Sorrento; Tuesday, 04 October, 2011

After a leisurely breakfast in a little café near the station I wandered over to the city sightseeing bus stop in time to take the first tour of the morning. Unlike sightseeing tours in other locations where there is lots to see in the city centre, this tour concentrates on heading up into the hills above Sorrento, and along the Sorrento peninsular for the views from there. Consequently you are sitting on the top deck of a double deck bus as it powers its way up and down tight windy roads with switchbacks and hairpins, it makes for an interesting experience.

The tour took nearly two hours so by time I was back in the centre of town I was in time to catch a bus out to Amalfi. Only problem was the 11:30 appeared to have been cancelled (or never existed) and the queue for the 12:00 was pretty impressive. I joined the back of it, not expecting really to get on. 12:00 came and went with no sign of a service, then just before 12:15 a bus going to Amalfi pulled in and the queue started piling into it. In the end I missed getting on that bus by about 6 people, but looking at how packed it was, and the thought of standing for nearly two hours, I was quite glad I’d missed it.

Thankfully, the 12:30 was running, and it turned up only about ten minutes after the previous one had left, so for an extra 10 minutes standing at the bus stop in the sun with a breeze I had a very comfortable, seated journey with the pick of windows, so I was able to get a very big picture window for the journey.

The road from Sorrento to Amalfi is spectacular, winding its way perilously along the side of the cliffs, hanging out over the sea with lots of tight bends and the bus drivers flinging their buses round them without a care in the world and a cheerful toot on their horns before they start just to let those coming in the other direction that death was coming in the shape of a large blue coach.

Having arrived in Amalfi and taken in some of the sights of the city centre I headed over to the second city sightseeing tour of the day, this time in an open-top minibus to continue along the coast to the towns of Minori and Maiori. Having completed that tour I then caught the third tour of the day, again in an open top minibus up to the town of Ravello.

I had a long wander round Ravello, and stopped for a very late lunch in a little café perched on the side of the hill overlooking Minori, Maiori and the coastline further south. Then it was time to start the journey back to Amalfi and then onto Sorrento.

For the journey back I was in the front seat so I had a spectacular, and at times hair-raising journey, the number of near misses was unbelievable, also slightly concerning was the sight of the driving crossing himself and clearly saying a quick prayer before each really tight turn. Beyond Positano and along the windiest bit of the route we were travelling in the dying light of the sun, and by the time we came off of the coast road it was almost completely dark.

We finally pulled into Sorrento just before 8, so I wandered down towards the flat to have dinner in a little restaurant there, before heading back to the apartment to pack.