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| We arrived early in the morning in Salerno, near Amalfi. |
Yes, it is 2012. Yes, it has been nearly a year since I left for Rome and eight months since I've been back in the USA. So yes, this is late. Nevertheless, the events are still fairly fresh in my mind and the pictures help me recall many of the memories to fill in the gaps.
So, I use 'regular guys' and not 'laymen' in the title because, as Dr. Coulter reminded us, not even the seminarians are ordained so we are still all laymen. 'Guy-men' was a title discussed too, but it also seems a little redundant. Anyway, without further ado, here is my blog about our day on the Amalfi Coast with Fr. Carola:
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| The side of the mountains along the Amalfi Coast. |
John, Peter D., Minh, and I woke up at around 5:20 am or so to get to the Lepanto Metro stop. We met Fr. Carola at Termini and, with plenty of time, jumped on a rather nice train down to Salerno, going through Napoli (Naples). We got there at about 8:15 and had plenty of time to get to the harbor to hop on the boat to get to Amalfi. There was a line, so Fr. Carola told us to wait in line where we would get on the boat. It took awhile for him to get our tickets, because some Italian lady kept arguing with the ticket booth people. So as the ferry came, and was actually close to leaving because it was filling quickly, I turned back and saw Fr. Carola running at us with his habit blowing behind him! It was pretty funny to see.
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| Welcome to Amalfi with the Cathedral rising on the right. |
Fortunately, we were able to get on the ferry and took the 30 minute passage along the coast on the Mediterranean Sea to Amalfi. It was such a nice, sunny, warm day, but the breeze as we sat on the top of the crowded, double-decker ferry was fairly chilly. It was actually pretty funny--Fr. Carola described the cliffs of the coast as "Jurassic Park", and he was spot-on, too. I was listening to Fr. Carola converse with some Italians and then with a couple French ladies--a man of many surprises! Who knew that he was fluent in French? And then as the boat pulled in to the dock it I noticed the water was so clear and looked so pure it looked perfectly drinkable. And I did consider drinking it, with the bottled water being pretty expensive.
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| The steep steps up to the cathedral. |
We were able to look around for a little bit before ascending the steep stairs to the Cathedral of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Amalfi. By the 13th century, Amalfi was an important commercial center for Italy and its prominence meant that it should have the relics of a renown saint. So, after the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders , they brought some of the relics of St. Andrew to Amalfi. Normally, there would have been a three Euro fee to get in and tour the Cathedral and museum (though free if attending Mass), Fr. Carola got us in for free because a) we were going to Mass celebrated by Fr. Carola in the Cappella della Riconciliazione, b) Fr. Carola is fluent in Italian, and c) it's Fr. Carola, and he has connections. The chapel, which remains gated except for during Mass there, had relics from many saints, including St. Gregory the Great--no big deal of course. And what was funny is that the two French ladies that Fr. Carola had befriended on the boat attended the Mass.
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| La Cappella della Riconciliazione |
After Mass we went down to La Piazza del Duomo and sat at a table by a cafe, where I ordered a cappuccino for the first time, and it was actually pretty good--despite how much it cost. But, like Fr. Carola said, "You're not paying for the food and drink but for the seat." And it's true. It was awesome just sitting in the sun, watching all the action going on in the square. We were there for close to an hour, and then we moved on to a little shop to buy our lunch. I got a pretty simple (but delicious) sandwich with fresh bread and some meat and cheese, as did the others, and we made our trek up the mountainside.
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| Lots of action in La Piazza del Duomo! |
On each side of the road in the city below were shops full of lemons and lemon products, for which Amalfi is well-known. Some of those lemons were HUGE! I mean, some were about the size of a medium-sized football.
The narrow streets wound their way up a fairly steep slope and to our left and under us ran a river, which flowed from higher up in the mountain. In addition to the lemons, the area was also home to a number of paper mills, which have since gone out of business, but their ruins remain, which are really cool.
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| What a sight...and so many lemons. |
The mountains had sheer rock faces, and they had been terraced to accommodate all the lemon trees. Many of the trees had been covered with green tarp to keep out the birds, but they were punctured with holes to let in light and rain. The sight was absolutely amazing, and with the sun beating down, it was an absolutely perfect day as we wound our way up what had become a narrow path, which passed small houses that rested on the ever-steepening slope.
That's enough for now, but I'll continue this in a second part soon...I hope.
