Monday again - May 15, 2023 and it’s pouring rain all day. So we’re looking ahead at our trip south, down the boot of Italy to Tropea. Taxi and train tickets are booked, car rental under investigation then need ferry reservations to Sicily. So a good day for trip planning, book reading and packing.
Meanwhile I will recall our misadventure arrival to the rain-cursed Amalfi coast. We left Cortona with a solid plan to visit Civita before noon, arrive in Salerno after a 3.5 hour trip, drop off our car in good time for our 4:30 sunny ferry to Amalfi and a scenic seashore arrival with a short local bus trip up to Pogerola to our villa. You know what they say about best laid plans.
Things started to unravel but not until after our visit to Civita, the city that eroded around its centre, apparently due to poor rock foundation and building materials.
The skies opened up right as we were leaving the parking lot which added some excitement to the already heavy Friday afternoon truck traffic heading to the port city of Salerno. We found the rental agency address but no staff. By chance someone showed up who spoke mostly Italian and only asked about “closing the contract”. Given our imminent ferry booking, we left the car in the middle of the road in her care. We raced towards the water with luggage in tow and eventually found the ferry terminal only to find they were all cancelled due to poor weather. Okay then, off to the bus depot to find the crowd of all the other passengers who were unable to ferry to their Amalfi Coast destination for the weekend. So now what?
We bought bus tickets and waited in line and watched one bus fill with relatively few passengers and their luggage. Next bus to arrive in an hour and it’s not likely we will be on that one either. We decide to pre-emp the crowd and find the prior bus stop. The travel agent directed us to the bus terminus about five minutes walk away. We managed to board an empty bus, store our luggage and settle in for our first experience on the road to Amalfi. That’s why Denise is smiling in the photo.
For those who have travelled this coastal route, I don’t need to say anymore. For those who haven’t, it’s insanity. A bus full of passengers, standing room only with sharp winding switchbacks and honking around every blind corner with cars and scooters breaking and backing up or passing and the choice of a steep drop on one side of the narrow road or rock wall on the other with intermittent rain making visibility poor and road surface wet and slippery. And it’s non-stop fun for an hour and a half.
Arrived safely but shaken in Amalfi, and now we have to find and purchase bus tickets and catch the right local bus up to Pogerola (not Ravello or Scala), again right at the same time as the locals are finishing work on Friday. Did I mention that since breakfast we have had an ice cream bar and one bathroom break at a truck stop at 1 o’clock?
After another Disneyland thrill ride with added stops to look out over the edge on another full bus up to the backside of the hill from Amalfi, we arrived at the beautiful quaint town of Pogerola. Jerry’s Pub was still open so we dropped off our luggage, emptied our bladders and headed there for dinner and a glass of well-earned wine.
Stay tuned for more misadventures with our trip the next day to Positano.
