Capri

Here's a place I'd always thought I'd never see. Pronounced CA-pri (file under "everything you know is wrong"), it's only a 15 minute ferry ride from the mainland.

With an allotted three hour time window, we opted to visit the town of Capri and skip Annacapri, the more sedate of the two towns. Next visit perhaps.

Upon arrival, we opted for the 10 minute funicular ride to town rather than a long steep hike. The town square is apparantly the place to be seen. Instead of hiking through town past the Fendi and Prada stores, we chose a long, narrow cobblestone path. We were rewarded with scenes of local life: butcher and barber shops, markets with fresh produces, beauty salongs and family settings - courtyards, mothers walking their kids in strollers - and were finally rewarded with an over-the-rooftop view of the town and a long view out to sea.

While we did walk through town and were impressed with the utter charm of the place, the preponderance of high-end boutiques was a bit of a turn-off - a la "Life Styles of the Rich and Famous". Still, the weather (windy and warm) and the ambience was a winning combination.

As we headed back down the funicular to the ferry terminal, we mused how none of the locals would be caught dead in the type of clothes and accessories sold on the streets to tourists.

Just prior to arrival time for the ferry, I stole away to get some sunset shots of boats and the beach but returned to Margi at the docking station before the boat arrived.

We waited and waited...and waited.

This was a big ferry that was supposed to come and fetch us. As 7:00 PM came and went, we began to get nervous as there were really no other passengers around us. There was another ferry on the other side of the breakwater but we believed that was going to Naples and, as it turned out we were correct.

Finally, we asked some local fisherman nearby when the Sorrento ferry was scheduled to dock.

“No more!” they said. “All gone.” “No more tonight.”

What the f....?

Not having anything with us other than our wallets and windebreakers, we decided there was no way we were going to stay overnight in a $350 Euro hotel. Besides, with no makeup or toiletries Margi had her mind made up.

We raced to the other ferry and got in line. As we attempted to board, I tried to explain to one of the crew that we had Sorrento tickets but he ignored me. There, beside us, were two other couples who also had ferry tickets to Sorrento.

There was no way they were going to let us on board without Naples tickets. Since the ferry was about to leave, there was no time for us to run back to the ticket office at the other end of the breakwater.

From the flybridge the captain saw the commotion and I looked up, and pleaded for him to let us board. When I made the gesture with my hands that we would pay, he waved us aboard.

Not glad about heading an hour out of our way to Naples, nor about the prospect of having to take the local train back to Sorrento we decided it was still better than trying to find accommodations on the island.

Soon after we got under way, one of the crew approached us and commanded me to accompany him to the bridge. There, in the aircraft-like cockpit with three other officers, I met the captain. In very rapid Italian he began a rant on what-on-earth-I'll-never-know.

After he had his say, in broken Italian with a little Spanish thrown in, I explained as I showed him my Sorrento ticket that we had been stranded on the island, as were four other Americans when the Sorrento ferry failed to show. He would have none of it and insisted I pay 32 Euros to one of the crew members.

Not feeling I had much choice, other than swimming, I paid and returned to my seat. I assume the other couples also had to pay up.

Then, 10 minutes before we reached Naples, one of the crew came back to our seat, muttered something incomprehensible and nearly threw my money back at me. Apparently, my explanation about the ferry stranding us did the trick and, perhaps after checking with the ferry authority, learned the truth.

The six of us met on the dock and decided to check out whether a taxi or the train would be a better alternative to get back to Sorrento. We negotiated a 20 Euro per person ride and squeezed into what could have been our last ride ever.

To say the ride back was harrowing would spare you the gallons of adrenaline we excreted on road back. The driver, no doubt steeped in either racing in Le Mans or in destruction derby took us on an unforgettable ride, a lesson really, in how to negotiate through traffic when they just won't get out of the way. He was clearly on a schedule as we did the hour-long ride in 48 minutes and broke most of the known American driving laws. As he passed on curves, honked incessantly, tailgated and squeezed between two cars as oncoming cars drew near, Margi was freaking out in the back seat while I tried to steep myself in conversation in the front seat with a young gal who, strangely enough, came from Malibu.

Finally, after all the blood had drained from our faces, we arrived and swore off any kind of transportation for at least 48 hours. Time to drink!