Praiano turned out to be the jewel on the Amalfi Coast that I was hoping it would be. There were no tourist shops to speak of, and very few tourists: just a small, quiet town nestled between Positano and Amalfi along one of the most beautiful coasts in the world. In fact, the Amalfi Coast is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, and after spending a few days there, it’s easy to see why. The beauty is staggering, phenomenal, and ever-present. (On a side note, there are more World Heritage sites in Italy than any other country in the world!) The hotel I stayed at, La Perla, was another gem, and from my room I had a lovely view of the Atlantic Ocean and the coastline to the east. On several mornings I watched the sun rise from my window, and I could track the movement of the traffic along the road below me, winding its way along the coast to Amalfi and beyond.
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| sunrise over Praiano |
After an hour’s bus ride from Sorrento, I arrived in Praiano around noon on Thursday, a cloudy day that threatened rain. An online tourist site had warned me that my hotel was far from the town center, so I asked the bus driver to drop me off at the hotel instead. However, he either misunderstood me or didn’t seem to know what I was talking about, and I found myself left at the town center with no idea of where my hotel was or how to get there. (Bad planning on my part, I usually have these things mapped out in advance.) But I’ve become used to asking locals for help, and I asked someone for directions. I learned I was on the right road, and needed to continue on it for another 2 km. Having learned the hard way that Italians often underestimate distance and quantity, I doubled the distance in my mind, figuring I had a two-mile walk ahead of me, dragging my luggage behind me.
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| Destination: La Perla Hotel |
It was not an unpleasant walk, as I was on the coast road, with breathtaking panoramic views at every step. However, the road was small and traffic whizzed by me: cars, buses, and motorcycles, often forcing me to snuggle against the rocky side of the road. I walked and walked and walked, stopping now and then to admire the view. At one point there was a grotto-like area where a miniature version of the town was represented, complete with small houses, streets and trees.
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| Grotto |
Finally, after about 45 minutes, I saw a sign for the hotel, up a steep incline on my left. La Perla turned out to be one of the nicer hotels I stayed at on this trip, similar to the hotels I stayed at in Grottammare and Rieti. There was a lounge area complete with a large-screen TV (the Germans seem to like this!) and a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the coastline.
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| Restaurant Terrace |
After getting settled in at the hotel, I took off again, hoping to visit Positano that afternoon. I would need to take a bus and backtrack about ten miles down the coast. I asked a hotel clerk where to buy a bus ticket. No problem, it’s just around the corner from the hotel. (In Italy, one usually buys bus tickets at coffee bars, newsstands or tabacchi shops, which sell candy, cigarettes, phone cards, etc.) However, the tabacchi shop near the hotel was closed for the lunch/siesta/riposo time, which can last from 2-4 hours. So, I had to walk back to the town center: it only took 30 minutes without my luggage. I managed to find another tabacchi shop open, but was told that the SITA bus tickets (a regional service) to Positano were only sold at a nearby cafè closed until 2:30. Just my luck! Arrghh! These kinds of delays are common in Italy, and one learns to plan ahead or go with the flow: sometimes there’s a logic to the rules one encounters, sometimes it’s more of a dance, and sometimes it’s simply bureaucratic nonsense.
As I was walking by the bus stop, looking defeated, I struck up a conversation with a British couple. They seemed to know the lay of the land, so to speak, and informed me that I could buy bus tickets on a local route when I got on the bus. In addition, the local bus was cheaper and ran more frequently than the SITA bus. They happened to have several extra tickets on hand they did not need, and sold them to me just as the bus pulled into view. I am often blessed by synchronicity like this on my travels: people show up unexpectedly to help me. It’s a wonder that I ever bother worrying about anything, since dilemmas usually seem to resolve themselves, without any effort on my part, if I will let them.
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| Positano |
After a ten-minute ride on the local bus, I found myself in Positano, a picturesque village that is one of the most popular spots on the Amalfi coast, and has been featured as a background in several movies, including Under the Tuscan Sun. Well, I don’t get it. Sure, it’s picturesque, but the main draw is in its nightlife and in the realm of fashion. Not my scene on either account. Positano seemed little more than a few steep, winding streets lined with expensive stores geared to tourist tastes and women’s fashion.
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| Handmade sandals in this store! |
There is a small, black pebble-lined beach, but it was starting to rain by the time I reached it. And since there were few other obvious attractions, and I was already tired from walking several hours, I decided to return to Praiano. It might be a fun place to visit on a sunny day, or during the summer when there is an active nightlife. I understand there is also a beautiful church worth seeing there. On this day, however, I only spent a few hours in Positano.
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| Another view of Positano, with its Duomo. |
Thankfully, on the bus back to Praiano, I was able to ride all the way to my hotel, and that evening ate a wonderful meal of pasta and white wine at the hotel. The wine served to soothe my jagged nerves and ignore the noisy antics of a table full of German men sitting nearby.
Getting my bearings in an unfamiliar town is always a challenge and somewhat of a thrill for me, once I figure things out. And in the case where my hotel is 30 minutes from the town center, it often feels like a major victory. After many hours of walking, I was ready to relax and rest up for the next day’s adventure: Amalfi and Ravello. A sunny day was forecast that Friday, and I wanted to make the most of it.
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