Choose the Paved Trail, Not the Ancient Mule One

Good news to report -- the month-long consumption of Italian food WILL NOT be getting the better of us...all thanks to Capri. The island beats out all other stops on this trip with number of miles logged, elevation climbed and stuff hauled while climbing. That being said, Capri has simply some of the most dramatically beautiful landscape I've ever seen and we are absolutely loving it here!

On our our first full day here, two days ago, we set out on a hike that we had read true nature lovers and walking enthusiasts must do once in their life, called Il Passetiello. It was once an old mule trail and connected Capri to Anacapri. Capri and Anacapri are the two towns on the island, on opposite sides. They are very close to each other since the island is so small but are not easily accessible by foot, as the narrow road that connects them clings to sheer rock cliffs (the bus ride is short but quite harrowing). Capri is bigger, fancier, has more places to stay, eat and shop and Anacapri is smaller and just seams more "normal". So this hiking path supposedly allows you to get there by foot and SUPPOSEDLY gives you an amazing view of the island and a nice experience amongst the vegetation of the island. And it went right up behind our house so we figured this was a good first activity.....Let's just say I have never been more ill-prepared for a hike in my life, like ill-prepared in the sense that I wore a skirt, sunhat and flip-flops as I thought it was going to be a nice path that would slowly wind it's way up the hill....That, it was not and I will sum it up with I climbed a 90 degree angle in a skirt and flip flops....and we didn't even make it to Anacapri.

After that ill-fated experience we stuck to the paved roads of Capri and found a much more populated and scenic path that wound its way all the way down to Marina Piccola (one of two marinas on the island, the other is Marina Grande). It ended up offering some of the most stunning views I've ever seen of ocean and rock. We also discovered what the beaches in Capri are like and if you come here expecting white, soft, sandy beaches, you won't find them. There are not miles of long wide sandy beaches here as the coastline of the entire island is made of sheer limestone rock faces and cliffs. The areas where you can walk into the water, which are very few and small, the sand is replaced with smooth white rocks, like the size of the stones used in hot-stone massages, for reference. It's free to lay on the rocks but if you want a chair and a little more privacy you can pay upwards of 20 Euros for one at one of the many "beach clubs". So we just dipped our toes in the water, which is probably about 65 degrees, and took the bus back to the center of town in search of a grocery store to stock up for the week. We cooked dinner later that night here at the house and enjoyed it outside along with our view. It was a good first day.

This was the first stop on the "nature walk" above our house and that's Marina Grande down below where we arrived
on the ferry from Naples. The 90 degree part of the "walk" started here...

...and this was after Rich made the executive decision to turn around and was
trying to figure out the best way to head back without just sliding down on the leaves.
Clearly we are the only ones on the entire island who felt the need to see this trail.
We would definitely have kept going had we been a little more prepared.

And here's a really nice paved, well-travelled path that goes all the way
from the center of town to Marina Piccola.
It was so dramatic, beautiful and a really peaceful walk.