Wednesday, no alarms! We still got up fairly early, packed up and headed down to the port. Ticket line for Capri was short and there was a boat leaving in 15 minutes so we got our tickets and piled on board. Boat was busy but not packed--we got our seats outside (a must for Carol) and it was a smooth 30 minute ride. The harbour at Capri may not be as crazy as Positano, but it may just seem better because it is bigger. At least when people get off the ferries they fan out in different directions--onto island tour boats, taxis, buses and the funicolare up to Capri town.
We had time to kill before check-in and didn't feel like lugging our bags very far so we plunked ourselves down at one of the rip-off restaurants by the ferries (10 Euro draft beer, no drink prices on the menus). Anyway, 62 Euros later, we went across the street to catch a rip-off cab up to Anacapri, the "other" side of the island, where we are staying for 2 nights. If you are worried about spending money, don't come to Capri! At least our accomodation is cheap, a funky little B&B called Antico Monastero.
After we got checked in, we headed off to go up the chairlift from Anacapri town to the top of Monte Solero, for some spectacular 360 degree vies of the island. Of course, with my fear of heights, my legs were a little rubbery when I got off at the top (and even more so when I got off at the bottom), but I survived and it was worth it.
Afterwards we went home a got cleaned up--a bit of a "process", one of the reasons our room is so cheap is that the private bathroom is not ensuite and not even on the same floor as our room--and then went to explore our neighbourhood a bit, only getting mildly lost along the way, and then found a nice spot that I had seen recommended on Tripadvisor, L'Angelo Del Gusto, for dinner. It was quite good but, of course, not cheap.
Thursday, after breakfast, we decided to head down to the harbour, Marina Grande, via the path and stairways (the Phoenician Steps) that allow you to avoid the road. It is about a 35 minute walk (down--2 hours up) and countless (actually 921) very steep stone steps--again my fear of heights had my knees shaking.
We got down OK and went to check out boat trips around the island for later in the day and in the end decided to take one right away, because the clouds were supposed to keep coming in and we could get a small, rather than a large, boat right away. We didn't go to the Blue Grotto--it was too much of a zoo (2 hour wait) and it was really cloudy by that time so it wouldn't have been impressive anyway. We did see lots of other great caves and the coastline was spectacular.
When we got back, we grabbed a sandwich and a beer and wine at a little grocery called Salumeria da Aldo that Tripadvisor has made famous. Sat on the curb by the water and ate. Let's just say it balanced out what we spent for lunch the day before.
Then we took the funicolare up to Capri town, wandered around a bit, and took a walk across to the other side of the island, above the Faraglioni, the iconic rock formation. We walked partway down to get some photos, but did not want to have to walk all the way back up, so we turned around.
Back around and into town--every imaginable high-end store is there-- and took the funicolare back down to the port. Then had a bit of a wait for the bus up to Anacapri--buses are cheap but very crowded. Now, just getting ready to get cleaned up and head out for dinner.
2025-02-14