Having no free spaces on any train leaving to Genova until the night, we decided to spend our last day in Napoli with a visit to the island of Capri. The island was situated to the south of Napoli and was accessible by jet-ships from Napoli.
A ship left almost every hour towards Capri, so it was easy to choose one. The price for a one-way trip was €16.00 and could be acquired at the port just across the street of Castello Nouvo. We embarked on a rainy morning, hoping that the sun will come out later. It was a bit chilly outside, so I was really glad to get inside the boat. After a 40-50 minute trip, during which I could barely see anything outside because of the rain, we arrived to Capri. There we have met a huge line waiting to get inside the boat (it was Sunday morning, so everybody was headed back home after maybe a weekend in Capri).
After getting out of the ship we immediately spotted a sign of boat-trips around the island and/or to Grotta Azzurra, a cave accessible from water, which was presumably glowing in a bright blue color in the inside. Well, we are adventurous guys, why not. It was only raining and a cold wind was shaking the entire sea… We payed the entry fee of €11.00 to take us to the entrance of the cave, and then stepped into the shaky motor-boat. During the short trip to the cave we could admire the spectacular rocky coast of Capri. Although the boat started to shake quite strongly at one point, we managed to get to the cave undamaged…
Now this is the part where I should stop. The cave trip was OK, but it was this part that ruined my trip to Capri. You see, the entrance into the small cave has been done by smaller row-boats (for which we had to pay an extra €10.50 ) handled by some ‘professionals’. The cave entrance is really small, so there was a chain which was helpful for pulling ourselves inside. Going in was surprisingly fast: just one pull, and we were in… piece of cake. Well, yes… it is… when you are helped by a wave pushing you in. This little detail did not seem to be so important then… It did however on the way out: I was sitting (well I would say curled up) at the front of the boat, and I was with my face backwards when getting out. Suddenly everyone started shouting… I was thinking what the hell? And then I received the answer: a full blow from a wave coming in, making me soaking wet. So much for my waterproof jacket… this was an extreme situation: my t-shirt under the jacket got wet in an instant after this. Then I looked at my camera… it was silent (and remained so since then)… 🙁 . The entries to the cave have stopped with this incident. The rowers decided it was too dangerous to continue entries. The big motor-boat pulled all small row-boats back into the harbor and the ticket-house closed for the day…
There I was on a nice little island, soaking wet, with no camera, and to top it off, it started to rain… my friends were joking to put on my hood ’cause I’ll get wet 😛 . Luckily I had some extra clothes with me, but only short trousers, which have proven to be very chilly later. Well, I said, never mind it is not a nice day anyway, I would not even be able to make photos… then… the sun came out.
We went up using the Funicolare (€1.40) to the piazetta of Capri. The view was breathtaking… and I had no camera 🙁 . Capri in general looks very nice, and quite luxurious, with nice hotels, cute (and expensive) boutiques and astonishing views. We have explored the island on foot visiting the Faraglioni Rocks, Grotte di Matermania and Arco Naturale.
I think it is worth visiting the island. For me it was the down-point of the whole trip, but I was biased by the cave incident 🙂 . My advice: if you eventually go and decide to visit Grotta Azzurra, do it on a sunny day, with the sea as calm as possible…
P.S. Pictures on my Picasa account !!!