April 20 - Amalfi

I think that yesterday Lyle and I made two good choices. First, we chose to catch the local bus instead of taking the ferry. Secondly, we decided to bypass Potistano and continue on to Amalfi. For us, they were both good decisions. 

Let me tell you about the bus. The ride of thirty-five kilometers took an hour and fifty minutes. The road was incredibly narrow with many twists and turns. At times we seemed to be perilously close to the edge of the road, something which enabled me to see far more of the vertical cliffs and Amalfi coastline than if we had been travelling on the ferry. The ferry sails at some distance from the shoreline and basically, that is too far for my eyes to see the coast in any detail, if at all!

We were fortunate to arrive early enough to get seats on the bus. There were a number of people standing. As we travelled up and down the steep inclines and around the sharp bends, our driver sounded the horn with gay abandon. Lyle told me that he did this at every blind curve and hairpin bend. There were also multiple beeps when we met oncoming traffic. When this traffic was either another bus or perhaps a truck, we would slow down in order to squeeze by. Once when we met a truck, Lyle said that the other driver had to fold in his side mirrors in order for us to pass by. A couple of times, even this strategy did not work and we needed to reverse to a more opportune portion of the road that would allow for passing. I am quite sure that the choice of the local bus over the ferry enabled me to actually experience this section of the Amalfi coast. Also the bus fare was at least one third of the cost of the ferry!

When we arrived at Positano many of the other tourists alighted.  Positano did look amazaing. It is a small town built into the side of the cliff face.  I am posting a picture here taken throught the bus window. The town consists mainly of shops and steps. I do not exactly like shopping and the steps seemed daunting. We stayed on the bus and continued on to Amalfi., and what a pleasant contrast it was! The road swung down to the shore and nestled in a small harbor was Amalfi. As the bus stopped, our fellow passengers clapped and cheered the driver for getting us there safely.
 

Positano

Lyle and I walked down a long pier to find a bench in the sun where we ate our picnic lunch. It was perfectly relaxing. I even managed to take a picture of Lyle standing on the pier. I am not always able to do the picture taking. Sometimes I will miss a head or half a body, or sometimes even the whole thing of whatever it is that I am aiming for. Lyle said that this picture turned out quite well.

Lyle on Amalfi pier

From the pier and the dock we sauntered along a wooden boardwalk to a high seawall which protects the harbour.  The wall was quite high and we were able to look down on multiple small fishing boats moored along the side. The third picture shows some of these small craft.

Boats on Amalfi dock

All in all, this was a great way to spend our last full day in this area.