Going South: Capri and the Aeolian Islands

Capri:
Our last day in Naples we took a day trip over to Capri (it's pronounced CAP'-ri in Italian, not ca-PRI', as we say, I was informed by a local).  We took a hydrofoil boat.  They're popular here because they're fast - they use underwater "airfoils" to lift most of the boat up out of the water so it takes less gas to move it and it can go faster.  Unfortunately, the trip was rough and a fair number of passengers became sea-sick - but not us since Tre had taken her anti-nausea pill beforehand. 

Capri harbor is pretty enough with lots of boats,

Great views (this one of Naples Bay looking back at Naples and Vesuvius in the distance),

and rocky vistas:

The island was jammed with tourists - school groups and lots of Asians - obviously it was on everybody's checklist of "things you have to see in Italy".  We had hoped to go on a tour to see the Blue Grotto, it's supposed to be lovely, but we were told that all tours that day we canceled due to high tides and rough water.  So we "settled" for taking the funicular up a very steep hill to Capri town which is waaaay above the water.  After rubbing elbows with lots of tourists (and no celebrities that we could tell)

The main piazza in Capri town at lunch hour

we walked through town to a beautiful garden called "Giardino Augustino", I suppose after the Roman emperor, since they liked to hang out in Capri away from it all (before hydrofoils!).  It was a beautiful, cool, and restful place high above the sea, with some of the most fantastic views I've ever seen:

View down showing the "road" leading to the tiny town at sea level.

One of many spectacular views

After recharging our souls there, we went and had an over-priced salad and drink at a hotel along the path (can't really call it a street since it was only about 8' wide, only enough for a golf cart).  Then we made an executive decision to head back to Naples early and go to the Archeological Museum we wrote about last post.  We forgot to show an example of the Roman mosaics there, so here goes:

Aeolian Islands:

After Naples we took the train almost to Sicily.  Normally the train would have gotten in a boat and the boat would cross The Straits of Messina into Sicily.  The train would then leave the boat and travel on to an industrial city called Milazzo.  From there we would take a taxi over to the docks and get a hydrofoil over to Lipari, one of the Aeolian Islands off the north coast of Sicily.  (You may have heard of Stromboli, which is the most famous of the islands since its volcano is still active).  This is a place we fell in love with 16 years ago when our daughter Laura recommended we come. This time, however, the train stopped at the end of the Italian boot before crossing the Straits.  Why?  There was a two hour train strike.....typically Italian.  But, they didn't leave us in the lurch.  The ferries were still running to take us across on foot.  We still had no idea how we would find our way to Milazzo to get the hydrofoil.  But then we found a woman  who was making the same trip  (We swear that angels have accompanied us this entire trip!) She offered to show us how to get the trip done.  Off we went to the bus station-a quick trip across the street from where the ferry left us and the bus got us to Milazzo just in time to get a hydrofoil for the 1-1/2 hour ride across to Lipari.

Lipari has changed in 16 years and isn't the sleepy little fishing village it once was.  But it was still a great place.  After a boat trip around the islands the next day, we decided that the neighboring island of Salina is our new favorite.  It's laid back, has few cars, and is absolutely gorgeous.  Look at the pictures below. Some are taken on Lipari, some of Salina and some of the sea around the islands.   Can you tell why we love the Aeolians so much? 

The view out our apartment window

The medieval castle up on the rock in Lipari - it has great views and a great archeological museum - the history of these islands is complex  and stretches back to even before the early Greeks who settled here about 500 BC.  These volcanic islands had lots of obsidian which was perfect for tools before metals replaced stone.  Besides the Greeks, the Romans, Arabs, Normans, Turks, Spanish and then the French all ruled here before the unification of Italy in 1861.

One of those great views from the castle showing the fishing boat harbor.  Our apartment was just along the right edge of this photo.

View of Lipari town from the castle looking the other way

Typical fishing boats in the harbor

One of the narrow, steep "streets" of Lipari

A set of stairs leading up to the castle and church on the rock

Remnants of an old pumice mine on Lipari island

The strange little town (part caves) along the coast of Salina Island where parts of the movie "Il Postino" were fiilmed

The water was really clear - in some places you could see 10 meters down (this is much less here!)

One of several beautiful natural arches caused by sea erosion

and another

And beautiful rocks called "farenghi"

And sea caves the boat captain took us into

One day we went to the neighboring island of Vulcano, well-named since it also has an active volcano, and even more peculiarly, a sulfur-impregnated hot mud pit that you can immerse yourself in for therapeutic reasons (or just fun).

The mud pit (there are actually people in there!  We went in, too!)

The sea right next to the mud pit

It was a lot different than when we went there 16 years ago.  Then it was out in the middle of nowhere.  now it's been made into a park, fenced in, and you are charged 2 euros (5 if you want a shower afterward, and you do!) and there are souvenir stands and spas built nearby over other steam vents.

Some of the volcanic steam that heats the mud pit also escapes into the sea adjacent in little bubbly vents.  16 years ago these were a wonderful way to bathe in otherwise too cold water. However, this year the water was so cold that you could barely stand being in for 5  minutes.


After this Ken hiked up the volcano while Tre read and checked out the sleepy town.  It took him less than 2 hours round trip and provided great views of the islands from the top:

View from the top of Vulcano with Lipari Island in the distance

And a great view down into the crater of the volcano:

The next day we got up early and had a long but uneventful trip back to Florence. 

And OH, YES, We had some GREAT cannoli here.  If you haven't run across these, they are a thin waffly tube packed with a sweet creamy filling.  Made fresh they are yummy!  The southern Italians definitely make the best dolci!