Grotta di Smeraldo
Trip Start
Apr 28, 2008
1
33
60
Trip End
Jul 04, 2008
Furore, Campania, Italy
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
As we were about to leave there was a knock at the door. There stood an angry Italian telling us we were parked in front of his garage. Now to put this into perspective, we have had endless problems with parking since we arrived in Furore. The reason we chose this accommodation was because the ad said there was private parking – well let me tell you – it ain’t private! It is basically a free for all (just like the rest of Italy) and every single time we get back we have to call the owner and ask her where to park, because our ‘bay’ is occupied by another vehicle. So she was the one who told us to park in front of his garage (we weren’t even in front of it – we were off to the side). So poor Evan had to go off and scour the streets in search of another bay. It is really annoying!
Anyway, let’s get back to more pleasant things. After the parking debacle was resolved we began our descent to the fjord. We had to walk down about a thousand stairs (not an exaggeration, it says 1000 in the directions). The walk was lovely though, and we stopped a few times to take photos of the dramatic cliffs and blue-green Ocean. The fjord itself was a little disappointing – let’s hope the ones in Norway impress us more.
We continued our trek 1km down the road (literally walking on the road. No pavement. I was slightly concerned about the crazy Italian drivers) to the Grotta di Smeraldo (the emerald grotto). We get there and there are no stairs to climb down just a sign at a lift saying E5 each! WHAT! 5 euro each to use the lift! We almost threw our toys. But, crisis averted, it was 5 euro for the entrance – the lift was included – phew!
We shared the lift with a couple from Quebec, he was a retired partner at Deloitte – small world. We exited the lift and found ourselves in a cave. We had to get into a row boat (with a singing captain) and he took us around. The sun shines into the grotto through an underwater tunnel, giving it a mystical emerald glow. It is quite magical to see.
After the grotto we caught the SITA bus to Amalfi and parked off on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Bliss. We had food and drinks brought to us on the beach, under our umbrella, reclining like Romans. Had a few swims in the Med, and strolled the streets of Amalfi – saw the church where St. Andrew is buried. Finally, took another SITA bus home and getting ready for our longest drive tomorrow – 815km! See you on the other side.
