Getting onto the island of Capri was relatively easy. A handful of other girls in our program were also heading onto the island so we travelled there together. It was a bit of a marathon to catch our ferry in Sorrento; thankfully we made it. Yes, there were more ferries coming through but I wanted to get onto the island ASAP and make it to our hotel before it got dark. The ferry ride over was quick-- only 20 minutes-- and very scenic. I couldn't help but close my eyes and smile as the wind blew through my hair. (Sorry for the cheesiness.)
Immediately upon getting onto the island, I wanted to check out this private boat tour stand that I had read about online. All of their reviews raved about how good it was and it sounded decently priced, too. I got there just as the shop was closing up but they were able to fit my group in for a tour the next day. It cost 100 Euro, but we got to split it 6 ways since there were 6 of us going on it. That's 17 Euro a piece-- a good deal in Capri! The next task was figuring out how to get to the hotel which was located in Anacapri. (The island is made up of Capri and Anacapri.) We were going to take the bus over there but we found out that our roommates were staying at the same hotel and had arranged for a car to pick them up! I don't know how we went without discussing this before we left for our field trip; I guess we need to communicate more. The car had enough space for us so Katie and I hopped in for what ended up being the scariest but most thrilling ride of our lives. Seriously.
There are no stoplights in Capri and the street is one lane in both directions. There aren't any divider lines. The road is made to travel up and across their mountain hills... aka lots of weaving on roads. Plus I think our driver liked to accelerate. At one point our driver turned off the main road onto the side street... or should I say sidewalk. The width of this "road" was literally no wider than 6 ft. This "road" also had a big drop to get onto it. All of our mouths dropped open and our eyes widen at the sight of this. Many giggles were shared on the ride and thankfully we made it safely. Our driver was a super cute old guy who wanted to assist with all of our needs. He pointed out things to us (as much as he could with the communication barrier) and pulled over THREE times for us to take scenic pictures of the city below us. After we got back into the car from the first pull over, we literally drove for 15 seconds before he pulled over again. Very comical.
The hotel we stayed at, Il Girasole, was beautiful! It had a wonderful view overlooking the ocean and had colorful flowers all around. The actual interiors of the rooms were rather basic and small (think Super 8 but smaller). The most exciting part about our room (in my opinion) was that there was a switch to turn on/off the main lights in the middle of our headboard! A bit tacky? Yes, but very convenient. To add to the setting, we had a real rooster crow "alarm clock" to wake us up the next morning! Okay, so the first rooster call was cute and so was the second one, but after that they kind of got annoying. It was like I was hitting the snooze button every 3 minutes. Katie and I ended up not making it out of our room until about 11am or after (Katie was the one who wanted to sleep-- not me for once!).
We decided to "hike" down to Capri. We thought it was going to be a simple walk but it was more rigorous than we thought and took over 1 1/2 hours to make it down to the port. Pedestrians walk on the side of the road since sidewalks don't really exist. Needless to say, we put our life in danger more than once. Fun fact: During high tour season, people aren't allowed to drive in Capri unless you have special privileges and what not. Down at the port Katie and I had were convinced to have lunch with this great server named Carlo. He was a charming and funny guy.
Next up was the private boat tour. We met the other girls at the stand and the owner of the boat tours said her tour guide was running late and should be around in ten minutes. We went off to grab some beers to take onto the boat and quickly returned. The owner seemed to be getting a bit flustered with the guide not being there. She explained that there had been a situation and that we had a different tour guide than scheduled helping us out. (At least I think that's what she said.) As the guide, Christian, was walking over, she pointed him out and well, we were all pleasantly surprised and got even more excited for the boat tour to begin! :-) I highly recommend going on a boat tour if you're ever in Capri. It felt rather special to be on a private boat tour. We got to bask in the sun while listening to tunes, hearing about the island, and asking our tour guide questions. Christian let us swim through one of the grottoes. Not all of the girls had swimsuits on, but Katie and I did so we took advantage of the opportunity. The water was so clear and pretty! And salty. As we swam through the grotto, I looked up at the rock formations above me and couldn't help but have a "I'm so thankful for this opportunity of a lifetime" moment. It was by far one of the coolest moments of my study abroad so far.
Katie and I ended up drinking wine on our hotel's terrace that evening with our roommates. I actually didn't drink because I wasn't feeling well but was around to join in the conversation. The next day we took a lift to the highest point in Capri. Once again, there were spectacular views to be seen! And just like that we had to start our journey back to Rome. One cool thing about the ferry ride home is that there was a swordfish jumping out of the water! Pretty cool. This day proved to be Katie's and my lucky day. We literally made all of our connections with less than 5 minutes to spare. That's one ferry, one metro, one train, and one final bus ride to our apartment. Then, when we got to our apartment we discovered that our exterior door lock had been replaced so our keys no longer worked. Someone came out of the door less than a minute after we got there. It's a rare occurrence to ever run into someone entering/exiting the building at the same time in our building so it was just another lucky moment.
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