Travel story- In the Amalfi Bay…late July 2022
The boat was a 40 foot open cruiser and the captain picked us up at the pier off the Marina di Praia Beach in the Amalfi Coast line. This is in Praiano, a charming little town about 20 minutes south of Positano.
We made our way to the boat in that sunny July morning. We are a group of four women and I could feel the excitement sizzling in the air. We had arrived in Amalfi only three days before and it was already proving to be a crazy fun trip. Who knows what this day will bring?! The Captain Raimundo and his first mate Francesco were two charming Italian men that set out to lavishly cater to our every whim.
I live in Miami so boating and the sea are not strangers to me. However, this felt very different in so many ways. The color of the water which was a clear deep blue without being dark and yet still very transparent…was already something else.
The Amalfi bay is outstanding in its beauty, and unbeatable in its romanticism. I looked around me, and I could see the quaint town of Positano with it’s church steeples, unique houses, curving streets, and its challenging multitude of stairs that hug the mountain coastline. Follow the fragrance of the lemon trees to elegant and beautiful Sorrento with its fun beach clubs; and the fun and imposing Isle of Capri and Anacapri. There were many boats big and small in the bay that day; and the joy was contagious.
We held goblets of bubbly champagne in our hand as the boat was led through rock passages that have been there who knows how long and that also act as windows framing the beauty beyond.We dove like children into the water. The water felt cool, soft, refreshing, and amazingly good as it caressed our overheated bodies. I could have stayed floating there forever and ever. It is hard to describe this moment…maybe the best description is welcoming. It felt like home.
However, on to the White Grotto and the Blue Grotto. About twelve years ago I had gone in the famous Blue Grotto that exists in the Isle of Capri. Most of us had not had the opportunity so we said…Why not? I don’t know why those Italian grotto guides are so greedy, rude, and plainly entitled. This guy had a terrible attitude…just like the one twelve years before…I wonder…could it be the same one? In any case, we asked him to sing a song other than O Sole Mio…lol. Maybe he didn’t appreciate the joke.
The Blue Grotto is beautiful once inside. I wished now…just like I wished back then that I could have dove in those turquoise clear lighted waters inside the cave. The grotto opening is very shallow and the sea is very wavy as you are guided in on a little wooden row boat. It’s important to remember to lay flat against the bottom of the boat as he pushes the boat inside. I have to think that more than one visitor has hit their head on that rocky entrance. I thought to myself, as I did back then, that this is an attraction that would never be allowed in the USA due to the potential liability issues.
All is good since we emerged with our skulls intact, and Captain Raimundo took us to a wonderful restaurant somewhere in the bay called “Conca Del Sogno.” Two words to describe it; fun and delicious. Pesce A La Sal and Tagliatelle with Zucchini…Music…Dancing…So so great!
More than eight hours had gone by and we could have gone eight more. The day truly was perfection. One for the memories.
