TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2024

A DAY ON THE SPARKLING WATER

On the itinerary for the second full day of our trip was a simple free day to explore Sorrento. But in our pre-vacation WhatsApp group, a couple of people mentioned that they wanted to take that time to book a tour to the chic island of Capri and its famous Blue Grotto. The interest caught on, and eventually all nine of us decided to do this tour!

Arriving at Capri, our first stop was the Blue Grotto itself. You can only enter the cave when the water is calm and the tides are the right height, so there are many days when this whole excursion is unavailable or cancelled. We got lucky! We found ourselves as one of many boats looking to check out the famous site, and sat moored in the area and chilled on our boat for a little while before transferring to small rowboats to get inside the grotto as the entrance is way too small for a normal-sized boat.

Finally it was our turn, and we started getting into the rowboats in groups of four, two on each side straddling each other like a flume ride at an amusement park. Once in the rowboat, we needed to pay an €18 fee to visit the grotto, which we did to these two guys in their little floating “ticket office.”

Rowing into the grotto itself, you can see that it is a VERY tiny entrance! Claustrophobic me would’ve called all of this a big hell no if I hadn’t looked it up to see that the tight part is only for a second at the entrance to the cave, and once you’re inside it’s big and open. On the way in, as the rower uses a chain to pull the boat through, you need to lean alllll the way back so that you can fit through!

Once inside, we paddled around for just a few minutes, taking in the beauty while the rowers of all of the boats started singing. Definitely like nothing I’ve ever done before!

Leaving that early priority, we leisurely then boated around the outside of the island of Capri, stopping at a couple of other less-famous and more open grottoes, but mostly just taking in the absolutely gorgeous day.

Eventually we found ourselves at one of Capri’s marinas where we docked the boat to get out and spend a few free hours enjoying the island itself, full of shops and restaurants and views for days.

Once at the top, we took a few minutes to take in the view, then split up to wander around the island, some people shopping, some settling down for a drink.

Shopping-wise, the island is a funny mix of very upscale designer stores and dime-a-dozen souvenir shops, with a bunch of local jewelry stores in between. I ended up wandering for a little while, sometimes crossing paths with our group as people looked around for various specific souvenirs.

Custom sandals are a big thing on Capri – you can pick your base and then decorate the straps from a ton of different beads and notions. I considered it, but while they’re very pretty they’re also very expensive and not really suited for a walking city like NYC. Worth the window shopping!

While we were walking around, we wandered past a film shoot which we found out was for A Simple Favor 2. I quickly took a few pictures before someone told me not to, and realized when looking later than I had managed to capture Anna Kendrick standing right there, as well as her body/stunt double dressed the same and wearing an Anna wig. Will have to see the movie to see how they captured Capri!

After wandering for a bit, several of us met up for lunch and a drink at a little pizza place. I was in love with the beautiful tiles that decorated the tables, and the food was SO good!

Finally, it was time to head back to the marina to get back on the boat, but not before grabbing a lemon sorbet for the walk – we had been eyeing it and it really hit the spot on the warm day!

As I was walking with Kristen, Christina, and Sarah… we soon realized that we were walking downhill but in the wrong direction entirely, and started to get worried as we found ourselves in a residential area, the clock was ticking, and we had been told in no uncertain terms to not miss the return time. Without much reception we were struggling to get Google Maps to load, and we finally managed to flag down a taxi who at least pointed us in the right direction (though he had other passengers). Then as luck would have it, as we were walking he swung back around to pick us up in his convertible (for the most ridiculous fare haha, but whatever, rescued) and drive us back down to the beach area! Crisis averted, though we did end up being a little late which we felt terrible about. Honest mistake.

Back on our boat, we continued our cruise around the island – our first stop being the iconic Faraglioni, three giant rocks (named Stella, di Mezzo and di Fuori) that are the most famous landmark of Capri outside of the Blue Grotto. We sailed up close, and then directly through Faraglione di Mezzo’s famous arch.

We then dropped anchor somewhere out in the sea, for some free time to swim in the Mediterranean waters. I’d imagine that in July this is an extremely popular activity, but in April the water was too cold for most of us. But Shannon and Kristen didn’t let the temperature stop them, and they fearlessly took the plunge!

Back in the boat and dried off, we made our way to the White Grotto on the eastern side of the island, a pretty little nook with vibrant turquoise water lapping up against it.

Finally, it was time to make our way back to the mainland and the docks at Sorrento. It was really a beautiful day and I think we all agreed that the day trip to Capri was totally worth it – Flash Pack now includes this in the itinerary, so obviously our feedback was heard!

We made our way back to the hotel to change and rest up for our evening activity, a sunset dinner cruise around the Amalfi Coast to Positano.