I can still hear the bus conductor calling out ‘Amalfi, Amalfi’ and I fall back into a reverie whenever I look at the photographs from the few days spent in the Amalfi Coast. The trip to the Coast was a touch and go and it’s no point saying that I regret it because even a 100 days in the Amalfi Coast is not enough.
We stayed in Maiori and visited Positano via Amalfi. Getting around in the Coast was easier than we thought because the buses stopped in all the towns and bus tickets cost not more than €2. Maiori is about 45 minutes from the Salerno train station (the entry point for the Amalfi Coast) and sitting on the left side of the bus will give you the view you are most familiar with about the Amalfi Coast (I am all about that 'view-for-days' life so take my word for it because as luck would have it, I sat on the right side). A friendly elderly man sat next to me and he gave me one piece of information about the Amalfi Coast: cheramica, he said, is something that the Coast is well-known for. I didn’t understand him at first so he pulled out his iphone, pulled out a translator app, uttered ‘cheramica’ and voila! That’s technology bringing people together.
Full disclosure, if you have motion sickness, you really need to reign it in and work on the will power to the power of infinity. Salerno to Maiori wasn't terrible but Maiori to Amalfi and Amalfi to Positano, I will not lie, was a nightmare. What's worse was not getting seats. We were in Italy during the offseason (September) but I reckon all budget travelers think alike. But then again, in general, I think the Amalfi Coast will always be full of tourists. We stood all the way from Maiori to Positano and also half way from Positano to Amalfi. It really tests your balance because there are curves and turns every few seconds. This was where the Delhi metro experience came into use.
The bus ride from Maiori to Amalfi was a short 20 minutes and you are just blown away by the town of Amalfi. We had decided to do dinner at Amalfi because it was Positano that was our final destination. Why? Because Positano is said to be the most beautiful of all the coastal towns. For want of a better word, I was chuffed at the sight of Positano. Let’s put it this way: no photograph of Positano will ever turn out badly. We were terribly, terribly unlucky because we reached by mid-day meaning we were much too late for the boat ride. Can you imagine? A speed boat to all the nook and crannies of Positano? What an absolute miss. So that’s a lesson for you.
We spent endless hours in the local ceramic stores as well as their local boutiques. The sister back home was very lucky because we bought her an exquisite perfume from Positano. We bought it for her but we were jealous of her. I can't remember whether we had a gelato here but we did see see some cute gattos amongst more cheramicas. I think I really tried to make that phrase work for an Instagram post but I couldn’t. So there it is. Cats among ceramics.
What is possibly the most recognizable feature of Positano, apart from its view, is the Church of Santa Maria or Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta. More accurately, its tiled dome which is quite a stand out feature. The church is accessible via the stairs that lead right to the beach. You get to a point where taking the right leads to the church and the left path continue further with its markets and then meets the beach. On the way is the Villa Romana and for those of us who like to read everything posted outside buildings, churches, monuments etc., it turned out to have a most interesting history. Vila Romana was said to have belonged to a freedman (emancipated slave) Posides Claudi Caesaris from whom the name of the town of Positano comes from.
The beaches in the Amalfi Coast are stone and pebbles. That was something I wasn't prepared for. I was imagining endless, white sandy beaches (damn you, Australia) but all I got was pebbles. Still, they make a beautiful sight from afar. And I'm sure if we had been in time for the boat ride, I wouldn't be whinging about the beaches.
The bus ride will show you several spots that can be explored in-between towns that brings me to something I believe in: that you must visit a place twice. The first time as the curious tourist and the second time, as an explorer. I imagine that had we stayed longer, we could've hired a Vespa or a car or taken the many hike trails and explored the region better. So here I am, just a girl asking destiny for another chance at a killer tax return to fund another trip to Europe. Not asking for much is it?
I don’t have any elaborate stories about incidents in the Amalfi Coast but I remember all the moments which aren’t that significant to write about. I don’t know if you understand what I mean… It’s not that the memories are personal but everything I felt when I was there, whether it was as a traveler or as a person, the overwhelming emotions where I felt both blessed and lucky… It’s not easy to put them into words. It’s those little things like watching an artist paint the seascape or visiting an open art show. I can’t sugar coat those things or create drama. They just were. And so was I when I was there. What I can say is this: the sunset in Positano was magnificence. That was theatre right there.
We stopped in Amalfi for dinner and it was as Italian as it gets with wine, spaghetti and a band serenading us with the most recognizable (Italian) tunes. Of course, we missed the last bus back to Maiori so we shelled out €40 for a cab (and I said a hallelujah because I made sure we had an ‘emergency fund’).
I woke up early to walk around Maiori and made my way to see see the view of the Torre Normanna restaurant built upon an ancient lookout tower. The inhabitants of the town were mostly elderly folks who always smiled and tipped their hats. I am sure I mentioned this in my Rome logs but Italians are wonderful. They are so helpful and friendly to tourists and maybe that’s what made Italy so worthwhile .
SEPTEMBER 28 - 29, 2015