Monday, September 21, 2012

Monday, September 21, 2012:

This morning we took the bus south to the town of Amalfi, about 15 km south of Praiano, where we switched buses and went up into the hills to the town of Ravello.  Now, you have to visualize the roads here consist of only very narrow and VERY windy roads that continually switchback upon themselves as they progress up the hills. Navigating these roads with just cars would probably be doable for me, but throw in numerous tour and city buses and the results are total chaos. At one point, our bus had to make a turn of around 180 degrees however when two buses and 20 cars all want to make the same turn at the same time total confusion occurs.

  

Notice the expression on the bus drives face as he awaits the traffic to thin out so he can continue. What is not seen is the long backup behind the bus.

Eventually a self designated policeman will normally get out of his vehicle and start directing traffic.

Some typical bus-upon-bus conflicts. 

The mirror on this bus was within one inch of our bus. Had it been closer he would have probably just brought the mirror into the side of his bus and continued without slowing down.  They seem to know exactly how much clearance they need.

  

As you can probably tell from the numerous comments I have made about the driving over here, I could easily just sit at a busy location and enjoy the beauty of the confusion that develops. It is quite entertaining to see how they are able to resolve the spacial conflicts which at first glance would seem impossible to do.  Shirl says it looks like a parking lot, but is really the Amalfi coast road.  There is a code of ethic among the drivers with lots of patience and almost no horn honking.  They must consider it part of the tourism.

The Cathedral of Amalfi

Yes, I had to stick my toes into the sea.  The water was very warm, it would have been an enjoyable swim.

 

The view of the city of Amalfi from Ravello

There were many ceramic shops where the girls were looking for that special piece.

The garden at Villa Cimbrone

And we thought our price of gas was something.  

The best gelato and pastry shop to date.

Our trip back to the apartment from Amalfi to Praiano was also quite interesting as the bus was at maxim capacity plus two!! (At this point Shirley wants to give her description of the ride.)  As we are standing butt to butt with strangers, a comment that teachers use with their students came to mind, "keep your hands to yourself!"  Roger said he has never had so many boobs and arm pits in his face before.

Good Night,

The Traveling Huntley's
Shirley and Roger