Over the course of this wonderful month in Italy, the weather has run the full spectrum of sunbathing beach weather to cold, rainy, and windy days. It seems fitting that our last weekend, and last little adventure, was met with both extremes.
We tried to schedule a kayaking trip on a Saturday, but in the morning the weather looked like this… (not ideal)
We were a quite relieved when the guide called to say he was cancelling due to weather. We happily rescheduled for the next day. Thankfully, when we woke up on Sunday it was an entirely different climate. A beautiful and sunny day was the perfect setting for an 6 mile kayaking excursion. We brought the GoPro for some water-safe photography, and our awesome guides from Amalfi Kayak Tours took pictures throughout the trip then shared the whole batch.
We took off from the town of Amalfi, and quickly entered the part of the sea where the water is deep and a crisp, fresh, navy-teal color. My color vocabulary isn’t rich enough to describe it accurately. I think I need to do some paint-chip research at the hardware store when I get home.
The first landmark we passed was the arch of lovers. The story our guide told us was that getting married at the top of the arch was once very popular. It was supposed to bring good fortune to the couple, and a long and happy marriage.
We continued on and passed the Saraceno Hotel. The high-end hotel has Moorish stone architecture, a private beach, and a cave looming overhead. It must be an fantastic place to stay, we’ve added it to our bucket list, but viewing it from the water wasn’t so bad either.
The cave above the hotel was huge, but there are several smaller ones that line the coast right on the water. Our guide led us to a small one, then helped us navigate into it, one kayak at a time. Small, dark, and thick with ocean air, the little cave was a bite-sized version of some serious adventuring that I don’t know if I’d have to guts for. This min-version was just right.
Does it get any better than this? Apparently it does!
Our last stop was a magical little beach where we were able to pull up our kayaks and relax for a bit before heading back to Amalfi. Fiordo di Furore has a narrow entrance, somewhat hidden from view out at sea, and a bridge over the top. The fjord used to connect to a river, and some of the sand is made of smoothed over pieces of broken tiles that builders threw into the water when working on homes along the rivers edge. We still swoon about the hour we spent here. If it hadn’t been our last day in the region we certainly would have come back for a second visit.
We headed back to Amalfi, VERY happy that the weather worked out and thankful for the experience. We took one last walk around Amalfi and had one last feast of pizza and wine before heading back to Salerno. Cheers to you, Amalfi.
