Amalfi Magical-ness.

I am hereby adding myself to the long list of people who will gush endlessly about the beauty of the Amalfi Coast.  There is really no photo in the world that can capture this part of the planet in all its awesomeness.

After leaving our rustic beach town of Puolo, we drove around the coast of Massa Lubrense and started our journey towards Salerno, the eastern end of the Amalfi region.  In our little and mighty Fiat, we wound up and down and around the narrow highway carved out of the cliffs, stoppinga couple times along the way to take in scenes of pure coastal magic.

Our first of three stops along the 3-hour drive was Positano, that picture postcard place of prettiness!  I previously had my doubts about how great it could be, especially knowing what a tourist magnet it is.  Once we parked up and started walking down the many steep steps through charming stucco homes, and sneaking peaks through gates of the residences, I had a feeling my doubts were about to be wiped clean.  We quickly got to the beach and into the water.  Turning our heads up and inland, we were just stunned by Positano's impossible cliffside architecture set against more mountains towering above and a late summer sky.

How did they get those buildings up there??

Feeling hungry after our swim, we got back on the road and stopped off again in the much quieter town of Praiano, which also had no shortage of breathtaking views and winding steps along the mostly white-stucco homes.  With more of the afternoon to spare, we started to make our way east to the town of Amalfi, also a jewel along the coast.  About 10 minutes into the journey, we came to a complete standstill on the road for about half an hour.  It seemed that up ahead, two large tourist busses going in opposite directions were fighting for space on the very narrow road.  We crawled for another 30-40 minutes, guided by the Italian highway patrol, and by the time traffic cleared, the sun had gone behind the clouds. 

One glimpse at Amalfi traffic.

We decided to bypass Amalfi, and take one more stop in Maiori, the penultimate stop before the end of the famous coast.  As we walked along the emptying beach, we got our feet wet in that blue-ass water one more time before leaving that magical place.