Hiking the Path of the Gods-Amalfi Coast

Yesterday was a party, fun day. We cruised  on the boat, lounged about on the boat, danced on the boat, sang on the boat, explored Capri and had an amazing lunch. So. Much. Fun.

Well, today promises to be fun as well, but....we're gonna sweat a little!
Today, we are walking the Path of the Gods. Our private van drops us at the start of the hike, where we start in the most civilized of ways...with an espresso and cornetto. One needs to build up the stamina for such a trek after all. There, we meet up with my favorite trekking guide, Tommaso. Now that we are in his capable hands, we can get started:

The path starts out paved, and easy. And though the walk is never really "hard", the path quickly becomes just that; a sometimes packed dirt, sometimes rocky, path. Also very quickly, the beautiful scenery begins!

It should take us about 3 hours at a leisurely pace. It's hard not to do a leisurely pace, as we are always wanting to stop and take photos.

And any time any one has a question...What kind of plant is that? What kind of building is that? What island is that out there? .....Tommaso has an answer. 

The weather is sheer perfection for a hike. The visibility is amazing; the natural beauty simply spectacular. We stop often for a sip of water, and to let photographing stragglers catch up. 

We get to see terraced hill farming close up. We look waaay down there, and see the road our van took this morning to bring us to the starting point. 

We can't believe how lucky we are to be doing this.

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We see beautiful rock formations and endless views of the Amalfi Coast. Below left, a farmer's "storage shed"! Can you imagine fetching your farming implements from there each day? We couldn't have chosen a more spectacular day for a trek.

We reach about midway, and find a statue of a madonna. There are also columns of balancing rocks built by previous trekkers. 

We cannot help but to stop and contemplate the beauty around us. As the morning moves on, water traffic picks up in the bay, reminding us....we're getting hungry!

Boy, do we ever deserve this! It's a freshly made lemon granita garnished with fresh lemon slices and fresh mint. At this moment, I don't think I've ever had anything more refreshing in my whole life. 



Next stop:
The beach! Do you think we're going to just lollygag around? No. We're going to the beach to EAT! We are starving and we deserve a fresh and fantastic lunch. 

Our van is waiting for us at the end of the trek. We pile in and are whisked down to the waterfront....

What a day! What a day! What a day!
(No, that is not a typo....I really am saying that over and over in my head.) 

We've seen spectacular natural beauty.
We've invigorated ourselves with a healthy trek.
We've had a beautiful lunch on the beach.
We re-gathered in the evening after a chance at showers and a change of clothes, to participate in the local fish festival. Life is good. It is just so darned good.

Thanks to my colleague Tommaso for such a fun and educational hike. Thanks also to Ferdinando's Beach establishment for a lovely lunch, the best beach positions and for letting us save a table for the fish festival. You guys are the best!

We so enjoy sitting down in the shade of the beach establishment for a rest and our much deserved lunch. In addition, we've found out there's going to be a fish fest tonight...ON the beach!

To the left, you see the "fry guys" setting up the fish frying stations. And below, as the evening wears on, you see them hard at work. Looks like there will be no rest for us this evening!