We felt safe because we were in the biggest vehicle on the road. Perhaps the driver felt safe because he was driving the biggest vehicle on the road and this motivated his actions. Still, I don’t want to get in a smaller vehicle with him as the driver to see if he acts differently.
We were up at 5:30am this morning, the day after completing our St. Francis walk, to catch a bus from Rome to Salerno and from there to Amalfi. We decided to tour the Amalfi coast with our three extra days, hoping to see this spectacular area in the off season when the crowds are sparse. Last night’s room is just a 10 minute walk from the Tiburtina train and bus station, giving us quick access this morning.
We reconfigured our packing into two bags, a carry on to take on the bus with us for the 3 hour 45 minute ride and all our other stuff still in my pack.
We arrived at the station at 6:50am. Our bus was scheduled to depart at 7:15am. We hung around until it showed up and then boarded. Our seats were pre selected, the two at the very front of the bus on the opposite side from the driver. We like sitting here because you have a view forward as well as to the side. The added benefit is it allows you to monitor the driver’s prowess on the road.
There were two drivers for our bus, a younger guy who drove the first two and a half hours and a bit older guy (mid 40’s) who drove the last leg from Naples to Salerno. The first driver was more reserved than the second, having only one near miss he initiated. He approached a semi in the lane to his right with his blinker on and then was outraged when the semi pulled in front of us, cutting us off. Both our driver and the truck driver shook their fists at each other as we passed, faces twisted into red distortions of anger as they verbally cursed each other. It was our second driver that defined rude driving behavior.
It wasn’t a ride of terror, for us anyway, but it was for any car that performed differently than our driver thought they should. If a car was in his lane going slower than he was, he didn’t slow down, he just started blinking his lights as he rapidly approached. If the car didn’t move over then he laid into the horn. He would approach so close to the offending car that the buzzer that warns of hitting the curb when parking would go off, his following distance becoming less than 3 feet while still going 100 kph. While this is going on he would keep up a steady stream of insults in both Italian and English (the English was for our benefit because we talked to him quite a bit before boarding) about how stupid this driver was and where are the police when you need them. He single handedly created more chaos on the road than any other vehicle we saw, and yet blamed everyone else for the disorder he created.
When we entered Salerno, the traffic was at a near standstill, the streets choked with traffic, all the cars trying to merge, making turns and advancing to their individual destinations. Our driver thought it appropriate to use his horn to speed things up so he applied it liberally. We noticed no change in the behavior of the cars around us. This inspired him to use it more. He truly was the rudest driver on the road.
We exited the bus at the bus station near the waterfront. I got a photo of Sally with our heroic road warrior. He was proud to have got us here. He pointed us in the direction of the next bus we were to take, the SITA bus that plies the Amalfi Coast road, that twisting ribbon of asphalt that clings to the cliffs of the coastline.
We had about an hour before it left town. After we had purchased our tickets from a roadside ticket booth, we attempted to find the train station where we would catch the bus. As rugged as the coastline is here with Salerno tucked on the shoreline between sea and mountains it is a little surprising that a train line can be engineered to pass through town. It took us asking four people how to find it before we did. In retrospect, we should have been able to find it on our own, it wasn’t that difficult or hidden, we just went the wrong direction from the get go.
We found our bus stop, then visited a shop for a piece of pizza and a Coke. We returned to the bus stop early, hoping to be first in line to get on the bus so we could sit on the left side of the bus for the best view as it twisted around this convoluted coastal road. Unfortunately, we stood in the wrong place and ended up last in line and last to board. We ended up on the right side of the bus. Oh well. But, two teenage girls of about 17, who obviously ride this bus daily to school each took a window seat on the left side, put their school bags on the seat next to them to discourage anyone sitting next to them and then immediately closed their eyes and slept the entire ride, the extraordinary scenery passing by as they snored. It was upsetting to think of their total disregard for the people on the crowded bus that would have liked to have their view seats. Couldn’t they sleep on our side of the bus and give us the view? But, as the trip progressed I began to feel sorry for them. Their body language and facial expressions were ones of prisoners being transported back to jail. We got the impression that they loathed where they lived and wished to escape, each mile away from Salerno a insult to their aspirations and freedom. They got off at a couple towns before Amalfi and we quickly slid into their now vacant seats for the last 15 minutes of the 75 minute drive.
The drive was spectacular as advertised. In many places the road was only slightly wider than the bus and on many of the tight corners the bus would take up the whole road negotiating the curve. The driver would honk as he approached the blind corners, a vertical wall on the right, cliffs to the sea on the left, to warn oncoming cars that he was using the whole road to make it around.
It was a gorgeous sunny day, the Mediterranean Sea glistening in the sun. We could not have asked for a better winter day to be here. Temperatures in the mid 50’s.
The terrain was very reminiscent of the San Juan Islands back home, especially the southern route on San Juan Island going to Val and Larry’s cabin. Steep rocky slopes, sun glinting off the water, twisting, winding road. Both beautiful. However, here the road truly clings to the cliffs, often hundreds of feet above the water on vertical cliffs before it ducks into a ravine to cross a narrow stone bridge on a hairpin curve.
We left the bus at Amalfi on the waterfront and made our way into town, searching for our room. Amalfi is a one road town. It goes straight inland up the narrow river valley that has sliced away the rock which hangs in cliffs above the town. All the paths leading at right angle is this one road are just that, stone paths tightly squeezed between the stone buildings. The town is thousands of years old.
To help us find our room, the owners sent us a video of the route to take. They simply walking the route with their phone camera taking video of what we should see as we walk it. I had watched it a few days ago, but now couldn’t find it on my phone, so I tried to use Maps to find it, but the steep rocky slopes and walls enclosing the town and stone buildings, plus the lack of roads and only footpaths between the buildings makes it impossible to navigate. After 10 minutes of exploring fruitlessly I remembered the video was on Sally’s phone. We found it and easily followed it up to our door where our host was patiently waiting for us. He had asked us to text him when we got off the bus. This I had done. He was expecting us to follow the video straight away, not flail hopelessly around town, so we were a bit later than he expected, but he showed no signs of impatience as he led us to our room and gave us instructions.
Once unburdened from the pack our first order of business was to coordinate our travel to Positano tomorrow; that is, secure our bus tickets outward and our boat ride home. Positano sits about 15 miles to the west on the same coast. The bus ride is a continuation of our amazing cliff hugging ride of today and a boat trip back will let us have a territorial view. We plan to spend the afternoon there, seeing the sights and exploring.
Back down on the waterfront where the busses sit we talked to a few drivers and attendants. Uh oh. No bus to Positano. The heavy rain of a few days ago has caused rockfall on the road and it has been closed for three days now. No one knows when it will be reopened. Oh well. We will take the boat up and back. A little disappointed, but all is good.
Back into the town tucked in the ravine to explore and find groceries. As we waked the one road and plied the side paths we found this town, especially the first 1/4 mile up from the beach is a total tourist trap. Trinket shops galore. A few restaurants. If you get back from the beach far enough, either to the sides or up the ravine, you begin to find shops for the 5000 locals; groceries, hardware, cleaning supply stores, etc. We found a grocery and got some food for this evening and stopped by a fruit store for some grapes, banana and oranges and then returned to our room to sleep. We get to sleep in tomorrow. Our boat doesn’t leave for Positano until 10:40am.
This is William again. Ha ha!!! You make me laugh about your aggressive bus driver. About half of the Italians drive like him but in cars that move even faster, but quite often at speeds that you would normally only find in a F1 race track 🤣.
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