Marina Grande is not a place for the unwary! It is a constant bustle of frenetic activity. Ferries arrive and depart with a steady stream of thousands of tourists and the tons of supplies necessary to keep the island's businesses operating. It is a place where opportunity intersects with inventiveness and every pickpocket, huckster, shyster and nere-do-well, within a reasonable distance, finds at least a temporary home here. It is wise to keep your possessions close or, in a single unguarded moment, they'll "belong" to someone else!
We bought our tickets for the Positano ferry and found seats in the quietest dockside cafe we could find. After ordering a couple of fresh lemon drinks (tart, but refreshing) we traded Capri and Tuscany stories with a couple from New Zealand, who were waiting for a ferry to Sorrento. As departure time approached, we traded business cards and promised to look each other up if ever.......
The trip to Positano took about 30 minutes on the "slow" boat - water-jet propulsion, but not a hydrofoil. The boat backs in to the "dock" - little more than a concrete slab, a metal ramp is extended between the two, passengers grab their luggage and spill onto the dock where another group waits to board.
Positano is a goat hill! Quaint, picturesque, certainly beautiful, but extraordinarily steep! Our hotel is situated about halfway up the hill and with no cabs in sight, the prospect of dragging our bags up the winding narrow passages was daunting. Fortunately, there is a porter service and for six Euro a bag, they will deliver to your hotel in a matter of minutes. It's a leap of faith, because there are no bag checks, receipts or anything whatsoever in writing. You just point out your bags, and trust!
I couldn't bring myself to extend that trust to my camera bag. With two cameras (Canon 1D MK III, 1Ds MK II) seven lenses, Apple MacBook Pro 17", 2 firewire drives, 3 iPods, 30 gigs worth of CF and SD cards, 1 580 EX II flash, 2 spare batteries for the MK III, 2 for the MK II, plus assorted cables, headphones and other odd bits, the contents were worth much more than I was willing to risk. The down side is, it weights about 50 pounds! By the time I reached the front door of our hotel, I was, literally, pouring sweat.
Our hotel is Le Sirenuse; a former personal residence for a wealthy Italian family, which they turned into one of the finest hotels in Italy. After we decided to make this trip, almost a year ago, I gave Jane two nights at Le Sirenuse, as a christmas present.
The Hotel is spectacular! The family's goal of luxury, elegance and guest comfort are apparent in every element of the property. Our room is a junior suite and it lacks nothing! Beds in Italian hotels are, typically, carved from the same rocks that were used to construct the building. Not Le Sirenuse's! This is the most comfortable Italian bed we've slept in since our one-night stay at The Savoy, in Florence, in 2005. Our terrace, which opens off the sitting room, has a postcard view of Positano. The hotel faces south and today, that terrace is so hot, you could fry an egg out there; but we just step inside the double glass doors and bask in the sunshine, while the air-conditioner cools us.
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