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Night location: Capri
Waking up in Ravello was a real treat. Mum watched the sun rise through her window and was captivated with the changing light on the buildings and rock faces down the valley. We ate a delicious breakfast on the terrace before Gemma, Gareth and Mum went back to the gardens to see it in the morning light. The Avenue of Immensity is filled with eastern sun in the morning and it was a real treat to have the gardens to ourselves compared with yesterday when they filled with tour groups. Mum said she had been to heaven and back!
Today was a transit day to Capri so we were met by our driver who took us via the Amalfi Coast Road to Sorrento. Meeting massive coaches on this road is always a thrill! The drivers seem to handle it effortlessly, but if it were up to us, we would have to abandon the bus and walk! The view down to the sea is spectacular and driving past towns like Priano and Positano were especially pretty. Arriving in Sorrento we were reminded of the traumatic transit in 2011 where Amber, Gemma and Mum were abandoned for hours in the sun beside a roundabout while Dad and David returned the hire car. We then had to carry our bags down 100 steps and walk a further 10 minutes to the port. This time was much more civilised as we were dropped right outside the ticket office where we purchased ferry tickets to Capri and boarded our boat shortly after arriving.
The popularity of Capri seems to only ever increase with each visit. Our boat was full of day trippers in spite of it being 1:30 in the afternoon. We met our apartment host Fabio with spectacular hair under the clock tower, and he lead us to our beautiful rooms that are just a short distance from the main square. He then gave us a lengthy introductory speech and recommended a wide variety of activities and restaurants.
One of his recommendations was that we catch a bus to the Blue Grotto and swim in at 5:30pm which is after the tourist boats finish. Interestingly, we have never visited the Blue Grotto by boat as we considered it a tourismo trap so the prospect of swimming in appealed to us greatly. Amber was determined not to miss out on another experience so slowly made her way down the steps to the small platform at the opening to the cave. We were unsure where we should leave our bags and clothes, but a fisherman assured us that they would be safe as, "This is Capri!" With no other options we followed his advice and climbed down the ladder into the sea.
The Blue Grotto gets its name from the astonishing fluorescent blue water that seems to glow within the cave. Swimming into the cave was a challenge as the gap is quite small and there is a coral shelf that must be avoided. Fortunately there is a chain that you can use to pull yourself in on but it was still a bit hazardous due to the semi rough conditions. Inside did not disappoint as even though it was an overcast afternoon with some light drizzle, the blue was still very impressive. We had the cave to ourselves at the start and then were joined by four others who were also astounded. Such a memorable experience!
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