We’re leaving Ischia behind. We were not impressed by the island but not disappointed either. If asked, we would freely admit that the cold, wet and anarchic buses probably tint our appreciation of the island. With more rain heading Ischia’s way we’re happy to leave.
We expected our journey to be two boat rides. First we make our way back to Napoli Beverello (Naples’ Port) and wait about an hour, then board our boat to Amalfi. The first part went without a hitch. The second part however was not quite as it seemed.
First, the ferry “terminal” didn’t list our boat company on its board. I use the word “terminal” generously, it’s a a bunch of shipping containers with a service window cutout so each ferry service has a service counter. Of course ours isn’t there either. Instructions on the website tells us boarding is on pier four. The piers are lettered from A to G, not numbered. We had to resort to talk to someone who told us not to worry and boarding will be at gate D. That further confused us that the only boat shown on the board that leaves at the same time as ours with the same destination as ours is leaving from gate C. We thought there might be some kind of codeshare like Airlines do. Not the case. At about our departure time a small boat pulled along the big one we thought we might be heading on with the right company logo on it.
While doing the pier wrangling we examined our tickets more closely looking for any kind of secret instructions on where to find our ferry. A small note at the top of the ticket mentions that we’ll be going to Positano where we are to disembark and take another boat to our destination Amalfi.
Crossing our fingers for it to be clearer at Positano, we boarded our ferry, found a spot on the top deck and enjoyed our hour-long ride along the coast. As we were heading out of Naples the crew started the music and one crew member with a pitcher of ice and a stack of plastic cups in the other with his partner holding a bottle of limoncello in one hand and a bottle of Prosecco in the other, the dynamic duo proceeded to mix and offer Limoncello Spritz. A third crew member showed up quickly to collect the 5€ per glass from each passenger asking for a drink. We could tell the ferry company was started by a party boat operator.
The ride went smoothly and we’re happy to find a single pier with a single queue next to a sign for our next boat. Easiest transfer ever. Half an hour later we were on the 20-minute boat ride to Amalfi. Despite the shorter ride, the Limoncello dance was done, if a little more in a hurry.
Off the boat we found for our host that guided us to the apartment and proceeded to introduce us to every door, handle, piece of furniture and appliance in the place. While we appreciate her devotion, our plan was to go to Ravello after checking-in and did not factor a let me introduce you to how windows work in our timing.
The master class in apartment operation ended and we sprinted out to make our way 300m up to the village just uphill from us. Well… I say sprinted… we did our best but trying to find the beginning of the path to the village is more than a little challenging. While there is a map, it’s only in 2D. Amalfi is built on the cliffs with buildings and stairways not quite on top of one another but close on the X,Y axis but stories apart in the Z axis. Some of the passageways also run against the cliffs, under and behind houses. The GPS does not play nice in these conditions and Google Maps doesn’t consider them either. We spent a good 20 minutes trying one way and another to finally find the right way! Once we were on the main staircase going to Ravello, we resumed our sprint.
Not wanting to be caught by the dark, we spent about 15 minutes walking Ravello and then went straight back down. Surprisingly, our pace going up and going down was about the same while our heart rate was absolutely different. making it more of a workout than really a visit per se. The town itself is small and charming. Not worth staying there if you ask me but worth the workout.
The day concluded with a meal at the restaurant of the city (for us): 📍 Taverna degli Apostoli. A rare cash-only sit down restaurant who makes the most amazing Lemon Pesto pasta, rich slow cooked octopus, and a seafood linguine with more seafood than pasta. Their catch of the day is a delight. We definitely ended the day on an high note.