Drive along the coast

The weather started to change late afternoon yesterday. A cool breeze got up. For the first time we had to dine inside as it was too cold outside. By this morning the rain had come. Still we are ready for a quiet day. I've managed to catch a cold. We had to tackle the chemist for tissues as there were none on display - quite a challenge with our limited Italian!

The reason the Fox is weary is that he did a lot of driving yesterday. Around 10am we set off for the autostrada (motorway) to Salerno. Needless to say we couldn't find it & found ourselves on our way to Sorrento, the very road we couldn't find when we tried to go to Castellamare. However, once found, this road was well signposted. Clearly they expect foreign drivers in this more touristy area. The drivers even showed more consideration. I suspect they were mainly foreigners like us, used to driving with rules.

The heat haze obscured the view over Naples Bay to Naples itself. Nonetheless the Med was deep blue, brightly coloured boats bobbed in the harbours. As we entered Sorrento after many photo stops, we once got lost in the myriad of small streets. However, I had noticed a sign to the Amalfi Coast so we headed that way. On this side of the Sorrento peninsula the cliffs were even more impressive, sheer drops in parts. Houses clung perilously to the cliffs. In places the rocks had white vertical streaks as though they had been crying. At times the Med was more a deep green. I can well believe the Emerald Grotto is along here. The road twisted this way & that. We stopped frequently to admire the view of Salerno Bay.

We reached Amalfi itself in the early afternoon. By this time the coaches & buses arrived on the scene. They hurtle around the hairpin bends oblivious of anyone coming the other way. We screamed to a halt several times. By this time the pleasurable drive was becoming once more stressful & I was sinking under the onslaught of my cold. We headed towards the motorway just before Salerno.

It has to be admitted motorways are not usually my favourite kind of road, but here, in Italy, they do have the advantage of being quieter, direct, fast & less stressful than the other roads. Even if you have to pay, it's cheap when you consider how much we must have spent on petrol on some of the long diversions we've ended up making.