boat again. The water here is blue, clear and about 80 degrees so more or less perfect. However, the warm water is a layer about 20-30 feet deep sitting on top of a thermocline, so everytime I put on the mask and fins for a little recreational freediving, I didn't make it very far into the layer of water that was closer to 65-70 degrees. Brrr! But the girls thought the water on the surface was pretty great!
Back on the boat, we ducked into another incredible cave. Here the water glowed bright turquoise, and in one spot there was a tunnel where you could see through to the other side (of course I wanted so badly to jump off the boat and swim through it!).
We lost count of all the remarkable caves we saw along the waterline in the Amalfi Coast but there were dozens and everything about the rocks and natural landscape was stunning.
Eventually we got off the boat on the island of Capri. We had lunch at a local seafood restaurant that had piles of lobsters of all sorts, clams, oysters and fish.
Like yesterday, the girls fell in love with some of the calico and tiger-striped feline residents. The calico one they named "S'more".
And then we climbed about 1000 steps (maybe only 200 but everyone was winded by the time we got to the top), hopped in a taxi, and rode over to the main town of Capri. The view was stunning but the crowds were pretty thick.
Capri is very nice, and particularly great for high-end shopping and being seen if that is your thing. We appreciated the beauty of the town but had our fill after about an hour.We did manage to get a few critical items though like photos, balsamic vinegar and a new bathing suit for me!
Once back on the boat, we cruised around the other side of Capri where there were incredible rock formations and more caves, while we sipped on Presecco and Fanta.
And then we cruised back along the coast toward home. The girls were tired and content and eventually dozed off on the chaise lounge on the back of the boat.
Rather than going all the way back home, we asked to be dropped off one town closer, Positano. We were there two days earlier, we all loved it and April had asked to go back. So we said goodbye to Alfonzo and Gaga, the girls swam at the beach, Laura shopped for some supplies and we had a quick dinner in town. Then we called our trusted water taxi driver, Renato, to take us the final short distance back to our villa.
Yet another incredible day on the Amalfi Coast.
Matt, Laura, April & Fiona
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