Day 83 May 18th 2009 Capri, Italy

We set off on a ferry from Positano to Capri today! B-e-a-utiful day out today and the perfect weather to go explore the fabled island. Upon landing my mom was immediately harassed by a man trying to take us for a private tour of the island on his slooper of a boat. We finally shook him only to run into another guy offering the same services for more than what we had bargained the other guy. I told him of the lowball offer and he shut up and left us alone after that. We grabbed tickets for a big tour ferry of the island which stopped at the blue grotto. I had been into the blue grotto before in 2004 with the Rice high school Europe trip but it still is great fun to go into it. But two things I didn’t notice before when I was here was the road access now and the money-taking boat to get into the grotto. I do hope the island government of Capri is running that boat because if some private company somehow got monopoly access to the grotto I would be pissed. The thing is a national treasure and it just is a bit too commercial right now. After taking our tour of the blue grotto our tour boat set off for the round-the-island tour of different fascinations and the like. We saw the green grotto, the lovers arch, Giorgio Armani’s rockside house Sophia Loren’s huge rock mansion overlooking little marina. I had not taken the around the island tour when I was here with the high school Europe trip so it was a new look for me at an island I had been on before. The island tour over Team Mom, Cara, Katie and I took the cable car up to the main town of Capri and Katie set off to check out the sandal place she had heard about. We then jumped on a rickety bus down to small marina where the water was crystal blue and the beaches hard stones. But we didn’t care because it was so hot we all jumped in the water to take a very refreshing and welcome swim in the mid Tyrrhenian Sea. A quick bus ride back up to the town and cable car down to the big marina where we burned some time and had sub-par fried calamari again. Ferry took us back to Positano and our trusty wheel-woman mother guided us back safely in the dark along the razors edge of the cliff to Praiano. Packed up a bit and let the salty sea breeze bring sleep.