The next morning, we took local buses down to the docks, as our tour bus was too large to fit down the narrow and winding streets of Sorrento. At the wharf, we boarded a jet boat for Capri, a mountainous and beautiful isle just a few miles offshore from the Italian mainland.
A twenty minute ride later, we were across the sea to Capri, where we met our local guide Luigi at the Marina Grande pier. From there, another small bus took us up, up and away, up the snaking, narrow and treacherous mountain roads. On one side of the bus was solid rock towering high above, on the other side of the bus was a sheer drop over a thousand feet down into the azure blue waters of the Mediterranean.
The bus deposited us at Anacapri, meaning "above Capri", a town of 5000 inhabitants perched atop the island. Luigi led us first to Villa San Michele, the former abode of a doctor to the Swedish royal court and now museum and botanical garden. In the dining area, a skeletal mosaic on the floor appeared a tad macabre, but was explained to us in a positive light. The skeleton, with a jug of water in one hand and a jug of wine in the other, implores guests to "seize the day", as we never know which may be our last.
From there we walked back to the chair lift, for one of the highlights of the entire trip. The single-person lift towed us up the mountain, Monte Solaro, or "Sunny Mountain". On this gloomy day, the chair lift took us high above the village and sweeping vantages of the sea and directly up into the clouds that concealed the mountain's peak. There was something oddly relaxing about dangling high above the island and the sea in a tiny wooden chair.
From atop the mountain the view was non-existent, due to the foggy weather. It was, however, an incredible opportunity of a different kind. Standing on top a mountain, surrounded by fog and nothingness, it was like gazing into the abyss when all you can hear is wind and water....needless to say it was quite a moving experience.
After the chair lift ride bakc down the mountain, Luigi led us through medieval back alleys to one of his favourite "secret" places on the island, a spectacular vantage point on the quiet backside of the island, overlooking Marina Piccolo. From there we returned to the main town, Capri, and toured the streets until the jet boat took us back to Sorrento and the mainland.
That evening, we returned to La Taverna Sorrentina for the exquisite food and drink. It turned out it was their last night of the season to be open, as they were closing until March. We even sampled the Limoncella....
Carpe Diem - Seize the Day
Marina Grande from above on Capri
Egyptian sphinx stolen by the Romans watches over Capri
Crazy mountain roads and crazy bus drivers
Monte Solaro shrouded in fog
Going......down?
Capri cliffs and Faragioli islands
Marina Piccolo
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