April 28th: Valle delle Ferriere

Today’s hike was into a different part of the valleys around Amalfi, the Valle delle Ferriere (“valleys of the ironworks”, though we didn’t see any ironworks). It began with a bus ride from Amalfi up switchbacks to the hillside town of Scala, which is about as far uphill as Ravello, only this time a bus driver did the heavy lifting. (Yes, scala is Italian for “stairs”, and we began with what the guide called a “stiff 20-minute climb up stairs”. They weren’t joking, but it was still far better than the 2 hours worth of stairs the previous day.) The rest of the day promised easier going, since it was mostly going to be “contouring”, which involves following the contour lines on the map, though inevitably with a significant amount of up and down.

For the next 5+ hours, we hiked deep into the Valle delle Ferriere, with sheer cliffs above and below, mostly in the open but often through patches of forest. Mostly level, but with occasional steep ascents or descents. Although the trail was mercifully free of stairs for the most part, the trail had lots of cobbles and rock fragments, so hard on the feet even with good hiking boots. Parts of the trail are well trodden by farmers and locals, but many stretches are not at all obvious until you’re on them and see the hidden walkable parts amidst dead ends and sheer drops. It’s frankly amazing how well the people who plan these trails can read the land and figure out which way to go. In some places, the trail’s only a couple feet wide and it’s not at all clear it will grow wider 15 or 10 minutes further along the cliff face. For example:
Narrow trail in the Valle

The air was filled with floral and herbal perfume, ranging from the crisp green scent of ferns to an almost grapelike floral scent. The bees were so busy that they sometimes sounded louder than the birds. We passed many trees that were covered with explosions of flowers and aswarm with bees. For example:
Tree overloaded with flowers

One of the main turning points on the trail was the main stream that descends from the surrounding mountains to run down the center of the valley. It had rained a bit the day before, and our guidebook warned that after a significant rain, it wouldn’t be safe to cross the river; we’d then have to turn back. Fortunately, we didn’t get enough rain yesterday to be problematic, so it we had a cheerfully burbling and easily crossed stream rather than a fulminating torrent. It was beautiful and shaded and fragrant, and about the halfway point, so we stopped for a cookie break and to dip our feet into the icy water. Felt great on our pour abused feet, but it wasn’t possible to keep your feet submerged for long. Of course, some of us were less willing to dip than others:
Dipping one's toes in the stream

That first stream marked roughly the halfway point, so after refreshing our feet, we continued the second half of the walk, clinging to the cliff face in places. Not really dangerous for the most part, but there were places the trail narrowed to only a foot or two, with a sheer drop suddenly appearing right beside the trail. Put one foot wrong and down you go! Nonetheless, we took our time and there were no mishaps. We arrived shortly after 2 in Pogerola, another small town clinging to the slopes. It offers great views over the valley and back towards Ravello:
Looking at Ravello from Pogerola

We were parched and hot and hungry, so we stopped for lunch at “Gerry’s pub”, which had been recommended by our guidebook. We met Gerry (who is a very friendly Italian fellow, name notwithstanding) as he was carting loads of drinks into his pub; he’d just spent half a day driving into “the city” (Naples?) because everything there was so much cheaper than locally. The pub has a shaded terrace, and as noted earlier, offers a great view across the valley to Ravello, and by this point, we really needed a rest. We shared a dish of “ravioli alla Maddy”, yummy ravioli stuffed with a delicate ricotta and covered in a lemon/orange cream sauce with small chunks that Shoshonna suggested might be nuts, but that struck me as more like crumbled hard cheese. An unusual choice, but still lovely. Washed down with a Moretti beer each (nothing quite like beer after a parched walk in the sun), and finished with tartuffo, chocolate ice cream covered with powdered chocolate and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

From Gerry’s, we still had a significant descent down the hillside. So we ended the day’s walk as we’d begun, with yet more stairs. This time, it involved a descent of 700 steps, which were numbered every 100 steps and at the halfway point lest one grows discouraged by the endless descent. After about an hour, we arrived at the high end of Amalfi, and still had a ways to go to get to the hotel, but at least it was flat. Like a sailor returning from the sea, it took us a while to regain our (flat) land legs.

Dinner was at Locanda del Marinaio, just around the corner from the Duomo. A little pricier than previous restaurants, but good for the money. We shared a deliciously crispy polenta baked with sausage chunks as an appetizer. My primi was ziti napolitano, which is basically a meat sauce with sausage and noodles; Shoshanna had sea bream. My secondi would have been the lamb, but the woman across the aisle from us scored the last of the lamb, so we had grilled pork medallions on spinach instead. Very good all, and needless to say, shared. One of the lovely things about being happily coupled is that you get to try twice as many things as you would if eating on your own. Dessert was a fresh-baked chocolate torte, with crispy outside and soft inside, accompanied by vanilla ice cream and topped off with a decaff espresso.

And so to bed. Tomorrow would be one of our longest walks of the trip, but rather than hiking more than 6 hours, we’re cutting the first couple hours off the trip by taking a bus partway. Details tomorrow.

April 29: Amalfi to Praiano