We woke up very early today to beat the crowds and caught a boat to Capri. The island is comprised of huge limestone formations that stick up out of the water, and one of the best attractions according to our tour book is something called the Grotto Azzuro, or Blue Grotto. We started our tour of the island here first, and managed to figure out the bus system (with the help of two bus drivers and a local - who said I spoke excellent Italian (!)) so that we were the 6th in line - we were there before the tour guides. For those who don't know what the Blue Grotto is: there is a cave 60 yards deep into the side of the island. To visit, four people at the time get into a dingy (small boat), lay down in the bottom of the boat, and a very talented boatman negotiates the boat into the three-foot opening to the cave. Once inside, the reflection from the sun through the opening off of the limestone underneath the water creates the most intense blue color you could imagine. The boatsman paddles you around for 5 minutes and then "safely" takes you out of the grotto through the same opening from which you entered. (Then he asks continuously for tips.) It was high-tide when we visited, so the entrance and exit were that much more exhilarating. Our pictures can't fully capture the experience, so we recommend you click here check out this site for a better understanding.
Next, the bus driver gave us a lift to the start of the Fortress Hike, for "serious hikers" according to our tourbook. Holy Cannoli! This hike was the best hike, hands-down, that we have ever done. It beat the pants off of the Blue Grotto, and it was free, to boot. We hiked along the coastline for about three hours for non-stop breath-taking views of the island and the crystal clear blue water. There were several off-shoots that took us down to the water's edge and we saw less than 10 other people on the trail during the entire hike. The whole time we couldn't stop staying how unreal this place was. Check out the pictures link below. It's incredible. And it was ridiculously hot and there were tons of stairs. It was hard not to want to jump off the cliffs into the water. Finally, at the end of the hike, we arrived near one corner of the island where a lighthouse is located. Here, we found the GREATEST SWIMMING HOLE EVER. The water was so clear that you could see all the way to the bottom (10-15 feet deep at least), and with all the fish, it felt like you were swimming in an aquarium. There were many leathery-skinned Italians soaking in the sun and savoring this amazing place. After swimming, the greatest thing that happened was that people noticed two jellyfish (medusa) in the water. You have never seen people get out of the water so quickly. A grandma and a grandpa went into the water with buckets, caught the jellyfish, brought them to shore and saved the day. Everyone actually clapped! With the water safe again, everyone was back to swimming. It was hard to leave this place...
We took the bus back to Anacapri, one of the two towns on this island. Here, we took a chairlift (sort of like a ski lift, but just one chair at a time - a seggivia) up to the top of Mount Solaro. Here, there were more incredible views of the clear blue water and the Faraglioni Rocks, other small limestone islands. More amazing pictures were taken. Then we took the 40-minute downhill hike back to Anacapri, and caught another bus to Capri, the main town. We walked around for a bit, but both towns were just "eh" after the day we'd had. Lots of tourists and lots of shopping. Without a doubt, we had a better day than anyone there.
We caught the funicular down the mountain back to the port, took a quick dip in the water at a pebbly beach, and caught the boat back to Sorrento. Too tired to go out for dinner, we bought some cheese, olives, salami, crackers and grapes and had a mini-picnic back at the ranch.
Gelati Gusti per il Giorno:
Mike - Granita al Fragola (strawberry granita)
Aviva - Granita al Limone (lemon granita)
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