1 ~ Hello From Naples and Positano, Italy

April 22, 2015

Hello From Positano, Italy, on the Amalfi Coast,

This trip started out with a long, 26 hour journey to our first destination, Naples, Italy. Carol found a fabulous deal on airline tickets that saved over $600 per ticket, but we had to leave from Vancouver, Canada. And so, it was, that our trip began with a 3 hour bus ride to Vancouver before boarding the airplane to Amsterdam, followed by another flight to Rome. Two trains and a subway later we were at the doorstep of our hotel. We did enjoy our Pre-arranged “Hindu” meal on the airplane, since it was much better than the soggy pasta or dry chicken they were serving to the other coach passengers. If you like Indian food, next time you fly International, try requesting the “Hindu” meal. It is vegetarian, however. You might wonder what you have been missing on all those flights. You get served a better meal, before all the other passengers, and finish before the line to the restroom gets too long.

Naples has always been one of our favorite destinations in Italy. I have written about it before, but there is always something new to see there. This time we stopped at the Duomo since on past trips it was always a bit far from where we were staying. This Cathedral is named for San Gennaro (Saint Januarius). He is famous for a miracle that happens twice a year at this Cathedral. There is a vial of his blood kept here that miraculously liquefies twice a year, on the first Saturday in May and on the 19th of September. We just missed the May date by a couple of weeks. Legend has it that if the blood does not liquefy then disaster will befall Naples. For those skeptics among you, there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. This from the Wiki on the subject:

“The vial contains a thixotropic gel. In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide, FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of the ‘blood’ in the ampoule. The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily available locally since antiquity.” So, you be the judge.

There is an old custom in Naples that has been recently revived. When you buy a coffee in a cafe, you also buy a second one for a poor person that can’t afford one, and put it in the “bank.” When a poor person comes around he can ask for a coffee from the bank. We saw two cafes promoting this new/old custom while walking around. Speaking of walking around, our first two days in Naples we logged over 10 miles each day walking in the city, including over 22,000 steps and 36 stairs. Our FitBits were going crazy awarding us certificates of achievement. So, after all that walking we had to reward ourselves with a specialty of Naples, Baba. It’s a kind of very tall thin sponge cake muffin with an exaggerated head. The Naples secret is that it is soaked in rum and honey. Yummmmm……. Great to have with it is one of those thick Italian hot chocolates that you have to eat with a spoon.

Leaving Naples we took a train and a bus to our first destination on the Amalfi Coast, Positano. Riding in a full size bus down the Amalfi Coast road is not for the faint of heart. The roadway is barely two lanes wide and with cars parked all over, it operates like a one lane road with places where opposing traffic can pass by each other. The road is cantilevered out from the cliffs and has more hair-pin turns than straight-aways. Looking down from a bus window you can only see straight down to the water below, no road. The scariest part is when two buses approach in the opposite direction. They stop and then creep past each other with less than inches between them. The drivers often get mad at how the cars are driving and blow their horn and yell at them out the window. Oh, and I forgot to mention that all this time there are motor scooters whizzing in and out and people walking in the street. I don’t know what kind of training or experience is required of an Amalfi bus driver but it is an incredibly difficult job. And, I have to hand it to the Italian government, because, for as much use this tiny roadway gets, it is kept in perfect condition.

Our first full day in Positano we decided to walk up a 1700 step stairway to a small town, way high on the cliff, called Nocelle. The reward for this effort (like walking up the Washington Monument TWICE) was a visit to a Birds of Prey sanctuary. Since we were the only visitors that day, we got a private showing of several kinds of owls, hawks and a vulture. We slipped on a heavy leather glove and they allowed us to let the birds fly to us and land on our hands. Make a sound like three little kisses in a row and the birds would fly from one of us to the other. It was an amazing experience handling these giant birds. I’ve included a couple of photos in the photo gallery if you care to take a look. And, I even learned a few things about them as well. Did you know that:

— Barn owls will eat 35 rodents each night they are out hunting. Makes me think we should use them instead of poison to rid our cities of rats.

— Owls have a third eyelid, that they can see through, to protect their eyes when fighting with their prey.

— Owls hunt more by sound than sight or smell. They can hear the noises that a rodent makes and can zero in on its location.

— An owl’s head can swivel around 270 degrees on its neck. It’s a really funny thing to watch close up. This movement is necessary because their eyes are fixed in their sockets and don’t move around like ours do.

— Vultures hunt only dead prey and do it by sight and smell.

— A vulture’s red head has no plumage because it must stick its head completely inside its dead prey to eat.

— Vultures have only one nostril that is accessed through a ring in its upper beak.

That’s about all I can remember about the birds of prey. Afterwards we had a fantastic meal in Nocelle, overlooking the sunset on that blue-green Mediterranean water, and took a taxi back to Positano. Our legs were wasted from the climb up. That evening our FitBits rewarded us with the Roller-Coaster award for achieving a record 145 stair flights in one day.

Next stop the town of Almafi for another three days. It’s only about 9 miles down the road but takes an hour to get there by bus (and hair-pin turns). Carol has released a blog report about Naples and I’ve loaded some pictures into the photo gallery for your viewing pleasure.

Tom’s photos are at the side: Currently showing Naples and Positano, Italy

Carol’s Travel Blog:

https://carolapucci-tips.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-amalfi-coast-it-made-for-walking.html

Later….. your Favorite Travelers, Tom & Carol