calling from some city...

Today was an opportunity to explore the Amalfi Coast. We got up on the early side and had free breakfast in our amazing hostel after a really good night’s sleep. Chris also joined us for the day which was great- again, its nice having someone else join our little group. I also think Scott appreciated having another guy around. We hopped on the commuter rail train that takes you into the center of Sorrento (we are on the outskirts) and the got onto a bus to take us to Positano. Luckily, we got seats on the right side of the bus, which my guidebook recommended because it has the best views. Though really you got amazing views no matter where you sat. The ride there was extremely windy, narrow, and a bit dizzying, but the views made it worth it. The roads are so narrow that the bus had to beep its horn every time it went around a sharp bend so that if there was a car coming the other way, it would be aware and thus a collision could be avoided. The bus also drove a lot faster than I was expecting; it was flying around the curves and I couldn’t believe the bus wasn’t just going to tip over- and into the ocean 100 or more feet below us, The road is literally carved into cliffs so we just kept going up and up, with the road hugging the coastline. It was also really nerve racking to see how high up we were, and how close to plunging off a cliff we were as well. Definitely an interesting ride- I’m just glad I had taken dramamine.

We arrived in Positano and walked immediately about 20 minutes downhill to the beach. It was pretty pricey to rent a beach chair and umbrella for the day, but the beach was really nice. The views of Positano are absolutely stunning- everything is built into a side of a cliff. I have no idea how the houses and stores and restaurants are built like that, but it creates an unbelievable picture. The coastline is so beautiful and dramatic and breathtaking. It was really hot as well so I was going in and out of the water all day. The water was like bath water so you could just jumped right in. I actually wished it was a little cooler because then it would have been more refreshing. But it was nice to be able to stay in the water for long periods of time and not get cold at all. After grabbing pizza and calzones for lunch, we decided to go for a swim because earlier Scott and Chris had found some cliffs to jump off of. We followed them back to where they were- though I was just along for the swimming- and it was a pretty long way. I definitely wish I was in swimming shape because I was winded by the end of it. Luckily I avoided getting stung by a jellyfish though Sara and Scott were not so lucky. The boys jumped off the cliffs while Sara and I watched and lounged on the little beach between the cliffs. After about 20 minutes we noticed storm clouds rolling in, so we quickly swam back to shore. Once we got back, it started raining, so we quickly got our stuff to make it back to the bus stop. Luckily, this was only the first time in the trip we experienced rain (except for a little rain one morning in Madrid that stopped quickly). The rain actually felt nice since its been so hot and muggy out. We were already wet from the swim anyways so the extra rain water didn’t really make a difference.

We took the bus back to the hostel and showered for dinner. We returned to Sorrento to eat at a restaurant that Scott remembered from his first trip here. It was delicious- I got tortellini again. It was not quite as good as the tortellini from a few days ago (the sause was only tomato instead of meat) but it was still realy good. After some more good conversation, we headed back to the hostel.

Last day on the Amalfi Coast tomorrow.