Saw this while waiting for our transport...
but unfortunately we were stuck with the usual kind of ferry. On arrival at Capri port (below), note the Esso diesel pumps with super-long nozzles to feed the boats, and the white building on the far right is the Customs House.
We've got a ticket to ride...
We approached past the biggest mountain on the island, Mount Solaro. There are two chairlifts to take you up there. Glad we opted out of that one, I don't like heights and wouldn't have been given the choice.
Capri lies a few miles off the Sorrento peninsula. Geological records show that it broke away from the mainland in Ice Age times, when it was populated with lions and tigers. Neolithic people later lived there, and for a long time it was occupied by Greeks from Kephalonia. The Roman Emperor Augustus swapped it for Ischia, and made it his home. He was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, who was a bit of a boy by all accounts. After his time the island was mainly occupied by monks. During the Napoleonic wars, Capri was taken over by the English, then by the French. Behind the mountain shown below is a cave called the Blue Grotto, made famous by a painting by a German artist, which started the tourism industry here. Latterly, Gracie Fields had a house here, which is now an extremely expensive restaurant.
The area below is the port, as the main Capri town is a mile or two uphill. It used to be used for fishing, but now increasingly for pleasure boats, and general supplies, as everything has to be imported to Capri, making prices very expensive - 5 Euros for a coffee.
Like the last one, this shot is taken from the sea, and adorns many a brochure. It shows how the port area has grown into a little town in its own right.
A photo opportunity for the Straw Bear, we tried to get the policemen to hold it, but they didn't want their uniform insulted. So why do they put up with a Smart car?
Right, having broken away from the tour group, and no Adrian to translate, we work out how to get to Capri town. You pay 2 Euros for a ticket, valid for the buses and funicular, and get 1 Euro back when you give it in. The idea is to recycle tickets.
At this point we need to practise singing "Funiculi, Funicula!" for our theatre trip later in the week, and enjoy the lovely view from this Swiss railway which looks very recently installed. The alternative looked like a tortuous narrow road with about 20 bends in it...
On our way through the residential part of Capri town, when looking for the Roman Villa Jovis, we saw several examples of the only transport possible on these six-foot wide "roads". These things run off heavy duty batteries, and carry milk, veg, people, and of course beer to the bars.
Getting nearer to the villa now, the path narrows to about 4 feet wide, and we look back at Capri Town in the foreground, and the port area on the right in the distance. It was lovely and quiet up here, just a few fellow walkers looking for the villa, and one or two locals, nice hot day but a bit of a breeze. Near here there was an unexpected and welcome little bar.
Villa Jovis is depicted on its own page, so here we are back down on terra firma. They do a nice line in taxis here, although like the buses they can only run around the port and Capri town. I think they're Mercs.
Very clever photography makes it look like this place has a beach, but there's really only about 10 yards of it. This part of Italy is very rocky and cliffy, so if you want a beach holiday, go elsewhere. This area is for boat trips, other sightseeing and shopping.
