We left the hostel early, skipping the $10 euro coffee and croissant breakfast, to get a start on our eight hours of driving down to the Amalfi Coast. Driving the highways in Italy is pretty much the same as the US just with fewer semi trucks and waaaay more crowded travel plazas. We had a few issues with paying the tolls, the card reader system wasn’t taking our cards but we had cash. We retraced our steps back down south, past Rome, and then further south to the coast

Doing some preliminary research on driving in Italy, I ran across one blog that recommended NOT driving in the Amalfi area. We didn’t have another option so Josh drove on the way in since he had more recent crowded driving experience than I. Other than the roads being very twisty and narrow, I don’t think the driving there was awful. We were not staying in main area or Positano, rather having scored a great hotel in San Lazzaro. If you are driving something larger than our 4 door Fiat, it might be more difficult, but overall we felt it wasn’t that bad.

A long day on the road brought us to the Grand Hotel Sant’Orsola which turned out to be far fancier than I’d anticipated! While not on the ocean, we had spectacular views from our huge balcony!

After all the driving, we decided to walk over the nearest restaurant for dinner where we indulged in the full three hour dining experience!

On Friday we woke up to amazing views and a great breakfast buffet on the veranda downstairs. Unfortunately Josh had eaten something at dinner that was not doing right by him and he’d had a really rough night. We set him up with a selection of tummy drugs and electrolytes, turned the lights off, and let him sleep while we set out on the hike. Of all the days that a stomach bug could have happened, this was actually an ideal day since we had the room for two nights.

The Path of the Gods hike is about 5 miles from the top of the cliffs down to the level just above the beach at Positano. We arranged a ride from our hotel to the start rather than risk not having parking since we started a bit later than planned. This will come back to bite us in the ass later. Our driver dropped us off in Bomerano and we walked through town to the start of the hike. Parking was tight but there were still a few spots open. We arrived at the start of the trail to find this sign:

Tserka and I had started the day in our Crocs (judge me all you want, those ugly shoes are comfy) but had packed our hiking shoes as back up. Steve only had his flip flops with him. Normally we would have just ignored the sign and walked on but the threat of unstated punishment gave us pause. I get that places have to protect themselves from lawsuits and from wasting resources “rescuing” tourists who make stupid decisions but given that Steve hiked the Grand Canyon rim to river and back up in one day in flip flops, I knew this trail was not an issue. We sat for a few minutes and talked about the options. At one point I gave Steve my hikers, which are more than a bit too small for him, and decided that I could find a bus back to the hotel. The thought of sitting on the porch, sipping drinks, and writing didn’t sound that bad to me! As I was getting ready to leave, more hikers came by, some also wearing sandals and such. They didn’t seem bothered by the sign so in the end, we all set out in various states of footwear.

Steve made it almost a mile in my shoes (literally), twisting his ankles 3 separate times! After passing a tour group, he decided to go back to his flops and I put on my hikers. The trail winds it’s way down and along the cliff side, always offering a great view of the ocean. We were moving at a pretty fast clip because we didn’t want to run into the shoe police!

The true path I think ends in the town of Nocelle where we found the fabulous lemon stand called Lemon Point Positano! We arrived here about 2 1/2 hours into the three hour hike, and a lemon ice was exactly what we needed! One of the local cats was also hanging out and available for pets!

We have a running joke about the severe lack of beach days on our vacations so the guys were excited to share with me that we had a choice of several beaches to visit while down in Amalfi. This hike was supposed to terminate not at a beach but within easy reach via a short bus ride. Steve had once again planned out the bus numbers and routes and we thought it would be easy. From the lemon stand down the bus station was 30 minutes of downhill stairs, zig zagging back and forth. Coming off the stairs, we were almost on top of the bus stop except that the bus stop in full sun and against the cliff wall with no shoulder on the road. We opted to wait across the street, huddled under a shrub hedge with a concrete wall to sit on. This was on the main road into Positano so lots of traffic was zipping by. We got the bus sorted and Google said one would be by soonish. We texted Josh to see how he was feeling and if he wanted to try and join us. He’d gone out for a short bit and decided that walking in the heat was not the best option and I totally agreed! We opted to head to a beach closer to our hotel instead of venturing farther afield. The bus we wanted never showed up. Then the next one came by but didn’t stop. Then the third one went by, didn’t stop, but was obviously full. This was over a 1 1/2 hr period, all while we were just sitting there sweating like mad. I tried to research shuttle boats with no luck but is apparently a good option if you plan ahead. Tserka tried to call a taxi but they wanted $100 to get us to the beach and we’d still need to either walk or bus from there. We walked part way to another bus stop but then turned around and went back to the original one where we met a local old guy. He said that yeah, a bus may come, but it wouldn’t stop if it was full and they would all most likely be full. At this point I was super frustrated and made the decision to just hike back the way we came and then keep walking to the hotel, which was pretty much just all uphill.

Fueled by frustration and too much heat, I think I may have set a personal record for elevation gained vs time! I was not a great person to be around at this point, having been assured of water time (I really could care less about beaches but I love water), and now facing a five plus mile hike back to the hotel. Part of my fast angry hike was I was hoping to hit up the lemonade stand again before he closed and I knew it would be a push to get there in time.

Luckily we made it right as Antonio was packing up for the day. I’m calling this second lemon ice medicinal because without it I’m not sure we would have made it all the way back up! Having planned for a short hike, we hadn’t packed many snacks but at least we had plenty of water. The town had a nice free and fresh water spigot beside a lovely grotto where we could fill our bladders and splash our face. There were a few others scattered on the trail, probably mostly for the benefit of the goats! We arrived back at the city center our driver had dropped us at this morning and paused for gelato and drinks. We saw some busses come and go but at this point we were so done with the hassle of busses we decided to just walk the remaining miles home!

So, in retrospect, I wish I had continued with the plan of leaving my shoes with Steve and heading back to the hotel. This would have been less frustrating for everyone since I could have driven the car down to the get the guys once they found themselves stranded. Instead though, I did get an excellent day of race training in, complete with some heat acclimation! I’m still owed a beach day though!