The flight from Johannesburg was pretty uneventful, apart from our being unable to sleep - couldn't get comfortable, crying babies and a man in front of me watching telly all night! Interesting landing, thanks to Captain Kangaroo, who touched down so hard Nina broke a nail!
We decided after our explorations that Naples didn't have much to offer us, so settled on taking a Beverello to Capri the next day. On arrival, we treated ourselves to a Limoncello crema gelato, which was refreshing and delicious! It was a really beautiful day, after a rather foggy start, and we took a boat ride around the island, visiting the various grotti along the way with a very friendly bunch of co-tourists, although we had first been accosted by a rather weather-beaten older man who wanted to take us on a personal trip to just the three smaller grotti in his small motor-boat - for about three times as much! Nina felt uncomfortable with the idea anyway, so we went with the crowds to buy tickets for one of the (not so very much) larger boats. We wondered how so many Italians were out on a Tuesday, and discovered the next day that this was because it was their national holiday. No wonder it was so busy! However, when we decided it was time for lunch the many restaurants all had tables available, with waiters trying to drum up business, accosting people as they walked past, in a very similar way to those at the Cape Town Waterfront. After lunch we took the funicolare to the town, foregoing the rather long uphill walk and the Phoenician steps, past the pebbly beaches, which we couldn't really appreciate, having neglected to pack swimsuits, eejits that we are. I gave up my seat to a rather nice older gentleman who then told us a bit about the town after striking up a conversation, reiterating that he was Swedish, 80 years old and lived in several different countries, having been a Professor of Economics. He took us to the Giardini Augusto, where he introduced us as his guests and then left us to wander, as we had declined any further services he might have offered.
Capri is mostly comprised of vertiginous chalky-looking cliffs, formed when chunks sheared off and slid down the slope, taking the looser rocks with them into the sea, where many of them stand as welcoming beacons, one complete with a statue of a village boy waving a greeting. A series of three also stands, with the middle one having been worn away into a "Lovers' Arch". We were told that lovers who kissed under the arch would stay together forever. This wall of cliffs makes for little in the way of beaches, apart from the rather small, uncomfortably pebbly ones near the docks, so the people have made lidos of a series of decks built on various levels, from which they can dive into the deep sea.
On our return to Naples, we passed a rather interesting-looking taverna in a side alley and thought we'd try that for supper. There were a few tables out on the cobbles, and an accordionist playing the inevitable selection, but what made it seem more authentic was the presence inside of two loud tables of Italian families. The kids, bored with adult conversation, took a football into the alley and were playing kickabout, with the occasional help of one of the waiters when sent out to the storeroom, under the arch. This game was made slightly hazardous, as were the seating arrangements, by the face that the alley was a through road to the apartment blocks at its end, so every now and then a car would pass through, almost hitting the outermost chairs, an occasion that was met with surprisingly little animosity. It made for an entertaining evening.
Having decided that Naples had little to offer, we thought we needed a day at the beach, so on Wednesday, we took a different Molo Beverello to Sorrento (without first burying the cat, since it was only an afternoon trip 😉) We met a very chatty pair of ladies from the Philippines while waiting for the ferry, and when we docked, we were told there was a lift to the town, a fact we were rather grateful for, as Sorrento has even steeper cliffs than Capri!
Apparently, Sorrento is a very popular place for weddings: there were two lots taking after-the-fact photos, so they must have finalised the deed before lunch on a Wednesday? They did all appear to be talking with very English accents, so we thought perhaps this was a reasonable option for a semi exotic wedding. We found a nice restaurant for a cocktail and then strolled, possibly somewhat squiffily, down the ziggurat path to the seaside where we met a couple of Swedish girls negotiating with the maitre d' of the "beach" - a series of wooden decks with loungers, a restaurant and snack bar, and a couple of ladders down into the sea. The beach was not much more than sixty square metres of black volcanic sand populated by a couple of voluptuous women in bikinis with their rather noisy small offspring. Considering there were no waves and no perceptible current, they seemed pretty safe. The sea was cordoned off with barricades of rocks surmounted by some of the decks (for which one paid a premium), and accessed by the aforementioned ladders, to the side of which were much-appreciated showers to rid oneself of the salt after a refreshing dip.
Unfortunately, we could only stay for a few hours, but they were nevertheless very relaxing and enjoyable. The last ferry back was at 16:25, and we reconnected the Philippine ladies and a Canadian couple who had just got engaged. They were very edifying as they had found a very unprepossessing BnB through AirBnB, close to the "happening" area of Napoli. We thought we should see the Castel Nuovi, and then headed out for their quartier, which reminded me of the square near the University in Montpellier, which Pia and I found two years ago. It was such fun, we decided to wander around in our couple of free hours before heading for the train to Rome the next morning.
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