Kayaking into the sunset - an amazing experience in Sorrento

The previous post in this series is here..

We were to drive to the starting point for the Kayaking and be there before 5PM. We ended up in a wrong parking lot somewhere in the middle of the hillside. Finally after calling the Kayak place we found a parking lot below at the sea level. Turned out we were not the last ones to arrive. This was booked through Viator. So we know it will be good.

We were asked to change in a small change room, leave everything there, given life vests, a hanging cover for our phones, paddles and when the entire group of 14 was ready, there were three guides who joined us. Once our vests were checked, we got a lesson on paddling and off we went. San and me in one kayak with her insisting that she will be in the front (which meant I got to direct the kayak.. you cannot have your cake and eat it too!) and the kids in another double kayak.

We kayaked along the coast line into a grotto. It was a thrilling experience. Once there, folks who wanted to swim there were allowed 20 minutes. There is a path from the grotto to go up the hill to a villa and see the sunset from there. San and me raced up. I thought I could make it to the villas front doors, but there wasn’t enough time. So we ran to the other side, got some pics and raced back.

San had a narrow escape as she fell when trying to get back on the kayak (it was unfortunately captured on video like a drishti parigaram) but recovered okay.

When we made it back and changed, Jr. was really sick. She was miserable. So we ate at the restaurant that was new (same owners as kayak place) and it was made fresh. Loved the pasta here. Then with wet clothes it was a race back to the hotel. By the time we reached the hotel the kid was really miserable. We had two more days of travel left. So we focussed on getting her better and went to bed early. When we got to the hotel I realized that my hard earned new challenge shirt was gone!

We had to take the next days plans depending on how things turned out in the morning..

A video highlight reel

In a way it was good we missed our original appointment and went to kayak at sunset. It was fantastic.

The Amalfi coast - Sorrento

The previous post in this series is here..

We reached Naples airport close to 8:30 PM. There was no public transport that would get us to Sorrento. It is an almost two hour drive along windy roads and lots of tunnels, with a lot of mopeds cutting in and out abruptly with no road rules applicable to them. Of course, I found out all this after driving. At the car rental place they asked us to take insurance as most cars get hit. They also told me to take enough pictures of the car in the freaking night to make sure we document all “existing scratches”. Was told that there would be. new ones by the time I return the car. Fortunately I got it back in two days with no additional scratches that I could see in “before vs. after” photos.

The family was proud of my effort to get them to the hotel. It was a large Volkswagen and I made a mental note that driving should be restricted only for the from and to airport. Again was wrong.

The hotel itself was cute. The staff friendly. There was no microwave or hot water but there was someone 24x7 downstairs who could get you that. He was like “I can make you a cappuccino now!” and I said “let me show you how to make Wagh Bakri instant chai with hot water”.. he watched me with an amused smile. The next two days he had hot water ready for me! He was reasonably sure there was something addictive in that chai packet. Once he was busy and he asked his daughter to get me hot water.. think the conversation in Italian was “why water? I can make him a Cappuccino!” and the response was something like “give him his damn water and see what he does with it”.. my broken Italian could only comprehend so much.

Where were we? Ah yes.. we settled into the room past 11 PM. So it was lights out. We had to get ready at 7 AM, have breakfast downstairs (which was really nice) and walk 20 minutes to Sorrento City center for a tour the kids had booked. It was Sorrento Food tours ! The kids took “namakku soru dhaan mukkiyam!” to a new level. We were met outside a local church by our guide Tamara. Turns out she was from the US but has spent the last 15 years there. Our group was the four of us, three folks from Irvine and a young couple from UK. We all made friends quickly thanks to Jr. talking about Irvine and me suddenly talking about Dorset and Blackpool. My family was eye rolling. . “who is this guy and how come we don’t know any of this?”. Tamara started the tour with some “good eats” she had got.. This was second breakfast. I also got a lecture on “if that couple from UK wants to have kids, they will. You don’t have to be the old uncle showing them how great it is to have kids by using this family as an example!” … Apparently I am advertising the value of a large family subliminally.. did not know that! All I asked was “how long have you guys been married? and “do you have any kids?”.

She took us through different restaurants, gave us a lesson on citrus, we had breakfast of sorts (again) at Franco’s. They made us a vegetarian sandwich with their special cheese (it had the Italian equivalent of ISI muththirai). In all my life I have not tasted a cheese sandwich that good ! The kids got 11/10 for this.

There was a good 45 minutes spent at a citrus garden and a private garden and limoncello making place. We got a factory tour.

Then we walked some more and came to a shopping district and the old square. There were chocolate fountains, candy stores. One store had lemon candy which I got hooked to. They checked to make sure that this was the only candy I could eat in that entire store. The manager took allergies seriously. Got myself a large bag of the lemon candy which has a small pocket of lemon juice at its core. Still enjoying it. Then it was time for lunch where they gave us pasta and a local cheese made from buffalo milk that was watery. It was interesting texture wise but very tasty. Then we stopped at Raki, a gelato place. Really good gelato! After this it was a walk to an overlook point and we all went our separate ways. We had gotten a good overview of Sorrento history, food, and the layout of the place.

While we were at lunch San kept getting calls from a local number.. We found out later that she had accidentally booked a kayaking tour same time as the food tour. She begged them to move it by a day and they did, but to the last group of the day.. (more on that later).

We walked by ourselves to see both the local church and cathedral. Then realized our legs were tired and our stomachs were too full. So we waited at a bus stop and took the bus to the stop closest to our hotel. They do have a fantastic public transport system. If you have the time and patience to use it. When you are a tourist, every minute counts!

The people and their pace is all laid back in Sorrento. They act like everyone is going to live past a 100 and there is 48 hours in a day. That somehow goes out the window the minute anyone gets behind a wheel.

Here is the morning and early afternoon in pictures. . .

and more photos.. of narrow streets and churches! Here is a quick lesson as we transition from landscape to portrait format photos.. when you do this food tour, DO NOT have breakfast in the hotel. You will be eating plenty and non stop over the next five hours. Also at Tamara’s request, her brochure is in the pictures below.

While adding the pictures I realized that a few things were missed. If you want to walk down from the top of city center, do it later in the evening. The sunset is just glorious here!

A video highlight reel of the food tour..

We also got a discount coupon for leather goods from our guide at some shops. Weren’t planning on it but on the way out of the shopping area the ladies jumped into a store. The owner was nice and he gave us the discount anyways even though it was not the store we were supposed to go to. Turns out all the leather goods came from Turkey which is considered “authentic” in Sorrento. It was a facepalm moment. We usually don’t buy leather goods. Think they got fake leather. It is time for me to stop questioning choices that are not mine.

There is this funny business of an extra tax that you get back at the airport when you show your passport. That assumes you have time in Naples airport to return the car, run to gate and stop at this counter which has long lines to get back money. So if you shop in Italy, give it time. The procedure to get this back after you have exit the country is painful.

There is one pano shot included in this. Italians were not as amused as Turkish folks when I did a backbend to take that photo in the church. The people who stared at me could definitely use yoga. I was not trying to show off. Wasn’t even wearing my challenge shirt yet.

After all the food and the bus ride and walk back to the hotel, we had time to spend. This was the kids part of the trip. So they wanted to go just “chill” and have a nice dinner locally. It was 3PM.

to be continued..

Living under a rock gets a new meaning - Kaymakli and a few more stop

Previous post on this all day tour of Kapadokya is here..

It was very hot outside and thankfully we were visiting the biggest attraction in this area. The underground cave city of Kaymakli. Three floors down are open to visitors, the rest are still being inspected for safety. It goes down more floors.

The locals used to live underground while waring armies would cross the surface, sometimes for months. It was temporary refuge, built with a lot of safety features. You enter it through an un assuming gap in the top of what looks like an animal shelter. They would put the animals there and no one would walk past the dung into this hole.. once in, it opened up to so many chambers. 30,000 people lived here to survive. There were rooms, kitchens, labor delivery places, wine storage, water storage, all cramped for space and not easy to navigate without bumping your head but survival demanded it and they managed it within these confines. There was ventilation and temperatures were controlled. Human ingenuity at its best thousands of years ago!

Again, the pictures and videos do NOT even come close to the experience of walking through these underground dwellings. We are a resilient species, but we are also our worst enemy as a species. No other organism kills more of its own kind like we do.

Here are the photos..

and a video highlights reel..

If you go to Kapadokya (or Cappadocia) please make it a point to visit this cave city!

After the cave city tour, we got to drive a bit and get to Pidgeon valley. The whole place has the birds taking over small caves in the wall faces of the rocks. There was a jewelry store across this stop. They sell a gemstone found only in that area that changes color in sunlight. This is called Zultanite! They also mine Onyx which is local to the region. The jewelry was gorgeous and tasteful. If you take a bunch of ladies with you into a store like that.. be mentally prepared for what is to follow.

After this stop we went to the Uchisar castle, which is now a police lookout point. We can only see it from below. It is yet another cone which has been holed out into a castle! Got some photos from this place including the dunes facing it. We drove back to our hotel to see a gorgeous sunset, said bye to our fellow tourists and tourguide.

The little one was not feeling well. She wanted local cuisine and I wanted Indian food which would be safe. Was also feeling weird what with going in and out of air conditioning, caves etc. So we went to an Indian place in the village. It was a steep walk down. It was good food. Good service. San walked back up with the little one, while Jr. and me went shopping in the village for magnets and a T-shirt.

We were worried about what was to come the next day.