"Love Hate Relationship" a Capri Travel Page by mabelyn

Ah, Capri...
You will either love it or hate it. While Capri is crowded, overpriced and haughty, this tiny island can also be wonderful but the question is when? What I have discovered is that Capri's magic can be discovered only after the day trippers have gone. Unless you are planning to stay there overnight and maybe a few days your day in Capri will be hectic.

We took the hydrofoil from Amalfi. The hydrofoil is a boat that lifts out of the water as it gains speed. It is very fast but not very smooth. It is choppy so if you get sea sick be warned. The smell of exhaust is incredibly strong depending where you sit so that will add to your sickness. I had to step outside for most of the trip as I could not take the smell of fumes.

We arrived in Capri and were told that the Grotto was closed because of high tide. It was very disappointing to hear because this was my second time in Capri and the second time the grotto was closed. We bought tickets for the funicular and stood in line in an enormous crowd for a while. When we reached the top, the Piazza was just as crowded and that's when we knew we needed to escape.

We opted for the seclusion and the views along Via Tragara but we were ill prepared for the heat and the long walk. Via Tragara takes you to the natural arch and past Matermania Grotto, an impressive natural cavern trasformed during Roman times into a luxurious Nymphaeum. Today few remains of the wall, which were originally lined with mosaic "tesserae" made of glass paste and decorated with multi-coloured plaster, shells and marine valves, have survived.

Via Tragara is easily a 2 hour walk up and down a very steep path. We didn't have water so that made the journey almost unbearable. By the time we got back up to the Piazza it was siesta and all the restaurants were closed until evening. We had to settle for a snack bar. We ordered Cokes. When we got the bill each Coke was $8. Needless to say we were very upset by this. After that we knew we wantedto leave. We were just exhausted.

The line for the funicular was now a mob. I am not exaggerating. We were among 150 people easily. The crowd began shoving and a woman in front of us got pushed into the wall. It was unbelievable. Fights almost broke out. Rob and I were pretty much done with Capri for a while. It was unfortunate.

Overall our half day in Capri was the most dissapointing part of our journey.

My advice: If you go to Capri stay there for a few days so you can experience the island away from the mob of tourists that come by boat everyday. Unless you are rich forget about shopping in Capri. AND DON'T HAVE COKES!