Corner La Trin: Isle de Capri

Isle de Capri, the island shaped like a crocodile, appearing faintly on the horizon, from the port of Naples, was another adventure for us. Today was the month anniversary of our trip in Italy. I was very happy.

Capri was a stark mass of limestone that rose sheerly through impossibly turquoise water. Breathtaking. The island was a smooth cocktail of chichi piazzas and cool cafes, Roman ruins and rugged cliffs. On a minibus, we headed up to Anacapri, the higher of the two villages on the island of Capri. It was four hundred metres above sea level, and here was a chairlift that took you up to the highest level of Capri, 598 metres above sea level. We decided to take it before our lunch. The ride up was scenic and breezy. I could see the villages of Capri and Anacapri, which looked like Greek villages with all the whitewashed houses. The sea was calm and tranquil, and because the water was sky blue, it looked like part of the sky, and that boats were sailing on the sky. It was so pretty.

The view from the top was SPECTACULAR. I mean, so beautiful. I could see all of Capri. Even a very faint view of the bay of Naples was visible. The clouds were lazily floating around, and boats were speeding around on the water. The boats left their paths on the water, so light blue paths were visible on the calm water. So beautiful...

We had lunch at Anacapri. I had pasta for first course, then calamari for main. Pasta was always good in Italy but calamari...I guess I will learn to like it in the future. Dessert was vanilla gelato. Yum yum!

We took the bus down to Capri after lunch. This village sat 200 metres above sea level and had the Piazzetta. It was a small square with shops and cafes around it, along with the Funicular, a cable car leading down to the Marina Grande, the port of Capri. After exploring Capri village, we took the funicular down ready to embark on our journey to the blue grotto, the most famous part of Capri.

The trip to the cove of Grotta Azzura, the blue grotto, was long but comfortable on the cushioned seats of the speedboat. The entrance to the grotto was only one metre high, on low tide, so we had to board a rowboat, and an oarsman rowed us into the tiny entrance of the grotto.

The entrance to the cave was so low, that in the tiny wooden rowboat, we all had to lie flat on our backs. The rower abandoned his oar and grabbed a chain on the side of the entrance. He pulled us in, bending back further and further to get in. Then he snapped back up, and we were in the grotto.

It was magical. Pure magic. The stunning sea cave was illuminated by an other worldly blue. Most of the light that came in through the entrance was filtered by the sea water, so only the blue light could get in. It truly was blue. Electric blue. The illuminated water was just beautifully blue. Amazing. Unforgettable. I was shellshocked. I mean, this was incredible. Sixty metres long and twenty metres deep, the water was just so BLUE! It glowed, it was fluorescent. I was truly amazed.

After the amazing experience in the grotto, we headed back to Capri to explore further. We walked down the fashion street where we saw a nice pasticceria. We stopped for an afternoon tea with some cookies and pastries. They were soooooooooo nice...

On the boat back, I dozed off to the rhythm of the boat bouncing on the waves. It had been an utterly fantastic day.

Arriving at Isle de Capri