2004 Europe

Diana & Rod at the Faraglioni Rocks, Capri



May 21 – Today we are going to the Isle of Capri. Diana was there in 1969 with her mom. They took a European vacation for her college graduation. First, a car picked us up at the hotel for the 11 km drive to Amalfi. There we boarded the ss Patritzia, a pre-WWII ship, for the trip to Capri. Honest, it looked just like the tramp steamers that were conscripted into the Navy for WWII in the South Pacific. I could almost see John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart or Humphrey Bogart pacing the deck. It sailed along at what I would charitably call a ‘stately pace’. Someone less charitable might call it slow.



The approach to the island was very pretty. It’s not a big place, about 6 square miles, but like the rest of the coast here it’s mainly limestone cliffs broken only by the cities at the foot of steep valleys. The picture above is of Diana and I at the Faragloni Rocks, the symbol of Capri. Our guide was a riot. He was very organized, said everything three times and was very specific about what time things would happen especially our meeting times to move onward. I guess he learned a thing or two in his 42 years of guiding recalcitrant tourists around Capri.



Capri island has two main cities, Capri and Anacapri. The former has about 7,000 residents the latter only 5,000. I’m glad we were there on a weekday because it was very crowded and our guide told us the weekends are far worse. That must be incredible. As we sailed into the harbor every sailboat in the marina was flying an identical flag from the top of its mast. It’s regatta weekend and there’s a race from Capri to Naples. Looking out to sea you could make out a flotilla of sailboats shaking out the last of the wrinkles in their racing form.



We hardly hit the beach when our guide was loading us onto a small bus for the trip across the island to Anacapri. He felt it was best to see that city first and then return to Capri for our tour there and some free time before reboarding the Patritzia for the ride back to Amalfi. Apparently the shuttle busses going to Capri and back get very crowded later in the day. The Island of Capri is much like the Amalfi Coast, narrow winding roads and small cities.



The city of Anacapri is a small charming place, bustling with tourists. The theme this trip seems to be steep, narrow streets in cities on top of hills and Anacapri is no exception. The city started out as a Roman outpost and was attacked by the Turks on numerous occasions during the middle ages. It has become somewhat of an artist’s colony. The two main points of interest for me were St. Sofia’s Church (below) and the Red House (below). The church was started in 1510 but not completely finished until 1790. The unique feature of this church is that the local fishermen opened the pawnshop of St. Maria del Buoncamino in the church in 1680 and it still operates to this day. The Red House is at the ancient town center of Anacapri. It was built by an eccentric American colonel in the early 1900s around the ruins of a 16th century tower where the townspeople would lock up the women for protection when they had to leave the town to work. The building looks like a castle from the Arabian nights.



Then it was back to the town of Capri. Here the crowds are bigger and the town is much more cosmopolitan. The hotels are fancier and the shops that line the narrow streets are very chic and bear the names of top European designers. And believe me the prices match the haute couture image. Capri is not the place to bargain hunt. Some of the sights are exquisite however. The Charterhouse of St. James for example (below). Built in 1363, it is a great medieval monastic complex. It has groves of olive trees, farmland and gardens. The cloisters are large and very well preserved. It was a good hike back up the hill and over the island to our bus station and, as my sinuses are in full arrest, I was pooped by the time I got back there.



I made a great discovery on the way back to the shuttle, so the hike was worth it. Italy is just like Mexico in at least one aspect. If you know what you want you can get antibiotics without a prescription. Here’s where the stint as a USAF medic comes in handy. I have all the symptoms of a classic sinus infection, sinusitis; and I know from experience that amoxicillin works for me. So I stopped in the Farmacia and bought a round and a half of Amoxicillina EG, 1gm tablets, (thank heaven that chemical names are the same everywhere with the exception of the suffix ‘a’ here in Italy) that only have to be taken twice a day. Very convenient. The price was great too! 6 Euro for the bunch.



After the bus to the port, the ship to Amalfi and the car to Praiano I was ready for a nap before dinner. Dinner was great.



Lemons are big here in every sense of the word. The ‘Amalfi’ lemon is large, juicy and has very delicate flavor, for a lemon. They use them in lots of dishes but they have one use in which they take great pride, limoncello. It’s a lemon based liqueur style drink for after dinner or a warm afternoon and it’s great! Our hotel’s owner, Mira (below), makes his own from lemons that grow in his yard. We got to try another sample at a factory on Capri and it was not nearly as good as the version Mira makes. The only way I could have enjoyed it more is if I felt better.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger