It was raining today but, as this was our
last day in Sorrento, we decided to go ahead with the planned trip down the
Amalfi Coast. Because we were first in line at the bus stop, we snagged the
front seat on the right. This position gives the best opportunity for photography,
and the most thrilling ride, as it is on the side of the sheer cliffs. Our
morning driver was a calm and competent fellow, and there were few incidents,
but many of the usual “near misses” coming around the bends.
[quaity of photos not so great due to weather and jiggly bus]
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Suspicious slick |
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Turned out to be just mud, here exiting from a ravine |
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No more than a hand-width away |
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Streaming down from heaven |
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Sorrento, Vesuvius and Naples Bay |
Even in cloudy, rainy weather, this ride is
probably one of the most scenic in the world. We would consider coming back if
clear sunny skies could be guaranteed.
We went all the way to Amalfi (1.5 hours),
and could not resist touring the cathedral.
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St Andrew? |
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Mother of pearl |
After a good lunch (more home -made
ravioli), we took a smaller local bus high up on the cliffs to Ravello, traversing even tighter bends.
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Surprisingly comfortable bench - curve makes all the difference |
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Village near Ravello |
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Maiori |
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Maiori |
We visited the Villa Cimbrone, which was built in the early 20th
century by a British ex pat. He hoped that the beautiful gardens, art
reproductions and the view, described by Gore Vidal as “best in the world”
would cure his serious depressive illness---it worked!
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Long way down - intensive agriculture |
At about 3:15, we started the reverse
journey home. This time we encountered large numbers of fellow would-be
passengers and had to scramble for a seat. The returning drivers were much more
“gung ho”, and this resulted in more “incidents”, with buses passing within a
millimetre etc. The homeward route took us up on the hills around Sorrento,
giving fine views of the town, bay and Vesuvius. We did not arrive until
6:30pm, tired but exhilarated.
The rain stopped in the evening, so we
joined in the evening passegiata.
Unrelated, a nice map of Vesuvius
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