Thu 19.Jul.2018
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Salerno
I have read that Sorrento is the standard base city for visits to the
Amalfi Coast. I liked Sorrento the one time I was there, but Salerno is closer
to my line of travel, and better-connected to the coast by frequent boats.
Anyway, I had never been to Salerno.
A very ordinary-looking city. Lots of modern square apartment towers,
a small older city center, a pleasant but undistinguished harborfront
promenade, a couple of adequate beaches... none of it particularly photogenic.
This being Italy, there were many neat details in rather than
of the city. This kind of exuberant tile decor seemed popular in cafes.
Light display on a church in the plaza in front of the main station.
A pedestrian tunnel under the railway tracks, in a sort of scruffy neighborhood
near my B&B.
Salerno harbor as dusk approaches.
Amalfi
What we are here for of course is the Divina Costiera, known to
furriners by the name of its central town, Amalfi. A half-hour boat ride along an
absurdly picturesque peninsula of mountains that stick up out of the ocean, and here
we are, approaching Amalfi itself.
I'll romanticize the place slightly by omitting the endless souvenir shops and
hustlers. It is beautiful, and a hoot despite it all.
A short but hair-raising hike on the road around a ridge brought me to Amalfi's
smaller and much-less crowded neighbor, Atrani.
After a leisurely coffee (this is Italy) and lunch, I asked my waiter
whether there is some other, safer path back to Amalfi - one that didn't involve
narrow highways, blind curves, and way too many cars. Turns out there is. He
pointed me to this sign, and said to follow the arrows.
The arrows were sparser than I would have liked, but there were only so
many twisty little paths to try. Eventually the way came out on a path through
a vinyard up on the ridge, then ducked into another maze of little passages that
came out back in Amalfi. A slightly surreal hoot, that might have saved my life.
Positano
All of the dozen or more towns along the Amalfi Coast look the same from the
boat, and probably from the ground too. They are a hoot though. I devoted a
second day to visiting, this time to Positano, furthest from Salerno
(i. e. longest boat ride) and the biggest-looking of a small bunch.
This time, instead of braving the highway to a suburb, I chose an upward-leading
street-stair, every bit as wide as the cracks in its walls, and climbed up until
I found a cafe district with a view. Coffee, lunch ... it isn't hard to learn this
routine.
It really is worth breaking out of that Rome-Florence-Venice corridor.
For my part, I hope to give southern Italy another shot, even if it means more
Amalfi Coast as part of the deal.
Ciao!