We charter a 25’ boat with a captain, an experienced gentleman
named Franchesco who goes by Cheecho.
It’s an extravagance for sure, but we really want to explore the coast
from the water. The water was choppy
yesterday in the big ferry and no different today, so Mandy is worried. Cheecho has the relaxed confidence that 30
years on the water provides and Mandy trusts him right from the start. We discuss the day with our Captain and
decide that Positano should be our first destination. We set out and Cheecho expertly works the
throttle and rudder of the heavy, powerful vessel to smooth out the waves. Not only do we have a skipper, but an
experienced tour guide as well, a man proud of his home and eager to show us
it’s hidden beauties. After just a few
minutes, we pull into Marina Grande, the working marina full of fishing boats,
fishermen and deck hands. The boats are
beautiful in their own right, purpose built from noble plans and painted colors
that reflect the style of the region.
We continue our journey along the coastline, Cheecho showing us
features of the shoreline along the way.
It’s always an event when you get to look at the sea from the edge of
the land. It’s an even more special
event to survey this land from the edge of the sea. Water crashing against the rocks, you can
hear the echoes of the eruptions that created this place. At the point of peninsula, we pass the
lighthouse and the Gulf of Naples becomes the Gulf of Salerno, our direction
switching from west to east. Along the
way Captain pulls the boat into tiny caves and crevices to give us
up-close-and-personal views of the topology.
At one small cove, he backs us right under a tall waterfall for an icy
freshwater shower. At the next cove, I
jump in for a quick swim in the azure water.
We disembark in Positano to explore this fabled Amalfi Coast town. Amerigo Vespucci would be proud that we did
an entire 30 minutes of exploring before retiring to the nearest beach bar for
a drink. It’s a nice place to stare at
the sea and just be for a few minutes.
We’re not sure exactly how we’re supposed to let Cheecho know we
are ready to go, so we just walk to the dock.
Out of nowhere, with not so much as a hand gesture, our boat
appears. A crowd of very well dressed
people in a very well-heeled town parts for us as we step onto our waiting
craft like it was choreographed. It was
totally baller. On our way back out,
just because this day isn’t going perfectly enough, a huge sea plane skims down
the side of the mountain and does a water touchdown right alongside our
speeding boat.
On our skipper’s recommendation, we head towards Capri. He knows we were there the day before,
promising us a completely different experience.
He’s right. This smaller craft can
explore the island more intimately. First
stop is Anacapri, a very exclusive little town on the opposite side of the
island and over the mountain from the town of Capri. Cheecho is known around these parts and has
the best table at Da Gioia (http://www.dagioiacapri.com/en/) reserved for us for lunch. The corner table on the terrace wonderfully
overlooks the beach below and the sea beyond.
If you were going to build a movie set for a romantic lunch, this would
be it. Pretty much everything we ordered
was either picked or caught today and the sea bass was simply grilled with salt
and expertly fileted tableside. After
lunch we take a dip at their private beach where, of course, lounge chairs are
waiting for us. We travel a lot, and we
understand in real time this has become one of our single best days.
Cheecho saves the Blue Grotto for last. We were not able to go into the Blue Grotto
the previous day because the tide was high too high for the row boats to bring
us in. Cheecho intentionally brings us
during high tide during the late afternoon today and we’re confused. He explains that during low tide, there is an
hour wait to get into one of the row boats and you go into the grotto with many
dozens of other people. We’re going to
do a much more intimate visit. We jump
in to the cool water with small swim rings and paddle ourselves about 15 yards
to the mouth of the cave. There is a
chain along the wall to pull yourself in, but you have to time the waves just
right so as to not knock your head on the top of the entrance way. We make it into the dark cave where we
encounter a pair of twenty-something women.
One of the women is clinging onto the chain, terrified to go any
further. I swim in a few strokes and the
blue in the Blue Grotto starts to reveal itself to me. Back at the chain, Mandy askes the young
woman “Where are you from?”
“France”, she replies.
Mandy slips under the chain, turns back to her and says “Come on
France, take my hand. We’ll do this
together.”
I remember why I love her.
The blue in the Blue Grotto happens because the sunlight bounces
under the water to enter the cave, causing the most amazing color natural light
you can imagine. The further you go in,
the more of the water is illuminated. We
swim all the way to the back wall and the entire cave is simply glowing,
shimmering. It’s like being inside a sapphire. We have gone to very popular tourist
destinations on this trip and encountered the expected crowds at each. To have this experience with just a few other
people is very extraordinary indeed.
We return home, thank our captain and unwind at our flat for a
bit. On an internet recommendation, we
make a reservation at Bistro Sorrento (https://bistro-di-villa-caprile.business.site/),
a few minutes up the mountain from the center of town and away from the tourist
area. When we walk in I introduce myself
for the reservation. “Pasquale? Pasquale? I’m Pasquale!
I was expecting an Italian!” I
explain to him that at home, I’m Italian, here I’m American. The restaurant is elegantly modern, lots of
white and concealed lighting with a cool vibe.
The architectural equivalent to a linen suit on a summer day. We pick a table with a view of the compact
and spotless open plan kitchen. Pasquale
explains that his son is the chef and his other son is picking up some patrons
right now. We start with the cheese platter, all selections local.
It is simply the most beautiful of its kind we have ever seen, prepared
right in front of us with such amazing care and attention to detail that we
just look at it for a bit. The show
continues as we watch Chef, with the help of only one sous chef, make dish
after dish with the same delicate touch. Calm and professional, we watch him make about
100 separate dishes, including our own unbelievable steak entrée. After such an amazing day, we are again blown
away. When we ask our waiter to call a
cab for us, he walks us out front, puts us in his Audi convertible and drives
us back to town himself.
Ten days into a trip full of highlights, we’re most impressed that
Italy can still impress us.
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