Positano & Amalfi Coast

Positano was amazing - it is like Cinque Terre, but the cliffs are even more dramatic and the town is bigger. The hostel we stayed at was ideally situated. There was a large balcony overlooking the town and ocean, where everyone would go to chat, mingle, and enjoy the view. There were thunderstorms over the sea the first night that we were there, but it wasn't raining over the town itself. We sat out on the balcony and watched the lightning strike the ocean a few miles away and it was quite an impressive display.

Second day was spent exploring the town and relaxing at the beach. Max and I rented a kayak and despite our poor skills and coordination we were able to paddle out and get some nice views of the city from the ocean. We were relaxing on the beach with Annabel, a German girl we met on the bus ride over and who is working in a nearby town for the summer, when the sky began to darken as the clouds rolled in over the cliffs. Within a few minutes it began to rain pretty heavily. Unfortunately, the beach is at the "bottom" of the town, and our hostel was at the "top". A fun trek ensued in which we climbed up hundreds of steps which had turned into cascades of waterfalls from the rain, pretty and treacherous at the same time. Of course, by the time we reached the hostel and had been thoroughly soaked, it stopped raining and the sun came out again.