Where to start? This was the first Elderhostel I went on without a traveling companion and I had chosen it specifically for several reasons. Obviously, this was a place I wanted very much to visit. I had been to Italy before, but never to this part. I felt that the outdoor activities would lend themselves to forming connections a bit more quickly. Finally, there were no meals on our own, which also seemed to lend itself to forming quicker connections.
When I got the list of participants I was a little taken aback to see that there were only seven of us, and that the others were three couples. I wondered how well I would manage to fit in as a single. I found it fascinating that, almost without exception, my single friends expressed some dismay when I told them and my married friends brushed it off as insignificant. To make a long story short, I did have a couple of slightly lonely late afternoons when we had free time to explore the neighborhoods around our hotel, but that changed as soon as I spoke up and asked if one or another of the couples would mind my tagging along. Needless to say the answer was always yes and it turned out that my reservations were totally unfounded.
Now for the trip itself. I arrived in Naples, met Tiziana, our tour leader, and two of the couples and we took a ferry from Naples to Ischia, enjoying the sights, getting to know a little about each other. The third couple met us at the hotel. All three couples are much more experienced walkers/hikers than I am and have done many active trips, either with groups or on their own, in some fascinating places. I was still feeling some concern about my fear of heights and how that would affect my ability to keep up with the group and toenjoy the walks, but more about that later.
Our days followed a similar pattern: a morning walk that ended at some fabulous place for lunch, an afternoon walk that took us back to our hotel. a brief meeting before dinner to give us information about the following day’s activities, dinner at 7:30 and then early to bed because all of us were pretty tired from the day’s exertions.
The walks, both on Ischia and on the Amalfi Coast, took us on varied trails, generally fairly hilly, through chestnut woods, pine woods, lemon groves, along paths winding through gorgeous hills with spectacular views of the Bay of Naples, the Bay of Salerno, villages nestled into steep hillsides, terraced grape arbors. Sometimes the paths were rocky, sometimes they were cushioned with pine needles or chestnut husks, sometimes paved. Often there were steps of one sort or another carved out stone, worked into the dirt with log risers or actual constructed staircases. Most of these paths and trails are used by local residents for everyday travel, although some are clearly just trails for recreational walkers and hikers.
The uphills were not overly challenging and I found that as the two weeks went on I actually got less out of breath on the climbs than I had the first few days. My knees sometimes complained but as a rule once we stopped for even a few minutes whatever discomfort I was feeling went away. Dance class and long walks on city pavement paid off!
There were moments when the trails narrowed or the edges were steep. Tiziana and Biagio, our local guide on Ischia were wonderful about warning me when a place was coming where I might have trouble and about making sure I was OK. It became a running joke that every time I negotiated a scary section of the trail Biagio rewarded me with fresh figs plucked from the trees that seemed to border every walk. I was never quite sure if he was so solicitous because Tiziana and I had told him I had problems with heights or because I was the only one traveling alone. Probably a little of both, but whatever the motivation it was greatly appreciated.
The worst moment was on one of the walks that had a stretch of about 55 yards that Tiziana had warned me about the night before. It was right at the start of the walk and I could have turned back and waited for the others to finish their loop, but I was determined to try. Everyone went ahead and Tiziana stayed with me as I crept with baby steps across the narrow path. Periodically I tried to glance out of the corner of my eye at the panorama below me, but mostly I stared at my feet and at the path two inches in front of me. The others waited for me just beyond that section of the trail and one of the women was ready with a camera to take my picture when I got to the end. I gave a big thumbs up, but inside I was total jelly. I had to sit down to stop shaking and I got a little teary-eyed with relief when it was over, but I was really proud of myself for having managed. Everyone was really kind about not complaining that I had delayed them and much of the trip I found one or another of them at my side when they spotted a length of trail that they thought would be hard for me.
The scenery is indescribably beautiful. I took aver 500 pictures, many of them similar scenes of the sea, the distant hills, the beautiful trees and flowers that surrounded us. Even though the images are similar, I was so enchanted by the beauty that I couldn’t resist attempting to capture it over and over. The camera can never reproduce what the eye and soul experience, but I tried. Some of the pictures are posted
HERE.
The second week of the trip was on the Amalfi Coast. We took a ferry from Ischia to Capri, where we spent a day dodging tourists and avoiding overpriced shops. Our local guide, Yvette is Belgian but has lived in Sorrento for over 40 years. She led us down back alleys and took us on a wonderful tour of a villa that belonged to a Swedish sort of Renaissance man named Axel Munthe located in the village of Anacapri, high in the hills. The views were gorgeous, as they were everywhere, but the tourist crowds kind of jarred after our days in the quiet of the woods and hills of Ischia. After our visit we took a small boat to Massa Lubrense and our second hotel for the second leg of the trip.
The second week followed a similar patter of morning walk, lunch, afternoon walk, dinner and early to bed. One significant difference was time spent in larger towns for part of several days. We visited Positano, Sorrento, Ravello and Amalfi. All of them are lovely places with interesting old buildings, beautiful churches or cathedrals, spectacular views and shop-filled streets. We had time to wander in each place and got a chance explore a bit on our own. Of the four, I’d say that Sorrento was my favorite. It was easier to get away from the shopping streets and explore back alleys and side streets that were more interesting. That fact that I found my book of Italian poetry and a CD of Neapolitan songs helped. J I Ihad a little extra time on my own in Positano since one of the walks, the Sentiero degli Dei or Pathway of the Gods, was way beyond my comfort level. I had known from the start that I would most likely skip this walk and Tiziana gave me information about getting to Positano on my own and then to Montepertuso where I met the others for lunch. That afternoon we all went to Positano. It was fun getting around on buses, trying out my Italian and, on one occasion, being asked for directions by some Americans who thought I was a native.
Ravello was probably my second favorite. We spent much of the morning visiting the Villa Cimbrone, a large estate that originally dated from the 11th century. It was purchased in the early 1900s by a British lord who came to Ravello to recover from depression and found a place that made him so happy that he bought it and filled it with gardens and Greek and Roman style statues. The guide book described each highlight in charming, slightly off English that made our visit even more fun. Again, we poked our way down alleys and side streets until it was time to move on.
In Amalfi the highlight was the gorgeous cathedral of Saint Andrew the Apostle. Amalfi was more crowded than Sorrento or Ravello, but nowhere near as bad as Capri had been. We found some charming back ways, a wonderful chocolate shop, and the same kind of ceramic shops that we saw all over the area.
Tiziana stayed with us during the entire trip, and our local guides on Ischia and on the Amalfi Coast led the walks and were responsible for finding the wonderful paces where we ate lunch. Tiziana, was terrific. She handled things efficiently and smoothly. She socialized with us somewhat more than I had experienced on other Elderhostel trips. For example, she took all of her meals with us, something the tour leaders on some other trips did not do. She also socialized with us during meals and during walks, sharing anecdotes about her family, her home in Umbria, her visits other countries and so on. She was also very conscientious about preparing me for walks where I might encounter stretches of trail that I would find challenging because of heights or unprotected edges. On a couple of occasions she made a very specific point of staying with me when I was nervous without ever making feel that I was creating a problem.
Biagio, our guide on Ischia, was also terrific. We immediately felt welcomed as friends. Besides sharing his knowledge of the area, he also treated us to surprises from time to time. On one walk he produced a bottle of wine and a package of biscotti for us to share and on another occasion he presented us with a home-brewed bottle of limoncello. Everywhere we went he received warm greeting from passersby to the point where we asked if there was anyone on Ischia he didn’t know! He was very helpful to me, as I mentioned earlier. And, like Tiziana, he never made me feel as if my nervousness was an annoyance or a problem.
Giovanni, our guide on the Amalfi Coast, was a different story. He was clearly very knowledgeable about the area, its history, the plant and animal life and the culture. But he gave the impression that he’d have been happier taking the walks without us holding him back. If someone wanted to take a picture when he wasn’t ready to pause or if someone asked a question when it wasn’t time for him to stop he either continued on ahead without waiting or gave a little lecture about the importance of sticking to the schedule. The last full day of the trip he left us after lunch and it was significant that no one in the group made a move to tip him. I’ve never seen that happen when a guide has been with the group for several days. He found fabulous places for lunch and led us on beautiful walks that we might not have found ourselves, but he didn’t make the experience as pleasant as it could have been.
On Ischia lunch always included bruschetta and insalata cafona or peasant salad, always a little different in each place, but with generally greens of one sort or another, tomatoes, onions, celery or celery root and potatoes. The next course which was different in each place: a platter of fried prawns, calamari and anchovies, spaghetti with clams and mussels in oil and garlic, a salami and cheese plate, rabbit and polenta with sausage, pasta with fresh tomato sauce. Wine, red and white, and water, still or sparkling, was always included with the meal. Only one lunch included dessert – little zeppole with apple inside. There was always wine, of course.
Lunches on the Amalfi Coast were more varied. Our first lunch was at a former convent converted into a restaurant. We sat under the trees in a lemon grove and feasted on just-picked tomatoes, fresh cacia cavallo (similar to mozzarella) made that morning, home-cured salami, an assortment of grilled squashes, and homemade bread with a hint of anise. Dessert was chocolate and almond cake. This was followed by an opportunity to taste several liqueurs that are made and sold by the establishment. They offered licorice, myrtle, walnut and, of course, limoncello. Licorice seemed to be the group favorite. Finally we had delicious chocolate and limoncello candy.
The next day in Montepertuso we were served an antipasto with chick peas, grilled artichoke hearts, zucchini wrapped in prosciutto, a big bowl of pasta e fagiole, espresso and cookies. The following day brought a platter of ricotta, cacia cavallo and salami and then anchovies and mozzarella deep fried in batter, a sort of potato cake with tomato sauce, gnocchi a la sorrentina, chicken cacciatore and cannoli with coffee. Next day saw us chowing down on risotto with mushrooms, linguini a la puttanesca, cacia cavallo, delicious bread, a lovely salad and apple pie.
Our final lunch on the Amalfi Coast was served outdoors under a thatched arbor hung with bunches of drying onions, tomatoes and flowers. Everyone was served a glass of Prosecco to start. We started with bite-sized bruschetta and toast with a sort of olive tapinade. Then the table was covered with platters antipasti: anchovies, prawns and calimari, two kinds of cheese, eggplant, grilled vegetables, cauliflower in a cheese sauce, zucchini flowers deep fried in batter, lentils and I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. After the antipasti we had “tastings” of two kinds of pasta: fusilli with onions in a cream sauce and tagliatelle with mushrooms. Finally we had little sfogliatelle for dessert, one with a candle for Tiziana’s birthday.
Clearly it was good thing that we were walking from place to place between these meals! Otherwise none of us would have still fit in any of our clothes by the end of the trip.
Briefly, our two hotels each had things to recommend them but also had drawbacks. The Hotel Albatros on Ischia is lovely. Each room also had a terrace that was about half the size of the bedroom with a gorgeous view of the Bay of Naples and a perfect site for watching incredible sunsets over the water. It was a fairly easy walk from the hotel into the village of Forio but the food was dreadful. The dinners were bearable at best. Two of the dinners were basically inedible. It didn’t matter that much because our lunches had been huge and delicious, but it definitely disproved the theory that it’s impossible to get a bad a meal in Italy.
The Hotel Piccolo Paradiso in Marina Lobra was the opposite. Some of the rooms had small balconies with fairly nice views, but some did not. The bathrooms were bizarre. Some had tubs and showers, others only showers, in one case with no curtain to keep the water from spraying all over the room. All of us complained about the lack of water pressure. Dinners were quite nice and the staff was wonderfully friendly and helpful. The last night of the trip was Tiziana’s birthday and we had requested a birthday cake and had indicated that we were, of course, prepared to pay for it. Not only did they provide a special cake and candle for our table, they provided cake for the whole hotel for dessert and didn’t charge us at all! After breakfast on our departure day I got a warm handshake and farewell from the maitre d’.
Snapshot images that will stay with me forever: picking ripe figs and grapes and munching on them as we walked; gorgeous vistas of villages nestled into hillsides and the blue of the Bay of Naples or the Bay of Salerno below us; many views from different angles of Vesuvius, sometimes through mist, sometimes seeming close enough to touch; being with a group of strangers who quickly came to feel like friends.
Some of the places we visited have websites, so I’m including links for anyone who might be interested:
Giardini la MortellaThe Gardens of Villa CimbroneFattoria TerranovaCastello AragoneseParco Castiglione SpaAzienda Agricola Il ConventoI also got two decent poems out the trip – one before and one after – and they are posted in a separate entry
here.
