Stairway to Positano...

Positano, Italy

October 15, 2007
N40°37.647
E014°28.876

Our family vacation came to an end when we parted ways with Pat and Dad at the Rome train station. They boarded a train to the airport for their flight home and we hopped on a train south towards Naples. Once in Naples, we grabbed a local train to a Sorrento and finally a local bus to Positano—a small town along the Amalfi Coast.

The Positano bus stop overlooked the small village built into the hillside and the silver blue Tyrrhenian Sea at least 600 feet below. Weaving our way downhill via the narrow, one-way, cobblestone streets, at times putting our backs against parked cars and sucking in our stomachs to avoid being hit by large vans, we finally found a pedestrian stairway that guided us down at least 700 steps into the village. The harrowing adventure seemed a little crazy at the time, but then we realized its all part of the fun of a small town with streets designed for a horse and carriage.

After we dumped our gear at our place, we climbed down several more flights of stairs until we reached a small private beach. The sun chairs were packed with vacationers trying to capture the last few rays of summer. We decided to grab a light late lunch and observe the people frolicking in the water which is rumored to be 70F. As the sun started to fall into the sea and behind the cliffs to our right you could feel autumn approaching; cold shadows quickly replaced sunbathers.

We followed the staircase back up the hill to our Pensione after we finished our lunch. The climb up the stairs was a lot more challenging, at about a 14% grade, climbing what felt like straight up—around 330 ft in less than ½ of a mile!

Tomorrow we’ll explore more of the village and I’m sure we’ll get to run the stairs several more times since we’ll be in the little town for five “relaxing” days.