The scenery looks a lot like California Highway One, along Big Sur, but with ancient stone fortresses, old stone bridges and ramparts, and colorful little buildings tumbling down the cliffs and hillsides.
We got off at the second Positano stop, fermata Sponda. The first view of Poistano was breathtaking, and we were soon to find out that every view was just a fabulous.
Our home for the week was La Tavolozza Residence, a nice house with great views from our patio looking out over the town. We met the mom and daughter owners, dropped our bags and walked out to explore.
Positano literally tumbles down, or climbs right up (depending on your view) the cliffs. The houses and businesses appear to be stacked right on top of each other. There is almost no car traffic in town, the only road is a winding, one way, so all access is by foot, up and down stairways and steep alleys. This keeps a certain amount of tourist riff-raff out of Positano, and helps it retain its charm.
The main pathway heading down towards the cathedral and lower town is covered with a “roof” of bougainvillea. This just seals the deal on this charming town. Artists and craftsmen line this section of the walk.
The cathedral is ornate, with a nice little piazza in front and a beautifully tiled dome. The bells ring every hour and at mass. There are artists busily painting everywhere, and a small crypt under the church is open to poke your head into.
The pathways are lined with shops, little side alleys lead off to the residences, and it all eventually spills out to the main square at the bottom where the ferryboat dock is. Over to the left is the big beach, Spiaggia Grande, lined with bright orange umbrellas and beds. I think we loved Positano so much because this is the place we first experienced the wonderful Italian beach culture.
It goes like this: you wake up early, walk the town and arrive at the beach just as it opens. It costs about €6 to €12, depending on what country and exactly where you are. (In Turkey, many beach facilities were free, as long as you bought drinks or food from the sponsoring restaurant.) So I’d pay the beach attendant or owner, and then choose the umbrella and beds for the day. We like to be on the side, close to the water. Back up the hill, out to breakfast, and after a little walking or shopping, back down to the beach for the day. About every half hour or hour the owner or his attendant comes by and offers to fetch up drinks and food from the local restaurants. The only thing you need to do is get up to swim in the warm Tyrrhenian Sea, turn over, change playlists on the iPod, read or sleep. After a busy day of swimming, you can shower off, then wander back up the hill, change, and walk down through the town for dinner.
Thus passed some really pleasant days.
We took the ferry over to visit Amalfi one day. It was a charming town, slightly more touristy, but with a better fountain and cathedral. Their beach was a lot like the one in Positano, small pebbles and the colorful umbrellas. The town was laid out differently and was not as steep, and we bought strawberries at the market and washed them in the fountain. Then, we walked the twisty maze of alleys from Amalfi around the edge of the cliff and over to the neighboring town of Atrani.
I really liked Atrani. It is smaller than Positano, has a lovely but simple church, and a beach full of blue umbrellas. The beds are less expensive, but they do not bring food to you. The main square is just behind the beach, and so after swimming a couple hours we walked over to the square to eat, and spent the rest of the afternoon here, before walking back over to Amalfi and catching the ferry home.
Many people think the highlight of this entire Sorrento to Amalfi area is taking the ferry out to the island of Capri. Capri is the big, name brand place here; the “must see” destination.
I have to tell you, for us at least, it was a waste of a great day, a day we could have enjoyed the beach again in Positano. The ferry ride over was interesting and Capri looked cool as you approached. To get into the island’s interior, you load up, standing room only, on a little red shuttle bus and twist your way up, up the cliffs.
The town is very cute, filled with high end shopping and fashionable cafes, where a single glass of wine costs more than an entire meal in Positano.
I took the ski lift up to the top of the mountain and walked around, looking over the cliff into the fog-distance-fog. Then we walked to the next section of the island, saw a famous church with a tiled floor (you walk around the perimeter on a board walk) and out to the “land’s end” with the famous white rocks.
I mean, it was all pretty and somewhat interesting, but for us it lacked the charm of Positano, and we would have rather wasted the day on our beach.
Finally, one sad morning we said goodbye to our innkeepers, walked down through the town one last time, and boarded the ferry south, to Salerno.
I guess Positano became addicting to us.