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May 1: Positano to Sant'Agata

Forgot one important photo from last night, showing Shoshanna curled up in her natural habitat by the largest source of warmth in the room:

The cumulative effect of 5 days of hiking and a full bottle of homemade red wine with dinner led to us waking at 8 rather than our usual 6ish. Unfortunately, breakfast at Le Tore was disappointing. We’d been hoping for something proteinaceous, as at our previous hotels, such as farm eggs and possibly bacon, but it was a traditional Italian breakfast. That is, mostly carbs. But the bread was good, the farm-made preserves were yummy, and we had a bottomless thermos of good, strong Italian coffee. Also, warm steamed milk, which is a brilliant invention.

Today’s plan was to wander towards the western end of the Amalfi peninsula, gaze upon Capri from a distance, and do a side trip to the Ieranto marine sanctuary. We ended up being out for more than 7 hours, all but an hour or so spent walking. But before leaving, we stopped in to visit the agriturismo’s cows, including this young fellow who was deeply skeptical of us:

The first couple hours of our trip were mostly through back roads, which are clearly if inconspicuously signposted with ceramic tiles. For example:

Along the way, we got several nice views of Capri, including this one:

We stopped for lunch in Termini. An unambitious toasted salami and smoked mozzarella panini, washed down with a couple Nastro Azzura beers. Then downhill along a long cliffside trail for a couple hours, out and back, to reach the seashore of the Ieronto marine sanctuary. The first part was easy (mostly horizontal), but was soon followed by a steep descent along rocky and uneven trails for about half an hour before reaching the easier trails of the sanctuary. Unlike a typical North American national park, no lodge, ranger, or interpretive center -- just one lonely map hinting that the ruins by the shore might once have been a munitions factory. But we had waves crashing against the headland (despite it being a calm day with only mild winds) and lovely coastal views, including this one (across the sanctuary waters) towards Capri:

After relaxing for 15 minutes with boots off to let our feet breathe, we began the long slog back up to the cliffs again to the tiny village of Nerano, where we'd catch a bus home. To my surprise, it was actually easier on the legs than the original descent to the sea. We arrived with half an hour or so to spare before the expected arrival of our bus home, but we’d misread the schedule and the driver informed us we’d have to wait another half hour for him to reach the terminal and turn around and come back for us. While we waited, the local dogs began arriving and lingering. It wasn’t initially clear why, but this was obviously part of their daily routine. Much butt-sniffing and tailwagging, while politely avoiding us. And then all was revealed: the end-of-day schoolbus arrived, and the dogs enthusiastically collected their charges and walked them home.

While we waited for the bus, growing cold as the clouds moved in, we stopped in at the local convenience store, which was a bizarre clutter of objets d’art piled to the rafters opposite a small bar and espresso machine. It was staffed by a lovely older gentleman who plied Shoshanna with limoncello and fennel wine (vino de finocchio). I ordered a coffee, which was warming and reinvigorating. Here’s the convenience store and its patron:

We chatted with a Danish tourist for a while, but never quite got around to asking his name. He’s staying in Sorrento, so perhaps we’ll run into him again tomorrow.

We ended the excursion part of our day with a long bus ride uphill (glad we didn’t have to walk it!) and a brisk 20-minute walk up the hill from beautiful downtown Sant’Agata to Le Tore. A nice warm shower, then straight downstairs to relax by the fire while we waited for dinner.

Dinner was simple, hearty, and lovely. Primi was penne pasta in a light tomato sauce. Secondi was “polpette” (meatballs) in a thicker tomato sauce, with contornis (side dishes) of perfectly fried potatoes (two kinds) and salad with carrot slices. Dessert was a lovely apricot tart with apple slices and almonds. Washed down with a half litre of good red wine. And so to bed!

May 3: Sant'Agata to Sorrento

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