Onboard the Andrea Cay: Packing It In...

Down to our last 3 days, we had a lot of territory to cover. Our first stop was at the town of Amalfi, which is at the southern end of the 35 mile Amalfi coast (south of Naples on Italy’s western coast). A truly breathtaking area, with lemon groves, buildings and houses clinging to the sides of rugged cliffs, just waiting for the next earthquake.

It’s hard to believe that this sleepy little town, with its lovely piazzas, a popular community beach at the marina’s edge, and a magnificent 12^th century cathedral was once an influential seaport with a population of over 70,000. After a leisurely walk around town, we hired a very chatty taxi driver to take us to the tiny village of Positano, 11 miles away, along a very windy road built high into the cliffs, and giving us all near heart attacks as the driver negotiated the many narrow hairpin turns. Positano is the most photographed town along the Amalfi coast, with lovely pastel-colored villas rising above a really cool black sand beach. We liked the town so much we had a wonderful waterfront lunch and then went back for dinner (where we probably had the best home-made pasta dishes in our entire trip!)

The next morning, the Andrea Cay negotiated dramatic rock karsts to get to the island of Capri. During the Roman times, Capri served as the summer getaway for the Roman elite. Today, it is the haunt of the rich and famous. We hiked from one side of the island to the other over the crest of the hill, with beautiful bouganinvillea-adorned villas. After our “exhausting” hike over the island (… not really), we had earned ourselves another wine and pizza lunch. The tourist season is pretty much at its end, but Carol and Nancy did manage to get a little more shopping in. Capri, as well as the entire Amalfi coast, is famous for its lemon groves, and most importantly, its production of limoncello… so of course we had to buy a couple bottles!

After a few hours cruising north late afternoon, we anchored off the Sorrento, a town sitting high above striking limestone cliffs that plunge into the sea. Known as Surrentum to the Greeks and later the Romans, it has a long history of trade, culture and wars. Some of the oldest ruins originate from Italian tribes dating back to 900 BC. It is also the site of the mythological “sirens” that tempted sailors to certain doom with their mesmerizing voices and singing.

One of our days in Sorrento, we rented a car and drove to Pompeii, one of Europe’s most amazing archaeological sites. A city of 20,000 people in the 1^st century, a huge explosion of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD buried the city under a layer of hot pumice and burying thousands. Subsequent eruptions over the next few centuries, buried the town even deeper and the 60 acres of the ancient city of Pompeii were not discovered until the 18^th century. We had a fascinating tour by a local guide and were amazed at the preservation of these 2000 year old ruins.

The only disappointment of the day was our attempt to hike to the top of Mt. Vesuvius. After Peter Andretti skillfully negotiated the narrow and harrowing road to the national park near the top, we were foiled in our plan to hike the final half hour to the top of the crater. Our tour guide (and book) told us you had to start the hike by 3:30, but when we arrived at 3:15, they had just closed (and there was no talking them into letting us go!)

Our last official day of the fun filled vacation was spent in Sorrento. After a short walking tour of town and lunch, of course… there was last-minute shopping for all! Carol and Nancy bravely tackled the many gift shops, while John and Peter found a local wine store and overly provisioned the Andrea Cay for its winter in the Caribbean.

Tuesday morning, our regular crew, Roy and Jane, flew in to join Joc and Shaz on the Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean. The four of us headed to Rome where we spent the night and all flew out the next morning.

And so ends a fantastic four month adventure. And hopefully, it’s just the beginning of more great explorations!

Check in periodically for progress reports on the Atlantic crossing if you’re interested…