Agerola

June 3, 2008

Note: For those following the blog closely, the hotel only has a dial up connection and guests can only check their email every couple of days. There are no internet cafes in Agerola so there may be a lapse in posting the next few days.

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Arrived in Agerola (a-jer-ooh-la) yesterday from Naples. This village is at the top of the mountain – getting here from Naples was by van rather than bus, thank goodness. The town is a base destination for hiking in the Amalfi Coast and is a quaint and quiet town. When I arrived around 3 p.m., I wanted to have some lunch and as I walked the main street, everything seemed to be closed except for one proprietor serving “whatever you like” – now that can be taken a lot of ways but I was just looking for lunch, trust me. After having a scrumptious lunch of antipasti (a little salad, prosciutto, different salamis and cheese) and a glass of wine, I inquired why everything was closed as elsewhere in Italy (Rome, Naples, Amalfi) they did not seem to honor the siesta tradition of closing in the afternoon. He said that here in Agerola he thinks most are either lazy or rich so they don’t bother being open in the afternoon and it’s their whim whether they open in the evening! He then invited me to try a glass of their red wine which his family makes locally. It tasted similar to a pinot noir but gave me one heck of a buzz. I think the alcohol content was way more than I’m used to and then proceeded to have my own siesta after getting back to the hotel.

So this morning I wake up and the fog was rolling in over the hills and I thought, wait a minute am I in San Francisco? Are my weeks of travelling over with so soon? It was cool with a slight breeze and that misty, rain like feel. I packed my backpack appropriately, had breakfast and set off. The first hike was to be down from Agerola (elev. 1350 ft) through a canyon, then up to Furore (elev. 750) and then to to Amalfi for more touring if desired and the trip back up – approximately 8-9 miles of hiking. Since these are self-guided hikes, I started out great following the directions but took a wrong turn somewhere and as I had descended several hundred feet and could see nothing in the canyons below me due to the fog, I thought, “what was I thinking doing this myself, I’m going to slip and fall, end up in the bottom of the canyon and no one will find me.” After having a momentary pity party, I decided to journey on and before I knew it, the fog was lifting and I was seeing vineyards growing on the hillside, homes nestled among the vineyards, incredible views of the sea and when my path intersected with the path I should have been on, I chose to continue to Praino (sea level) rather than the original route since I was now on a mission. Am I ever glad I did. The views continued to become more spectacular and as I approached the town of Praino, this route afforded me the opportunity to walk along back paths of homes in the hillside, making my way down to the sea by a series of steps and concrete lanes and I wondered, how do people get up here to live in these beautiful homes. No sooner had that thought popped into my head, than a scooter approached me on the path -- questioned answered. It seems they also use mules/horses to check the vineyards and the houses way up in the hills and if anything needs to be done to those houses, they generally use a helicopter to drop any heavy materials.

Once I was at sea level, I caught the bus to Amalfi, had a bite to eat and a gelato of course and my only option to return to my hotel was by public bus but oh, well, what’s one more adventure. It was a winding, hairpin turn climb all the way to the top – think of the road up Mt. Tam but barely a single lane and a city bus maneuvering those turns. For the passenger’s excitement, the bus driver honks as he approaches turns, tunnels, etc to warn vehicles he is coming. Well, today one scooter driver ignored that honk, and the bus side swiped him. The passengers were all aghast but the bus driver stopped for just a moment, made sure the scooter was righted and on its way and so were we. Needless to say, I was very glad when we reached Agerola. And just for fun, I get to do the bus ride all over again tomorrow.

Here are my lessons of the day – you never know where a path might lead you, trust yourself and keep going. My reward was that what started out as a foggy, misty and unsettled day turned into a beautiful, sunny and adventurous hike. Stay tuned.