Eclipse 2006 Trip

Salerno, Italy

Salerno was a real trip. After a day in Malta, where they spoke English, we entered Salerno, where few people spoke English. We pulled into port about 7:30 AM and got off about 8:30. I knew we wanted to see the Amalfi coast and so did Milt, Amy, and Nancy, so I got off the ship and found a taxi that could seat 5 passengers (sort of) and hired him for a drive down the coast. It was Sunday and this early in the morning there was very little traffic. We headed down the road. There is no stretch of straight road longer than a football field. Everthing turns and twists and the roads are narrow. The land rises straight out of the water. The scenery was gorgeous! The views exhilarating. There was a little fog so that landscape shots look a little unclear, but to the naked eye the views were amazing - and something new around every bend. There was much terracing of the land and every square inch of land was used. There were many orchards. At first we weren't sure of what, then we could see yellow fruit and finally we saw lemons and, boy, what lemons! Bigger than grapefruit!

Our driver, Ansol, and taxi.
Main sqaure of Amalfi.
Crate of lemons.
A lemon in the hand.
Cathedral in Amalfi.
Lemoncello, a wonderful liquer made with the lemons.
Wonderful ceramic plates and table tops.
The main street of Amalfi.
The beach at Amalfi.
This is as close to Positano as we got. The road was blocked by a bicycle race.
Notice the convex mirror on the right, present at all curves to allow drivers to see any oncoming vehicles.
Terracing.
More terracing.
The low fog/mist.
Our ship in Salerno.
The view of the road from the rear seat.