Day 3 : Capri & Sorrento

28th June 2006 (Wednesday)

Woke up early at 6am after sleeping off the heat of the previous day. Pulled away the curtains and pressed the switch of the automated roller blinds to reveal a wonderful view of the Bay of Naples. We had to check out by 7am, so we scurried down for breakfast in the breakfast room, which was actually part of the grand dining hall we had sat in the night before.

Breakfast was lovely. Typical Continental, but there was a section where the cook made all kinds of eggs. Was grand to be able to have hot scrambled eggs for breakfast in such an English breakfast room.

We then hung out outside the hotel waiting for the bus to pick us up to the jetty. We made friends with this young school-teacher from Sydney, and an elderly couple from Brazil. At the jetty, we were to sit in a hydrofoil (fancy term for a large motorboat in my terms) to the Capri Isles. At the Capri jetty known as the Marina Grande, we were then transferred onto a smaller boat, very well-kept and similar to those you see in the movies - those boats you take for a day out sailing at sea. What I remember most vividly were the highly-polished (or, lacquered) timber floors and benches on the boat. We sat on this boat which brought us to the area outside the Blue Grotto.

Many boats were floating around outside this area. There were the small boats we were on, which had the tourist groups. And there were even smaller boats which brought in groups of people in 3's or 4's into the Grotto Azzura (the Blue Grotto). Our group (KF, JC, Cindy and me) squeezed ourselves into one of these smaller boats. As we neared the entrance to the Blue Grotto, which is actually an opening at the bottom of a cliff, the boatmen made us lie low with our heads against the boat, while he judged the movement of the waves and swiftly pulled us into the cave without anyone hitting the sharp edges of the cave's mouth.

When we were in the cave, it was a surreal experience. For many reasons. First, it was quite dramatic to enter the cave in such a manner. And after that panicky feeling of ensuring your head didn't get smashed against the small cave entrance, you find yourself in an unexpected surrounding - surrounded by indescribably azure water, in a pitch-black cave, rocking gently in a boat, and serenaded by an Italian boatman with a fabulous tenor of a voice. Felt like being in a mini gondola. He was not the only one singing, as the other boatmen were doing the same, which echoed in the cave of magical blue waters.

The experience was a short-lived one. Only lasted at most 5 minutes, before we had to bend our heads again and be brought back out in the bright sunlight, with the boatman clamoring KF for "special tips".

We arrived back at the Marina Grande. We walked the length of the jetty and awed at the houses clasped into the cliff-sides. Hopped onto a bus which winded its way up the narrow roads to Anacapri. There, our tour guide told us we had some spare time. We opted to take the Monte Solaro chair lift (next to Piazza Vittoria) up to the top of Anacapri, which we didn't regret (cost us 6.50 euros per person), for it gave us fabulous 360 degree views of the Bay of Naples. We spent some time roaming and posing for pictures at the top, before taking the chair lift down again. The ride took about 12 minutes each way. I was hesitant at first, because I rather hated heights. But, hey, it's a holiday - I should do what I don't usually get to do. The ride down was a bit scarier than the ride up, though. But, it was nice because we got to see little secret gardens and worry about our sandals falling into oblivion :)

We met up again with the tour guide who brought us to eat a typical Italian lunch - of uncooked macaroni, an okay fish and some cool Coke. The bus took us down to Capri town. We walked around, bought postcards, admired the Blue Grotto handicraft souvenirs, and then got back onto the bus to the Marina Grande to take the hydrofoil back to main land in Sorrento. From there, a bus brought us back to our hotel doorstep, where we switched to a bus to Pompeii, and from Pompeii to Naples to pick up a group of people, and then finally back to Rome by 10pm. We were the last ones off the bus, but were entertained by Fabio the tour guide who taught us basic Italian and showed us the showrooms of various popular Italian race cars, me being typically ignorant of the difference between a Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini.

It was a rather leisurely day actually, but I quite loved it. A perfect 2-day tour which cost us 257 euros, bit steep but quite worth it. And whatever you read about the Carrani tour agency in website reviews aren't quite true, because we had quite good service and couldn't ask for more.

After 2 days of lots of sun, we were quite exhausted and didn't have the energy to go out for food. Thank goodness for Maggi bowls. Our nice hotel guy supplied us with hot water and after dinner and baths, we were ready to flop off, in preparation of another gruelling day of walking tomorrow.