The Mediterranean jewel that is Capri

What can I say about Capri? The two days spent in Capri, an island off Amalfi Coast in Italy stand out among all my travel memories like a clear teacher’s pet that the teacher keep’s comparing every other student to for decades.

The island of Capri, located in the Bay of Naples, is half an hour by ferry from Sorrento and about an hour by ferry from Naples. 

Arriving in Capri by ferry

The day after we drove the length of the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento to Ravello and back, we took an early morning ferry from Sorrento’s Marina Piccola (the small Marina) to Capri. As the ferry sailed towards Capri, I could not help but notice that the sky was grey, brooding and overcast and it was depressing to think that we would spend another day next to a pale blue Mediterranean (see my post on our day spent on the aAmalfi Coast).

However, by the time we reached Capri and boarded a funicular for Anacapri, the sun was shining cheerfully upon us and we caught a glimpse of the glittering blue Mediterranean that was going to give us company for the rest of our time in Capri, ever-present in the horizon and peaking through the rugged cliffs, villas and lemon groves.   

The brilliant blue of the sea against Capri’s cliffs

Without wasting too much time, we traded the big ferry that had brought us to Capri for a smaller ferry for a cruise around the island. The cruise boat neatly skirted the cliffs on waters that seemed to turn blue to green to blue again. Seeing Capri’s landmark Faraglioni rocks rising tall and majestic above the sea, and sailing right through one of them was particularly exciting. These famous rocks in the Bay of Naples, even have names – (from the left in the picture below) Stella, Mezzo and Scopolo!

Capri’s Faraglioni rocks (Stella, Mezzo and Scopolo) as seen from the ferry

The clear highlight of the day was taking a chairlift up from the piazza in Anacapri to Monte Solaro, the highest point in Capri (I must confess – I am partial towards points of high altitudes such as mountains, buildings, towers and campaniles, which through elevators, funiculars, cable cars and the like are easy to scale).  

Looking down from Monte Solaro

Once we reached the top which is spotted with cobbled-stone steps and shaded gazebos and looked down below at the perfect blue sea and the Faraglioni rock formations, I realized that this was the view I had been waiting for all those days that I had been planning this trip to Italy. It’s hard to say which spot provided the best view of the beautiful cliffs plunging below into the sea, because in all honesty, there was no such thing there as a bad view! 

View of Bay of Naples from Monte Solaro

The next morning was a whirlwind of activity – checking out of the beautiful hotel San Michele in Anacapri, taking an open air taxi down to the Marina (an adventure in itself), boarding the ferry to Sorrento, retrieving our suitcases from our Sorrento hotel, and beginning the drive to Tuscany. 

But the day’s adventures had just begun, as I would realize later. 

Sun rising in Capri

The Mediterranean comes to life on our second day in Capri