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How not to walk Amalfi Coast Trails: an unexpected adventure

Last September, I'm based in Praiano halfway between Amalfi and Positano so I could hike one day in Positano Praiano, Amalfi and Praiano another day. Some years ago I took the road of Ravello Atrani to Amalfi and Scala, on a series of stone steps and paths down. Easy, nice walks!

I love hiking, have good shoes walking and going to the gym three times a week, so no problemo!

I looked at the local level Praiano to Positano cards. Too vague. No info on the net much either. At my hotel Praiano I asked the receptionist how long the hike in Positano Praiano took. "Oh, a couple hours, "he said.

"I'm going alone," I said, "the volume of traffic on the road? "Approximately 50 people per day, "he assured me. It was like a southern version paths of Cinque Terre. I would be.

I looked at my card wave. Perhaps it take four hours, not two. The sun set at 7:00 pm, so I'd be in Positano by 6:00. I started at 1:00 am, so I'd well return before nightfall. It was hot and sunny, not my normal running time or weather, but I had a lot of water, a hat sun lotion and anti-sunburn.

I asked Praiano, where the road began. Just after Hotel Smeralda and a street. At the end of the Street, I saw no sign of Positano, a three-way fork. My took a rough road looking at the place where I could see stairs running the hill.

On my card, my first destination was the convent of Santa Maria, but as I slowly climbed the stairs, signs said, "San Domenico 40 minutes "," San Domenico 30 minutes. "Where is Santa Maria?

Between the signs San Domenico crosses in cement and benches in the shade. I sat on the benches on my way up just like the pilgrims may have in the old days. Still no signs of Positano.

I often stopped to look down at the coast still farther, wide blue sea, the white town of Praiano, wild hair, green hills and beige Mediterranean scrub and bare trees. Beautiful!

Check a second fork unmarked. I looked up and saw a cave. On my map, I live in a cave. Off I went past the sign "San Domenico 10 minutes" and has reached a closed monastery and a church. Santa Maria and San Domenico were in the same place!

In the small square at the church, a guide appeared with three Italian tourists on their way down to Praiano. He indicated a way forward and made the top of the hill at an abandoned farmhouse. The path to Positano. "Take this road ahead for 20-30 minutes at a crossroads. It is not marked. Take the stone stairs to the left. You see a farm on the right. Then, go for about 1 hour and Nocelle for 15 minutes and you'll see the signs for Highway Montepertuso and Positano.

The path of the church staircase carved into the rock, so I lost my way for a few minutes.

The junction was hidden by the branches a little, but I saw the farmhouse on the right. I walked on steps and flat dirt roads along the cliffs, still above the hill, looking ever deeper into the sea and the coastal road. One in sight. No houses.

Not much shade, so I walked slowly, stopped in the shade under the trees scarce drinking water. One misstep and I'd roll all along the sea Would my way of cell phone work here? Someone to find me?

At one point, I saw one jet painted red arrow in the rock. The first directional sign on the way!

The vast panorama up there impressed me: the way the church below, some vines, white towns, the sea out of sight and the coast mountains falling into the sea

Finally I got at about 5:00 the quiet hamlet of Nocelle. A sign pointed down a staircase, "Positano". I was almost there! Fortunately Measures winding through olive trees and brush were soft and shaded.

In descending, I saw a sign, "Arienza. I looked on my map. 3 km before Positano! Regardless, now I just wanted to join the road and a bus. After 40 minutes on the stairs, I passed by stumbling on the road. My legs would not carry me one step further, so I took the bus to Praiano Arienza.

The next day I read in a pamphlet in 1500 increased from Nocelle stages of the road. I thought I had to walk about 4000 steps in total.

Next morning, my legs hurt all over. hiking Enough for now! On my map the road to Amalfi looked much more. I walk this path with a guide on another trip! I took a risk calculated once. That was enough.

About the Author

Margaret Cowan of Vancouver, BC owns a tour company, Mama Margaret Italian Cooking Holidays at http://www.italycookingschools.com.

They ran their first Italian cooking, wine and walking tour in 1995. Margaret and her local Italian tour partners offer tours all over Italy.

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