Island of Capri

As a side note, big ships and cruises are a bit of a sterile way to see the world.  This is not meant to be derogatory, just one does not have to make decisions or confront the many travel issues one is required to do when traveling on your own.  While cruising one travels in a controlled environment and if they wish can elect to go on a ship-organized shore excursion, again in a controlled environment of an air conditioned bus, a fluent guide and prearranged sites of interest.

For our cruise stop in Naples, Italy we chose to go on our own to the Blue Grotto on the Island of Capri.  The ship did not offer this as a shore excursion.  This is not a difficult adventure, but one must catch three boats and get back to the ship on time.  We are certainly not great world travelers at this point and all of this is still a challenge, dealing with language barriers and getting back to a ship which announces it will leave without us….  So we booked a hydrofoil boat to the town of Capri on the Island of Capri from the Naples harbor.   Unknowingly, we left ourselves just minutes to catch-all the connections.  So here is how the adventure unfolded…  Do not expect any big issues or surprises, as all went very well.  First you see the Island of Capri with steep cliffs, blue waters and brightly colored houses.  The piles of luggage on the boat indicate that many people stay on the Island, so Capri is their home for the next several days.
Continue reading →