Today was an awesome day. I woke up in a wonderful hostel in Sant'Agnello near Sorrento. The plan was to go to a nice little town called Positano, so I thought, "Why not do it by bike?" It turned out to be a great decision. The weather started out great, so I left my long sleeveness at home (thankfully), and when the sun hid behind the clouds, the uphill climbs did a pretty good job of keeping me warm. After some exilirating downhills, I made it to Positano!
We (the two Australian girls I'm travelling with and I) got on a bus to Amalfi, which is another 17 kilometers continuing the same way from Sant'Agnello.
About half way through, a conductor came on-board and started checking tickets. I had assumed you buy a ticket from him, but his reaction after seeing my outstretched five-Euro bill made it clear I was mistaken. He started yelling and stuff and I pretty much pretended that I didn't understand him, so he got a piece of paper and wrote:
"38 Eur"
And I was like, hell no you ain't fining me 38 Euro!! I said I didn't have that kind of money, so he went to the bus driver, exchanged some words, and had the bus stopped so that I could be thrown off the bus in all my glory. I looked at him as if I were confused and he said to me in evil Italian, "Start pedeling!" As if I minded! It turned out to be a great deal. The remaining 6ish kilometers to Amalfi were stunning, and I had wind in my face the whole way.
The town of Amalfi isn't really anything more special than Positano. I hadn't decided whether I would bike back half-way or just get a bus back to Sorrento with the Aussies. I started to bike, agreeing that I'd get on their bus when it went by me. I arrived back to Positano, out of breath and full of adreneline. At this point the sun was going down and the sky was turning dark shades of orange. (This picture is actually from the day before, but you get the idea)
I asked someone there where the bus stop going the other way was. He answered in what I was pretty sure was Spanish. After thanking him, he asked me (in English), "Why does it say Israel on your shirt?" Cautiously, I said I had done a bike ride there. Then he asked if I spoke Hebrew, in Hebrew. So I said yes, and yes, I'm also Jewish. "So am I!" He said. He was from Mexico. We conversed about some Jewish sites in Italy to visit and then he boarded his bus, leaving me with a "Be Careful!" and a pat on the shoulder. I waited another twenty minutes just to get kicked off that bus because I hadn't bought a ticket prior to boarding. Forget it, I said to myself. Who needs buses? Who knows when the next one is, anyway?! (Luckily the girls on the bus were asleep so they missed the whole ordeal of loading and then unloading my bike under the bus. So I started to pedal the 14 kilometers back to Sorrento/Sant'Agnello. Some people at the bus stop said I was crazy/brave for biking on the Amalfi Coast. So many people can't shut up about how dangerous it is to bike, walk, or be on the Amalfi Coast, but clearly those people have never been to Israel. It was no big deal. There's a substantial wall separating you from death, so it's not so terrible.
I returned after a well-deserved downhill race in the dark to the hostel, where I stretched, ate, showered, and sat at the computer to type this entry!
Bye! A dopo!
About half way through, a conductor came on-board and started checking tickets. I had assumed you buy a ticket from him, but his reaction after seeing my outstretched five-Euro bill made it clear I was mistaken. He started yelling and stuff and I pretty much pretended that I didn't understand him, so he got a piece of paper and wrote:
"38 Eur"
And I was like, hell no you ain't fining me 38 Euro!! I said I didn't have that kind of money, so he went to the bus driver, exchanged some words, and had the bus stopped so that I could be thrown off the bus in all my glory. I looked at him as if I were confused and he said to me in evil Italian, "Start pedeling!" As if I minded! It turned out to be a great deal. The remaining 6ish kilometers to Amalfi were stunning, and I had wind in my face the whole way.
The town of Amalfi isn't really anything more special than Positano. I hadn't decided whether I would bike back half-way or just get a bus back to Sorrento with the Aussies. I started to bike, agreeing that I'd get on their bus when it went by me. I arrived back to Positano, out of breath and full of adreneline. At this point the sun was going down and the sky was turning dark shades of orange. (This picture is actually from the day before, but you get the idea)
I asked someone there where the bus stop going the other way was. He answered in what I was pretty sure was Spanish. After thanking him, he asked me (in English), "Why does it say Israel on your shirt?" Cautiously, I said I had done a bike ride there. Then he asked if I spoke Hebrew, in Hebrew. So I said yes, and yes, I'm also Jewish. "So am I!" He said. He was from Mexico. We conversed about some Jewish sites in Italy to visit and then he boarded his bus, leaving me with a "Be Careful!" and a pat on the shoulder. I waited another twenty minutes just to get kicked off that bus because I hadn't bought a ticket prior to boarding. Forget it, I said to myself. Who needs buses? Who knows when the next one is, anyway?! (Luckily the girls on the bus were asleep so they missed the whole ordeal of loading and then unloading my bike under the bus. So I started to pedal the 14 kilometers back to Sorrento/Sant'Agnello. Some people at the bus stop said I was crazy/brave for biking on the Amalfi Coast. So many people can't shut up about how dangerous it is to bike, walk, or be on the Amalfi Coast, but clearly those people have never been to Israel. It was no big deal. There's a substantial wall separating you from death, so it's not so terrible.
I returned after a well-deserved downhill race in the dark to the hostel, where I stretched, ate, showered, and sat at the computer to type this entry!
Bye! A dopo!
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