Friday night the Silver Muse stayed overnight in Sorrento, and we used the full day on Saturday to hire a driver for a ride down the Amalfi Coast.   Although we stopped in Amalfi village on Friday, there were miles of coastline to see from ashore, and several stops to make along the way.  Our driver Angelo was waiting at the pier when we disembarked after another not-great ride over in the tender, and we set off.

Once you go over the mountain range that forms the spine of the peninsula, the striking views of the Amalfi Coast come into view.  We stopped for pictures, of course.  

Coast & isolated beach, April 2017

Our first destination was Positano.  Sally and I had been there twice. On our first visit to Italy, we extended our stay in Positano after finding it too depressing to think about leaving (1).  The other time we spent some magical time there with our daughter and her man.  So we were excited to return, if only for an hour or so.  

Picture Perfect Positano, April 2017

Positano is built into the side of the hills that line the sea along the Amalfi Coast.  The coastal road winds down into the mid-level of town and then out, and there’s a pedestrian street that goes from there down to the beach.  Angelo dropped us at the lowest point of the road and we walked down the rest of the way.

Positano scenes, April 2017

The traffic along the coast is terrible. The road (there’s only one) is narrow and winding, and the large busses that travel there need both lanes to make some of the sharp corners.  We probably spent 30 minutes on line waiting to enter each of Positano and Amalfi.  

Ravelo, quickly, April 2017

Ravelo is not a beach town.   It sits at the top of he mountain ridge overlooking the Mediterranean Sea from afar.   We sadly had limited time there, so our visit was was a bit rushed.  But it’s very pretty.

Dreaming of San Pietro, April 2017

On the drive back we made one more stop to look down at Positano, where the first picture was taken.   We also got a look at the San Pietro hotel, where we stayed  during those two visits.   Like the town, it is built down the side of the cliff and you enter at the top.
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(1) This is only one of two times I can recall us changing plans in mid-trip.  The other was when we escaped from Death Valley after the first night, as the heat was unbearable in our so-called air conditioned room.