Capri

​That 0550 alarm was a killer today! I’ve never had trouble with jet lag, but this trip has been the worst for me. NBA Finals, World Cup Games, phone calls from people in the US, a 0455 sunrise, and a seven hour time difference make sleeping difficult. Keagan just decided he would sleep if he was tired, so it’s 1830 and he’s in bed. He will be up at 0300 to watch the US game.

Let me just start by saying Capri is so popular with tourists, and I really looked forward to this part of the trip because of the great reviews. But I don’t know why people love it so. It’s crowded. Expensive. No beach to speak of. And expensive. 

Early this morning we took a small group chartered cruise to the island off of Italy. We drove to Sorrento and caught our boat in the harbor there. The day started windy, and the water was very rough - so choppy it was a tad uncomfortable on the boat. In fact, our first stop, The Blue Grotto, was closed due to the water levels and waves. No biggie. We have seen grottos.

The island of Capri is small and hordes of tourists take the ferry over for a day trip. No biggie. We will work our way around them. We thought we would go up a little higher on the mountain to Anacapri to avoid the people, but crowds of people from every nation were thick there too. We did what every other person did and got in line for the highly popular chair lift to the highest point on the island. The ride was 24 min of pure peace and quiet. 

We still had a couple of hours to kill. So we had lunch at a pizzeria that wasn’t very good. Bad food is no good. Expensive bad food is real bad. The island now had three strikes. We were eager to get away from the crowds, but our tour still had one hour on the island. What else could we do? We browsed the streets and then picked up gelato before returning to the boat. Gelato makes everything better, but it can’t erase a strikeout. Keagan says the island gives Disney World Vibes. My boy of few words hit the nail on the head.

The water had actually calmed down by early afternoon, so the ride to the back side of the island was pleasant. 

We might have skipped The Blue Grotto, but we made it to The Green Gotto. It was beautiful! Look at that water color!

The boys jumped in for a refreshing swim. I sat on the boat soaking up the sun.

Then we took the corner to The White Grotto where the Virgin Mary can be seen in a stalactite. If you don’t see it, just pretend you do. 

The iconic rock formations off of Capri were next. It’s said if you go here with your significant other, your relationship will last forever. This is where we ran into Jerry Jones’s yacht. I feel like there is a  joke there that I can’t articulate right now due to a lack of sleep.

Our last stop was a drive by a natural waterfall to wash all of the salt off of the skin. This was a full day on the water with the island seen from the boat much more enjoyable that seeing the island on foot.

Tonight’s view of Vietre Sul Mar from our house on the road to Raito was beautiful. The sun hit the pastel colored houses perfectly.

My spritz challenge update: Campari Spritz is my least favorite spritz; it tastes terrible. Tomorrow’s a new day and a new spritz flavor. Let’s try not to strike out again.