Taormina to Positano Via the bus ride from HELL: 5/16/08

Taormina to Positano Via the bus ride from HELL: 5/16/08

Little did I know what fun adventures were ahead of me today.

The day started off alright with a walk down to the bus stop and a short ride back down to the train station. From there we took the train to Messsina where the train cars were loaded on to a fairy and we were all sent over to the mainland. So we are no longer on the football, we are now on the boot of Italy . It was very cool seeing the train cars loaded on to the fairy; the ride over to the mainland was a very short one. From there we headed to Salerno where we caught a bus that would take us to Positano.

The fun started once we stepped foot into the main square of the Salerno train station. Nowhere were there signs about bus tickets, so after going to the information desk, the train information desk and then finally to the ticket counter that was not marked at all we were given passes instead of tickets. The guy told us he had passes not tickets…Welcome to Italy !  

We loaded on to the bus and began the long journey to Positano. The bus quickly became standing room only as it twisted down the narrow Amalfi coastline. We pulled into Amalfi and I was very ready to get off the hot bus and stand for a bit. I do not see how people take these buses in the middle of summer down this road. If you experience car sickness, DO NOT take this road! I swear we must have made well over 1,000 turns around corners only wide enough for one bus at a time. The next bus took us from Amalfi to Positano. This was the worst stretch of them all, standing the whole time I was starting to feel the effects of the lack of sleep, water, A/C and food. Our stop could not have come soon enough, clambering out of the bus knocking over small women and children I was released from the grasps of hell.

Positano is a city built on the cliffs of the Amalfi coast. The houses are all painted such beautiful colors and the water of the Tyrhenian Sea is such a dark blue, but near the coast it is a very light blue. Add all this along with the green trees that are all over the cliff sides and this little town becomes quite the vast cornucopia of colors and beauty. I was just wishing I was feeling better so I could truly enjoy it all. We checked into the hostel only to find out they did not have their WIFI up and the dorm room they had us in was the smallest room I have ever seen 20 beds crammed into. Memories of the small haunted crypt I went into last fall in the Edinburgh cemetery came rushing back.  The lady told us the beds in the back would be the quietest. I enquired if they came with O2 tanks so we would not die during the night from lack of oxygen. We talked our way into an upgrade and got our own room. I would have settled for a smaller dorm room but she had none. This place was not very organized at all!  They did not show us the facilities, or make any attempt to talk about the city. My ’08 guide book says breakfast is included, but again to no surprise to us it was not. Another fun thing about this place, only one toilet seat in the entire place, and that was up in the women’s WC. I hope my bombardier skills are on par tonight. While sitting out on the deck I noticed one of the guys running the place had a gun holster on his belt. Looked like a .38 special, nothing too big but a gun none the less; just another one of the fun things to add to the list for the hostel. We later found out from some other people that they paid 5 Euros for a dinner and was given a very small plate of rice. If you are wondering which place this is, it is the only hostel in Positano (Ostello Brikette). The place itself is very nice, but the people and the facilities need some help.

I showered and tried to cool off from the long bus ride that had Beelzebub at the helm.

Crawling into bed I discovered not only did they have the plastic still on the mattress but also had a plastic mattress protector over that; guess I don’t have to worry about making that walk to the restroom late at night.

One very tired Judge singing off from Positano.