Category: Capri

Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Fall 2022 – Takin’ it easy on Capri (except for some moments of heart-pounding fear!)

October 6, 2022

My intention on my last day on Capri had been to take one of the tour boats around the island and visit the Blue Grotto, but I just did not feel like being in the midst of lots of people and lineups etc., so I decided to make an early visit to the Villa Jovis, a ruined Roman Villa at the top of a hill above Capri town, one of twelve imperial villas that were built on the island. The main square in Capri town was not yet crowded as the first ferries bringing day trippers to the island had not yet arrived. (Capri has a population of around 12,000 people, and up to 20,000 people per day might visit in the high season, the majority of them coming just for the day.) I took a quick photo of the clock tower and top of the cathedral, backlit and with the sky so blue behind. It was going to be another beautiful day on Capri!

My route to Villa Jovis led me first through narrow pedestrian lanes lined with small shops just opening up (and locals hurrying to get to work), and then as I climbed the paved path of Via Tiberio, I passed many large villas set in lush gardens. In the quiet of the morning, and with few people around, I began to see the charms of Capri town.

As I rose higher and turned a corner, Villa Jovis came into view high up on Monte Tiberio.

In the final ascent to the villa,

there were excellent views back over Capri town (half hidden by the middle hill), Marina Grande down at the sea, and Mount Solaro, the highest point in the distance (Anacapri is tucked in on the other side and below Mount Solaro).

I was surprised when I reached Villa Jovis as it is not very professionally managed for such a magnificent historical site. The facilities were minimal, the advertised audio guides were unavailable, and there was almost nothing in the way of descriptive information beyond a few signs leading you in a circuit around the site (though there were plenty of safety signs, including “careful, rocks might fall on your head” (my translation!)). But, once I got over my surprise and slight disappointment, I really enjoyed my walk around Villa Jovis. There were only a few other people there and I began to appreciate the atmospheric setting and ambiance of this 2000 year old ruin surrounded by wild vegetation and amazing views.

The villa was built by Augustus before he became Emperor and was later restructured by Emperor Tiberius who lived here for ten years, from AD 26-37, and he ruled the Roman Empire from here rather than from Rome. The walk circled through the servants quarters and then up to the Imperial quarters where a terrace provided this fantastic view of the end of the Sorrentine Peninsula and of Mount Vesuvius off in the distance to the left. (A nearby terrace, with another sheer drop at its edge, is reputedly where the cruel Tiberius had people he was displeased with pushed to their deaths.)

The terrace is now dominated by the 17th century Church of Santa Maria del Soccorso which seemed to proclaim and assert the triumph of the Church over the lost might of the Romans.

I continued my walk and marvelled at all of the work that went into creating this villa so long ago – even just the quarrying and transporting of the stone and the creation of the bricks would have been a massive enterprise.

Next, I visited the Park Astarita which is next to Villa Jovis. There was a gate and a very old man on a camp chair asking one Euro for admission – I’m not sure whether or not he was an authorized gate keeper, and that was okay, but later I wondered about the upkeep and safety of some of the constructions in this cliffside park. My first view was of this cliff where you can see three belvederes (viewing platforms) constructed at various levels on its edge. Wow!

I came to this stairway and proceeded down but felt quite nervous doing so!

These were the spectacular views to my left and to my right at the first landing.

The stairs continued downwards along a narrow and precipitous ledge. I was either foolish or brave, or perhaps both, but despite my pounding heart I keep going, slowly and carefully.

The staircase went all the way down this spine of rock and kept descending,

and despite some crumbling steps I kept going, hoping that it would end soon. I thought of the old man at the gate, and wondered how often properly-trained personnel assessed the safety of this stairway and its foundation! I’m not sure if my little stops for quick pictures of the sheer cliffs helped to calm me or make me more nervous.

Finally I reached the very end of the path. Thank goodness! This sign showed me what I had walked out onto (at T2!), and I did not want to sit for even one second on the bench!

Going back was just as frightening as coming down had been, and I started muttering “Please no earthquake, please no earthquake, please no earthquake,” aloud as I climbed.

I had to get back to the very top!

Needless to say, I did make it back safe and sound, but it took a long while for my heart to settle down and it re-started its pounding when I could see from one of the belvederes the path that I had taken.

And later, when I looked over my photos, there was this view that I had taken from Villa Jovis of the long and jagged spine of limestone that the path is built upon. I likely would not have started down that staircase if I had noticed it from this vantage point!

I visited each belvedere and continued to take photos of the thrilling views, my heart still pounding. On the left, looking straight down, tour boats are offering their passengers a peek into the White Grotto below.

After the excitement of the belvederes, I sat for a while in the nice, level, safe-feeling portion of the park and enjoyed the greenery of the native plants all around me, and then I began my walk to my next destination, the Arco Naturale which was a good thirty minutes away along scenic lanes that passed homes, a few shops, villas and gardens. The tall mature pines and cacti were stunning!

A descent through a shady forested area, and past a dramatically-placed restaurant, led to the viewing platform for the Arco Naturale which was a definite, “Wow!” Unfortunately, none of my photos can even come close to capturing its size and visual impact.

This little fellow though was surprisingly easy to photograph. Perhaps he’s used to the number of people who come here to see the arch, or maybe he was just too happy and sleepy on his warm rock in the sun to bother moving as I inched closer and closer.

By now it was well past noon and, very happy with my morning adventures, I walked back into the centre of Capri town which was, of course, now incredibly busy again with tourists. And, grrr, there was only one window open for bus tickets (!), with a long line, and then an even longer line of people already waiting for the small buses to Anacapri! I asked someone to hold my place in the ticket line and walked over to one of the taxis to ask the rate which was twenty euros, not as high as I had expected. Back at the lineup I asked if anyone wanted to share a taxi ride and three lively Irish women of about my age agreed immediately. They were so fun, and we chatted a mile a minute in the jazzy convertible taxi up to Anacapri along the crazy, windy, death-defying cliffside road. (The following photo is one I took in the morning from Capri town. The white line on the rock bluff to the right is part of the road to Anacapri!)

Back in Anacapri I had an inexpensive picnic lunch on a shaded bench in the town square, and then a rest out of the sun at my BnB until the late afternoon when I took the bus to Faro for a swim. I did not bring my camera or cell phone as I wanted to relax completely and not have to worry about leaving my valuables on the shore, but later I regretted not taking a photo of this wonderful place to swim (though I think that it will probably stay in my memory forever). Facing west, the small swimming bay at Faro has no beach and one enters the water from the rocks either by diving in or, for those like me who need to get in gradually, by way of a metal ladder attached to the rock. Locals and tourists alike sunned themselves on the rocks or swam in the sea – it was a relaxed and happy place and not overly busy. The water was perfect! And the views of the sunlit rocky bay, the lighthouse, the open sea, and the lovely clear blue water were just simply marvellous. It was the perfect way to end my last day on the beautiful island of Capri.

Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Fall 2022 – A trail of forts, a crush in Capri town, and a swim in the sea

October 5, 2022

“Peaceful and solitary, this walk traverses a veritable garden of herbs and unusual Mediterranean plants…”.

The line above, from the guide book, “Walking on the Amalfi Coast” by Gillian Price, basically “had me at hello”. So, on my second day in Capri, I set off early to walk the Sentiero dei Fortini, a 5 km trail along the west side of the island that travels past a series of forts that date to the early 1800s when, during the Napoleonic Wars, the French and the English fought each other and took turns seizing control of the strategically-placed isle of Capri.

From Anacapri, I took a local bus to Faro where the trail begins. Faro means “lighthouse” in Italian, and the trail started at this beautiful lighthouse at Punta Carena, with a view northwards from there in my direction of travel.

The path rose steeply at first in order to rise above and traverse the deeply indented coastline, and then it reached the first fort, the Fortino dei Tombosiello, with great views back to the lighthouse. I had not met or seen anyone else on the trail, so this walk was definitely “peaceful and solitary.”

It was a fresh cool morning, and the trail alternated between travelling in the shade of trees and shrubs and out in the open, often with somewhat alarming views down.

The next fort, Fortino del Pino, was very near by,

and then the trail became really fun! Narrow, rocky, twisty, precarious – it required my full attention, but then so did the views so I had to stop time and time again, quite happily.

Also fun was the series of ceramic plaques attached to the rocks all along the route that provided illustrations and information about the local flora and fauna. The botanist who provided the text for the flora seems to be a very passionate person who describes plants in the most flowery (excuse the pun) and poetic language. Here are just two examples, please read!

The zoologist, on the other hand, seem to be a much more straightforward person that sticks to simple matters of fact rather than romantic and whimsical notions. The fauna plaques described birds, land animals and insects as well as creatures to be found in the sea to my left like various fishes, crustaceans, octopi, and marine mammals (dolphins, fin whales, sperm whales). I will share two plaques – the lizard, because I have seen so many lizards (first in Naples, but especially at Pompei and at the Roman ruins at the Bagni di Regina Giovanni) but I keep forgetting to mention them (they are shy and fast and hard to photograph), and the Kestrel because I saw one on this hike, shortly before reaching this plaque, soaring high above the cliffs.

I did not photograph one of the first plaques that I passed on the trail which named the one species of snake that lives on Capri, but I do remember that, “it can grow up to 2 metres”, and “it is not venomous but is prone to biting”! In the next photo, you can see several of the plaques alongside a series of stone steps that lead up through the rough terrain. A few plaques also described some of the geology of the area and the kinds of fossils that can be found in these limestone rocks. What an educational trail!

The trail continued to be tricky but fun and included some sections where extra care with my footing was needed. At one point, I looked back and saw a couple coming along behind me. At first I felt disappointed to no longer be completely alone on the trail, but then I reasoned that if I were to stumble and fall down the cliff there would be someone to call out to!

This next section consisted of a zigzagging set of stairs on a near-vertical wall, followed by a wooden bridge that traversed a gorge.

Looking back, it didn’t look too scary,

until I had travelled a tiny bit further and had this view back!

As well as the couple behind me, I began to pass several couples that were walking the trail from the opposite direction, and the sea began to be busy with the tour boats that circle the island, but mostly, peace and solitude still reigned.

And, stopping to photograph the flowers and shrubs continued to provide an opportunity to be still for a moment and to appreciate the plants that are adapted to live in this harsh environment of rocky soil, baking sun, wind, salt spray, and little rain.

The next fort, Fortino di Mesola, blended well into the rocks of the cliff,

and later, a detour around another small inlet provided this more verdant view looking inland towards Mount Solaro.

The trail passed these impressive plants that were taller than me,

and then passed alongside a stone fence, past an olive orchard, and then into a small forest of oaks and pines, with lovely cyclamens dotting the forest floor and their poetic descriptive plaque located nearby.

The trail returned to the rocky coast and I soon reached the last fort on this hike, the Fortino di Orrico which was retaken from the British by the French in a battle here in 1808.

Then, all too soon, the trail rose up to this road,

and it was only a few hundred metres more to reach the trail’s end and the bus stop above the Grotta Azurra (The Blue Grotto). There, while I waited for the bus, I was able to watch passengers from the tour boats being loaded into small row boats in order to enter the famous Blue Grotto.

What a wonderful morning and a wonderful walk! I am so glad that I hiked Capri’s Sentiero dei Fortino.

I returned to Anacapri for lunch and a rest out of the sun until the late afternoon when I caught a very crowded bus to Capri town, my first visit there. What a crush! I couldn’t believe how many people were crowded into the town’s main square and on all of the nearby streets which are lined with exclusive shops and expensive restaurants and cafes. Not my scene at all. Yikes! I wove my way through the mass of people as quickly as I could towards my first sightseeing goal, the Giardini di Augusta, a public garden with amazing views. But of course it was very crowded there as well. I waited patiently for my turn to take a few quick snaps, first of the Faraglioni Rocks,

and then straight down to the beautiful blue sea,

and then of this amazing view of the Via Krupp, an impossibly steep, switchbacking path that was built onto the cliffside in the early 1900s by the German industrialist Friedrich Alfred Krupp.

I had intended to explore Capri town a little more but the crush of people was just too much for me so I returned to the bus stop in order to get to my next destination, Marina Piccola where I had planned to take a swim. The ticket line up was long (only one window was open – grrr), and the bus line up was longer (grrr again), but I ended up chatting with a young couple from Chile which helped to pass the time. Finally, it was our turn to cram ourselves onto the small bus, but at least we were on our way, whisked by the fearless driver down the switchbacking road that led to Marina Piccola where there is a small public beach.

Marina Piccola is in shade in the afternoon so the beach was relatively empty and my swim out to and around those rocks, again and again, was divine.

My good humour restored, I walked out onto the small Marina Piccola dock to take this last photo of the day. Yes, it’s the Faraglioni Rocks again, but this time from sea level and lit by the lowering sun. A fine way to end my second day on Capri.