Pushing our late night drive a little too far this time, we woke up in a slightly dodgy car park in modern Pompeii with our sites set on the winding mountain roads of the Amalfi peninsula.
Shortly after setting off we were very glad we hadn’t tried this in the dark! Twisty, busy & beautiful! Motorhomes are banned from the main southern coast road, and as we’d heard parking was also impossible even for the swarm of local fiat pandas, we were heading in from the North to park above the crowded coast.
To get a feel for this famous landmass, we headed for the Sentiero Degli Dei – Path of the Gods. A 5km traverse above the cliffs and towns between Pianillo & Nocelle. Both the Path and Eddie didn’t disappoint! Incredible views, friendly people, winding path with a pretty town & local lemon slushy (sorry, lemon granita, sounds much more impressive in Italian! Just as refreshing whatever you call it). As one of the busier walks we’ve done, we were impressed by the amount of mentions/ comments we got for either carrying a cute baby, or having a small alpinist (complete with walking pole) in our party. 2 very proud parents.
After the Lemon Granita and some crawling practise for Sammy in Nocelle, we turned around to get back to the van whilst avoiding the huge descent to the roads (for today…)
We’d bagged a cliff edge parking spot, so were keen to make the most of this view for a van dinner and a few games.
News of the impending dinner must have spread through the mountain, as we came across a pack horse that was making his own way along the path, no guide, in the direction of our van. Who knew horses liked olives & tuna pasta sweetcorn?
Second day, we decided it was time to jump in that beautiful sea. With the driving restrictions, we decided the best plan was to leave the van just where it was. So started on the walk down the mountain to Priano, where the festivities at the church of St. Luca came with a large band!
Unfortunatly still 100m above the sea, we left Priano by bus to the famous Positano. This is wha the Amalfi coast is famous for. Pottery shops, Local Limoncello (delicious), sunshine and a beach! The sand was on the edge of too hot to walk on, and the sea was a welcome cool down. In mid-October, madness really!
To see more of the coast, we grabbed a boat transfer to Amalfi for some dinner. Pizza in the main square, night time wander kept us very entertained until the last bus back up the hill.
Riding the bus, I was very glad to not be driving down on the busy roads! Our eye spy game with Eddie was too much of a draw for the other Brits on the bus, we gained 3 more players who were very keen! Also on the bus were our Swiss carpark neighbours who had done the Path of the Gods walk + Descent to sea level in 1 hit. We had a nice wander back to the vans under the stars trading adventure stories & plans.
Parenting Responsibly 