Capriiiiii

Hello, from a plane routed to Naples, Italy. I am looking out the window of an easy jet flight, viewing rigid and rocky snow-capped mountains, with fields below and a tiny village. I wonder how the village and its valley remain untouched by the snow that surrounds its hills. If I weren’t a million miles away from Mt. Everest, I would think this was it; however, it is the Swiss Alps. The snow draped over the mountains looks as if a sheet of silk has been dropped over its peaks, leaving the lower half of the mountain free of its touch. The peaks scale into the sky as the clouds escape by to avoid the sharp points of the mountain. I love the view from an airplane, and I have loved it since childhood.

The plane is about 40 minutes outside Naples, my pitstop on the way to Capri. I have really been looking forward to this trip, especially the visit to the Blue Grotto. We are flying over Italy as we are getting closer to the destinations. You can see the coastline and the Golfo di Napoli as I fly into Naples. A combination of farms and fields, homes flickering from the sun's refraction off its TV satellite, and then, in the distance, a tiny island, Capri. A rocky cliffs-filled island surrounded by the bluest water I had ever seen. 9:00 am

I made it off the plane and got another stamp and my passport yay! Seems to be a rare treasure, as most airports no longer stamp your passport. I needed to catch the bus into town, but I thought you had to buy the ticket on the bus, and then I realized you could buy it inside the airport for five euros, AND the guy broke my 50 bill, so it really worked perfectly. I made my way onto the bus and scanned my ticket with the driver's help, as always. It wasn’t a long journey, but it was not quick. The bus stopped many times, tossing and turning between the small streets. 45 minutes later, we pulled into the ferry Harbor, and I jumped off the bus and made my way to the ticket booth. My anxieties lessened as I heard the couple in front of me buy two tickets for the same ferry and calmly and casually walk to the gate. I followed. 11:16 am

Currently sitting on the ferry, jumping through the water. Forcing the large ship to jump up and down through the waves. I wasn’t expecting a rough ride, as the ferry last year between Salerno (I think) and Positano was very calm. It’s very clear that that’s why you can’t sit outside on the ferry, something I tried to do upon getting on the ship, haha. I’m even having difficulty writing neatly (this is transferred from my journal). I tried to get up and use the bathroom and was falling all over the place, so was a little Italian grandma on board. I was prepared to catch one. The second I got off the ferry, I was absolutely blown away. The water is prettier than any I have witnessed in my life so far. I know that I said the mountains along Lake Como would be like the ones in Avatar, but the ones in Capri really are!!! Green and cliffy, it looks like they contain a jungle along their edge. I walk to the shuttle spot where my hotel is meant to pick me up, but I’m early, so I can’t resist. I go and get one of the giant lemon drinks I walked by on the street. It’s literally a limoncello slushy inside with oranges, cantaloupe, and Italian raspberries inside a GIANT lemon. As I sit at this little blue table on the water's edge, I can hear the waves crash on the shore; a little doggie runs by, and everyone getting off the ferry seems to stare at my drink as I did about 10 minutes ago. Boats teetering in the water and seagulls flying all around. I always thought I was a city person, but I really am an ocean-water girl. I pay the €18 tab, which is expensive but worth it for a ginormous lemon.
I walked to the pickup spot, putting on my new crochet hat while waiting for the shuttle to arrive at the small port. Just as I was about to start getting overheated, a little yellow van came tugging down the hill with the name “Hotel Il Girasol” on the sides. Waving down the driver, I stepped into the petite yellow van with the blue leather bench seats in the back and seatbelts that didn’t work. We were on our way to AnaCapri, an uphill journey all the way. I felt like a true traveler sitting in the back of this van as it jolted all around, each turn of the car revealing a new face of Capri. After squeezing through the tiniest roads, we arrived at an orange-painted resort. My room is nothing crazy today, but the property was. I went to my room, rinsing off eight hours of traveling, watching a little bit of scandal, if we’re being honest, and putting on a Capri-worthy outfit. I was a little nervous about going out on the town because the bus system isn’t on Apple or Google Maps, but nevertheless, I persisted and headed to find an airlift about a 20-minute walk from the hotel.