Sunday 17 May

We put our coats into the back pack today as we were advised it could rain and Antonio the bus drive offered everyone an umbrella. He is from Naples so he should know, right? It turned out to be the hottest day so far since leaving NZ!

We set off for the Amalfi coast in smaller buses as our touring coach couldn’t negotiate the road. We hadn’t got 2 minutes from the hotel when we ran into a car race/rally and it took forever to work our way slowly through the muddle. Petrol head heaven!

On our way to Positano there were two stops for pictures. An impressive piece of road built out from the cliff in places, which is nerve racking as there is nothing of substance below you. Upon arriving in Positano we had a steep walk down to the beach and then back up again. We bought a small bottle of limoncello so if you want porno pasta and limoncello just let me know!

I bought a shirt and Tina bought a dress and, finally, we found a shop that sold novels in English. Tina had run out and one thing you need to know is that if Tina is without a book to read my life is misery. I told her at Athens airport to buy a book but she wouldn’t and we had not seen, until this morning, a shop with an English section.

We drove back to the port in Sorrento and caught a ferry to the island of Capri. A few of us did the optional small boat trip to see caves and coral (don’t thing Great Barrier Reef; think a smudge of orange just below the waterline. The water was choppy; spray flying over us (it was a very small boat). Great views and a lot of fun.

Then it was on the funicolare (as spelt in Italian ie funicular) up to Capri Town which was so hot. I didn’t do the rest of the tour – Achilles were both sore (the left is now worse than the right – I wonder if I can get an operation and have term 3 off?) and it was too hot. Tina also gave it a miss as she was too hot. We had a lovely long lunch in the shade. A quick look around and then dropped down to the port which was cooler – a long beer under an umbrella by the water. Ferry back to Sorrento.

Our feeling, and shared by some others, was that Capri was no big deal. To us it didn’t compare to Santorini. Others loved Capri. We freshened up (we were very hot and sticky), average group meal which had many complaining to the tour director the next day – it’s that same old problem: starters are ok but the main is not good (dry chicken, no sauce).